Compost

[mazflint]

Hi All ,We are new to allotmenteering and I wonder if it is ok to use the cuttings from our projects in our compost bin . Thanks for any help you can give us .x

[mazflint]

[manicscousers]

Hiya, Mazflint, welcome to a4a
What sort of cuttings are you talking about?

[Digeroo]

A big welcome to A4A.

As Manics says we need some more information to give the best advice.  In general compost bins need to be fed about half and half brown stuff and green stuff.   Though browns need to be chopped up well for the best results.

Too much green such as grass clippings leads to a rather slimy, smelly mess, though the plants still love it.    To little green and it does not heat up and rot down.   

[mazflint]

Ha ha ,Stupid predictive text the word should have read privets not projects ,we have large privets at the front of our house which we have to trim regularly to stop them taking over the road ,we usually take the cuttings to the tip ,but since getting our allotment wondered if we could compost them instead ,Thanks for the welcome to the group and looking forward to a Happy Allotmenting x

[Deb P]

Privet can take quite a long time to rot down, the woody parts particularly. I mix a small amount of my little privet hedge into my lottie bin and turning it over the other week I could still identify the privet twigs whereas everything else was rotted. If you have a large amount I would be tempted to let it dry and have a hot bonfire then use the ashes as a source of potash!

[OllieC]

I used to use my neighbour's privet clippings as a mulch around fruit bushes, on top of weed suppressant membrane. Worked a treat!

[aquilegia]

We have a large privet out the front. After trimming, I run over the prunings with my mower to chop them up nicely and it composts brilliantly!