Compost

Empty it out, mix the contents over. Put it back in about 9" layers, sprinkle some compost maker (garotta) over each layer. Do not press it down, you need to keep air in the mix. At this time of year, you should have compost in about 12 weeks. Always keep a good mix of stuff going in, if you have a lot of lawn cuttings, mix them with other waste, otherwise it will become a stagnant soggy mess. If it is very dry water it a little. As has been mentioned in other threads, urine is a good composting agent, far too good to waste by peeing in the loo..
The plastic compost bins are a little small to get the temperature up. I use the disposable sacks that builders sand etc comes in.

What a good idea using builders sacks, pompa! We have a couple of those. I shall press one into use. Our compost heaps are rather large and up to now I've just used odd bits of wood and chicken wire to hold the pile together (and to stop the chickens from spreading it everywhere).

At the moment I'm just adding lime every now and then, mainly because the soil here is very acid. Do you think I should add some Garotta as well?

Good thing about builders sack is that they can be folded out of the way when not in use. I usually fill 4 with horse manure in the Autumn to be rotted ready for spring. One is enough for Summer green waste.

Excellent composting advice pompa, adding a thin layer of shredded newspaper is good if you compost lots of lawn clippings.

Thanks for your ideas. I must admit I don't like the idea of emptying it out - ugh! - but I do understand the reason for it. I've not added shredded paper for quite a while, so I'll try that again as I've got loads of paper to shred. I took a look in the top this afternoon and there's some really good compost in there - it's just not making it to the bottom! You're right Pompa I need to break it up a bit and get the air in.

If you don't like the idea of emptying it, it is probably because it is stagnant, good compost smell fantastic (or am I peculiar ?). The paper doesn't need to be totally shredded, I add paper and cardboard, just tear it up a bit. Mrs. P likes Channel 5, for me good compost does it !.

I mix the paper from my son's confidential waste shredder with all my veggie peelings and it breaks down really quickly now. However I've hardly put any grass cuttings in because , for some reason the grass isn't growing this year. From cutting it twice a week in previous years I'm cutting it once every couple of weeks [if that].

crimson you're so lucky with your grass! Our garden was mowed last week and it's more than ready for another cut. Now, cut grass is a nice smell, though I prefer my 'Y' . I'll get cracking with some paper and cardboard and try and turn it with a fork if I can manage it without falling in . Thanks pompa

Good compost does smell fabulous. No, you aren't peculiar, pompa, at least not more peculiar than we've already agreed.
When you use builders' sacks for compost, how do the worms get in? Our current heaps just sit on the ground so the worms have easy access.

I just seed them with a starter from an existing bag, although they still seem to find their way in somehow (my bags have some holes in the bottom from wear and tear). I always wonder how compost worms get in anyway, they do not live in normal garden soil, only dung/compost heaps.

Really looking forward to our first batch of compost and it seems to be going well in its plastic Dalek since we added more cardboard and paper shreddings as per Monty Don advice.
I dont put banana skins in as I was told these take forvere to decompose - is this true- i have lots of banana skins!

I have banana skins in the bin ready to go into the compost heap and they look as if they are decomposing already but I'm no expert.

Should I crunch up the egg shells? It seems as though it's these that are holding up the process - well, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but they don't seem to be breaking down as I imagined they would.

Just heard on the One Show that a banana skin takes 2 years to degrade! But I have also heard that they are very good for roses. Perhaps if you chop them up small they will rot down faster??

Eggs shells must be washed first or they will attract rats, I don't compost them, it seems counter productive to waste water etc. washing them for the compost heap. I compost lots of banana skins, never chop them and have never noticed that they have not rotted down with the rest of the stuff. I suspect the worms will eat them, I used to have a wormery, they made short work of banana skins.

I rinse out eggshells, dry them overnight in the bottom of the Rayburn, crush them and feed them back to the hens. Other chicken keepers do that too. I guess you could do the same for other bird life, especially in the spring when they're making eggs.

Sounds like a great way of re-cycling egg shells.

Seems to work, pompa! I've never had a problem with banana skin composting either, or anything else, come to that! It happens. You don't actually have to do much other than make a pile. 'Course, there are ways of speeding things up, but the actual rotting down will happen even if you do nothing, at least, it does if you just make a pile. I've never used plastic bins. Mine are slow, fresh air compost heaps. The compost they make is lovely. Sometimes I take my Kelly kettle out and make a cup of tea by the compost heaps. No need to tell me I'm a weirdo. I know that already.

It would only be weird if you were talking to the worms !

Pompa, what are the odds that she is doing just that? I had a wormery which might have been the oddest Christmas present I ever had, but the design must have been faulty or maybe I hadn't put it together correctly, because they all did a runner! I make fertilizer by soaking comfrey in a big bin and diluting it before I water it in. The proportions are a matter of guesswork, but it does seem to work. Smells evil, though, so I have to keep a tight lid on the bin or my neighbours would be suspicious.

Ha ha! The odds are quite high that she's doing just that!