Creating a Compost Heap

Compost is one of the best and cheapest ways of adding nutrients back into your garden.

There are four main types of compost bin - tumble bin, prefabricated, heap and build your own. All achieve the same result and use the same basic technique of layering waste, whether it be organic, woody materials, and adding a small amount of liquid and covering to generate heat.

Pro & Cons
Both the Tumble and Prefabricated bins are easy to erect and keep the heat in the heap and also rainwater out, but capacity can be limited.

The Heap and Build your Own are cheap to make but have the downside of taking longer for the compost to produce.

Making compost using a homemade bin:
- The heap should be as big have you have room for (at least 3ft wide by 3ft deep and one heap is better than two. Gardeners recommend you have three heaps, one that you are adding material to, one that is full and cooking and finally the one you are taking compost from.
- Almost any organic material can be added to the heap, including grass clippings, weeds, straw, manure, shredded newspaper, kitchen waste, plant cuttings and prunings.
- Compost heaps break down material quicker if they are built in layers. To do this, start the heap with a 9" layer of grass cuttings and weeds into the bottom, making sure that it is level rather than heaped.
- Add an inch of material high in nitrogen, such as manure. Then 6" of course mixed waste, shredded branches, straw, twigs, vegetable peelings, eggshells etc. wetting any dry material.
- Sprinkle on compost accelerator - human urine is ideal for this.
- Continue to add in layers until it reaches at least 3 foot high.
- Cover the heap with something to keep the rainwater out, a piece of old carpet or polythene is good for this. Rainwater will cool the heap and stop any bacterial activity.
- After a week the compost heap should start heating up and begin to steam. The high temperatures will kill any weeds. By turning the heap every four to six weeks will allow air into the heap and speed up the composting process.
- Once your bin is full and working, start another heap. If you continue to add waste to a compost heap it will compact, expelling air and stopping the composting process.
- You should have the perfect crumbly compost in three to six months.

Any material that hasn't broken down can be put back on to your new heap.

Put any diseased plants and fruit into the centre of the compost heap and surround with green material.

A good compost heap should be an average of 70 degrees and will kill most pests and diseases.