Allotments 4 All

hi all hope you are all fit and well!! ;) just a little question ?? Ive got an old wooden crate that was used for holding slabs in can i use this as a compost "bin" if so what do i need to start my compost ?? Ive got some grass that's in the recycle bin would that be any use ?? please help I'm all confused ??? ??? if you could just tell me what i need to get started it would be great thanks  ;)

Here you go......... ;D

http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-3-79-3,00.html

I like to start mine off with some shrubby stuff and thick stems this makes for a good drainage layer then I just add my composting material as it comes.

This bit of info might help you; http://tinyurl.com/36j587

Hi Tohell, loads of stuff to throw in grass, weeds, leaves, teabags, shreddded paper, toilet and kitchen roll tubes, veg peelings, rabbit or hamster bedding, nettles etc also don't forget to wee in the bin.  :-[   :o   ;D ;D ;D

Hi!

You can compost almost anything that has had a life!

The obvious things are weeds (best not rooty weeds like clover, dandelion, dock because they keep growing!)  Any fruit and vegetable peelings from the house, tea bags, coffee grounds anything like that.  Don't put pastry, meat or cooked stuff on as you may get further livestock coming after that!

You can compost wool jumpers newspapers also.  You don't want too much woody stuff as that takes ages to compost.

If you can be brave one of the best activators is human pee!  When it is warmer - heat helps to speed up the process.  I pee in a bucket and carry it up to the lottie in a big water bottle.  Lord knows what I would do if anyone noticed!!  Luckily I am tucked away in a corner with direct access from the car so can sneak in at the first crack of dawn!!

So far have managed two huge containers of compost for spreading this year!

Good luck with yours!

Old Bird

;D

Thank you all soooo much added links to my favourites one happy bunny ;D ;D

oooh i thought female pee was to strong am i wrong :-[  just asked oh if he would mind peeing on my compost he thought i was joking if only i was a man i could pee to my hearts content and no one would bat an eye lid  ::) looks like i will have to pee in a bucket  ;D

In my opion I wouldn't use woman's pee but what do I know, I also noticed on another forum someone advised no spud peelings, I've alway's put mine in but not whole spuds, happy composting.  ;D ;D ;D

Male urine is high in nitrogen.
Female urine is not suitable as a compost activator :-X

Female urine has just as much nitrogen. The only difference is that it has female hormones, but I bet the plants won't notice.

An old boy told me that there is a way of composting the really horrible weeds - couchgrass, dock etc What you have to do is put them in sealed plastic bags then put the bacgs somewhere dark. The idea is for them to be denied water and ligt and then to die and compost down anaerobically.

I have started this by putting couchgrass in plastic bags inside a very large piece of blag plastic in turn inside a plastic compost bin. I'll let you know.

This doesn't work for blackberries but the old boy said that he never has any fires to burn stuff on his plot.

He also added a variant of the above whereby you put the plastic bag into the water butt with a few holes in but under the water.

I have seen (and smelt) my neighbour's version of this that he does with nettles. Although it is rank he has some of the best evg on the plot.

Quote from: Tohellwithweeds on November 28, 2007, 19:18:29
oooh i thought female pee was to strong am i wrong :-[  just asked oh if he would mind peeing on my compost he thought i was joking if only i was a man i could pee to my hearts content and no one would bat an eye lid  ::) looks like i will have to pee in a bucket  ;D

Yeah, me too. My OH is a big hairy biker type, but thinks its gross to pee on stuff he's gonna eat.....I said he should have paid more attention in biology lessons at school, but he's adamant......(actually more a prude if you ask me) He still doesn't release I pee in a bucket for the compost. No its not as good as male, but what choice do I have?

omg i get enough gyp from my OH about storing up the veg scraps, dunno what he would say if I started peeing everywhere!!!
The tip with the weeds, that does work. Rot them down in a black bag for several weeks then when they are just blackish mush put them in the compost. I put all veg scraps, coffee grounds from work, tea bags, and grass etc from the plot, egg shells.
I started mine in january this year and funnily enough i add, and add, and add but really teh level doesn't go up that much!! so I am assuming that at the bottom there is lots of munched up compost for me for spring planting!!

i was told lady wee is the best for compost bins! i'm afriad that i am actually too squeamish but my mummy does it regularly! get the boys to wee in there too :)
my two bins are both full at the moment- in a few weeks tho one will have rotten(? rotted?) down i'm sure!

cereal boxes, ripped up, shredded documents, vacuum cleaner dust and dog hair, egg boxes, card ones, of course, after you've got enough to chit the spuds  ;D

Male or female pee?  I am sure that it doesn't make a huge amount of difference to aiding the composting process. It is only an activator and shouldn't cause anyone to stress about it!  I would think that the only thing that  would make a difference would be different diets etc.  But I cannot believe that we are hugely different in our output so to speak!!

Apparently - an no I haven't tried it! - human pee is not germ ridden so you can do all sorts with it!  I wouldn't put it on the garden neat or anything like that!

The other really magnificent activator is of course - seaweed - but you have to be near'ish to a beach to get that!

Old Bird!!

;D

and don't forget the more you drink the more you wee

I'm not drinking my wee for anyone ;D ;D ;D

Rob.

Quote from: Old bird on November 28, 2007, 16:23:30
Hi!

You can compost almost anything that has had a life!


Old Bird

;D

..............that's my old man sorted then!!!!!


Louise

My son loves nothing more than peeing on the conpost heap - it's obviously a boy thing!

Louise


PS - he is only 8