Making a compost heap

Many people I come across say that their compost heaps never work, and so I felt that I needed to say about it - What I Know Is

Building, Creating, Maintaining, the Secret

Building your heap:

It's called a compost heap because that's what you do - heap it up. To keep it 'high', the best thing to do is to build sides to enlose the heap and make it higher. I have built mine out of old fencing, old wood panels, chicken wire and even an old rubbish bin. You can use anything to hold it all in a heap, the higher the better.

Another important part of making your compost heap is that it must allow air to get in. So if you use an old rubbish bin, drill some holes in to the side, and the same if you use solid wooden panels (that's why I like old wooden fences as they tend to have gaps and holes). If you use chicken wire, it's best to use a double thickness to ensure that the holes are not too big.

In colder climates, you may have to put an old bit of carpet or something over the top of the heap to keep in the warmth that is generated by the rotting vegetation. In winter you can sometimes see the compost steaming with the heat generated - this is what kills the seeds of weeds. In warmer climates you may need to put the heap in a shady part of your garden to avoid it drying out too much. I put mine far away from the house to avoid any smell, but even when I am a few feet away, I can't smell it.

Creating the compost:

One important thing to remember is that you should not make the heap out of just the same thing - for example not just the prunings from one plant and not just the lawn clippings. If you do, it will go sludgy and not work.

A good compost will have a mix and balance of items, such as;

• Dry leaves (autumn sweepings)
• Lawn clippings
• Kitchen scraps, peelings from vegetables etc.
• Straw or hay
• Plant prunings, hedge clippings
• Shredded newspaper
• Egg shells
• Dead or dying cut flowers from the house
• Weeds (best to let them dry out in the sun first)
• Used coffee grounds, tea bags
• Contents of the vacuum cleaner bag
• Wood chips or the product of a garden chipper, shredder or mulcher

Items that you should not put on the compost;

• Meat (including bones or fat)
• Dairy (cheese, milk etc)
• Faeces (animal or otherwise...) - rot these seperately
• Waxy leaves or eucalyptus leaves (they take too long to break down)
• Cooked vegetables or plant matter
• Sticks or twigs that are thicker than a pencil
• Woody stems, particularly if they are very dry
• Bread, cakes
• Non-vegetable foods

Maintaining your heap:

Views vary, but I like to mix the compost with a fork to distribute the items that I have added to the heap. Some people recommend that you build it in layers, but it's too difficult to maintain unless you have all the 'ingredients' together at once to make the pile. I like to cover fresh vegetable scraps and prunings with existing composted material and mix it up a bit. This is particluarly important when adding a large amount of something (like clippings from the mower), otherwise it can make uneven lumps of partially rotted items.

The Secret ingredient:

It's a secret that you may want to keep to yourself. If you want to make your compost heap work, you will have to add urine to it. Piss on your compost to get it started, and then a few more times to keep it going. I have found that around 2-3 litres will start a heap that is around 1 metre square and 30cm deep. Apparently, female wee is meant to be better at getting the job done.

You may also need to get the compost heap wet to accelerate the process - a bucket a week keeps mine nice and moist, with a dry surface. Some people recommend a few handfuls of blood and bone mix, but I have never found the need.

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