Rivetting subject that this is…..

Im going to start a compost heap, appreciate that you put food scraps in and garden waste, but what about dog poo?

Irs going to be one of those homebase plastic tub things unless anyones got any cheaper suggestions for a container?

No animal waste or bones. no fat. no citrus. not too much green stuff. Not too much brown stuff. not too much wet stuff.

Try to add some worms every now and then.

My tip is don’t spend £30 on a B&Q compost bin when you can buy the water butt on the shelf next to it for £5, turn it upside down and clumsily cut the bottom off to make a makeshift lid. 🙂

If you’ve room don’t bother with a plastic bin at all and try an knock up something from old pallets nearer to 4ft square. The aim is to get heat to build up and off the shelf bins are too narrow and tall to keep the warmth in in the winter. But obviously you need to be creating a fair bit of green waste for something that big otherwise you’ve just got a small heap of spoilt veg with a fence round it

wee in it to get it started no seriously wee in it to get it started

wee in it to get it started no seriously wee in it to get it started

Tell your wife she needs to wee in it for the best result, mutter something about hormones and stuff.

go steady on the grass clippings if its a small heap.

Eggshells are a no no.
wee is good. If its open to the ground worms will come (and ants and slow-worms)

trust the slow-worms to turn up last

We have 2 open wooden type heaps with an old rug covering. I don’t like those plastic things, but they are better than nothing.

They are great for attracting wildlife, frogs, birds, hedgehogs etc.

When one is full start another up. Remember to turn regularly and under no circumstances put in anything that a rat would eat (left over table scraps, dead animals etc.) or dog poo. I don’t add twigs or tree branchs either.

Also some stuff may need cutting up a bit before popping in. like certain summer flower stalks that are over for the winter.

Junkyard is correct, wee on it ( maybe at night when the neighbours can’t see).

If you do have lots of lawn clippings to go on it, mix them with shredded paper (it’s a yin yang / wet dry thing).

Forgot to mention, ours were made out of old pallets, therefore very cheap.

As Bunnyhop said forget the plastic ones, an open slated wooden one will give a much better compost. You need to get the air in there which the plastic ones don’t allow.

Start the pile straight onto the soil to allow worms and bugs up into it.

Cooked food will attract rats, as will meat and dairy waste. A compost heap shouldnt smell. If it does the balance of the contents is wrong. You need to balance the green and brown (see here)

What about dog poo, can it go in?

food scraps? no
dog poo? no

under no circumstances put in anything that a rat would eat (left over table scraps, dead animals etc.) or dog poo.

I have various compost heaps in different gardens and the plastic ones which don’t have holes in them work fine if you get lots of composting worms into them. A wormery is the best bet if you only have a small garden or are mostly trying to compost kitchen waste. One of the best ways to get these if you don’t know someone that has them is to get some farmyard manure. In my experience ventilation is not required, it just stops the heap getting warm enough. You will have enough air in the heap with a good mix of materials and by turning it over every so often. Adding some pelleted chicken manure also helps.