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My compost bin is very woody i.e. mainly stems, anything I can do to make it rot down easier?

How big (lenth and thickness) are the woody bits? Maybe you need to get in and break them up a bit/lot more?

Now is also the time to add leaves which can assist.

You could try Household Liquid Fertilser, it costs nowt and even saves money as you don't need to flush the toilet as much!

Quote from: pumpkinlover on February 07, 2016, 07:43:27
You could try Household Liquid Fertilser, it costs nowt and even saves money as you don't need to flush the toilet as much!

aka 'recycled beer water'     can also be applied directly to compost heaps if discretion allows.  But you should still flush afterwards and dilute it a bit with the watering can.  Sufficient moisture helps break down woody bits, as does remixing the heap and adding a lot of 'green' ie cut grass or nettles.  The greens (especially activated by above liquid addition) will create heat which will speed up composting the twiggy bits.   

Where can I purchase some of this house hold fertilizer  and what connection does it have to the toilet  ?

You do not need to buy it Brownthumb.  You just need to retrieve it.  Urine is an extremely good fertiliser and is also very good in the compost bin as a compost accelerator.  Most plants love it.  Though it should not be used if you are taking antibiotics.  It is high in nitrogen: cabbages love it.   It is usually sterile at source but should be used quickly as bacteria get into it and break it down so it starts to smell of ammonia.

It has various aliases.  Liquid Amber is one of my favourite.

Brownthumb: It only means that they are taking the pee and adding it to the compost heap.

Quote from: davholla on February 06, 2016, 21:23:38
My compost bin is very woody i.e. mainly stems, anything I can do to make it rot down easier?

Aside from adding urine (I save mine in bottles at home much to my wife's amusement) you can try adding other stuff to heat it up a bit.  A good mix of green to go with your mainly brown waste so grass clippings, some fresh stable sweepings, kitchen waste etc.  Turning it regularly will also help - if you can dig it out into another bin so that it gets turned upside down that would be excellent.  Also keep it moist but not too wet.

Thanks for the advice, as I live in a London suburb and have a small garden, with a train line nearby urinating on it is difficult.

You can buy urine in a dried crystaline form which goes under the name of Urea.

Composts that are deficient in nitrogen when wood wastes are added to the mixture can be corrected by adding 1 pound of urea per cubic yard of compost mixture.

There is some more info here:

http://www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/nutrient-management/nitrogen/fertilizer-urea/

I hope this helps.....Tg

Quote from: davholla on February 06, 2016, 21:23:38
My compost bin is very woody i.e. mainly stems, anything I can do to make it rot down easier?

chicken /pigeon poo works well

Sorry that was I was doing when I asked the question      taking the pee  my sense of humour  I meant to have came back on line sooner but was called away  sorry if ive upset any one

Quote from: brownthumb2 on February 07, 2016, 18:41:48
Sorry that was I was doing when I asked the question      taking the pee  my sense of humour  I meant to have came back on line sooner but was called away  sorry if ive upset any one

If you can't purchase any locally it I can send you some but postage might be a bit prohibitive.