9
Composting tips and advice
Once you have built your composter, it is important to choose a location for it in your
garden where it can stand on a flat surface, preferably in direct sunlight. It is also
important to ensure that there is enough space around it for the composter to
rotate.
What to put in your composter
The composting process works best by mixing moist greens (nitrogen rich) with dry
browns (carbon rich) in an approximate ratio of 2 parts greens to 1 part brown (¼
green to ¾ brown).
Greens include kitchen scraps, grass clippings, garden and house plants.
Browns include leaves, stray/hay, sawdust, twigs, and cardboard.
Do not compost
meats, fats, bones, dairy products, plastics, wood ashes or invasive
plants or weeds (i.e., Japanese bind weed).
Carbon / Browns
Nitrogen / Greens
Do Not Add
Leaves / branches/
pinecones
Fresh grass clippings
Meat / fat / bones
Untreated wood
Fresh leafy prunings
Pet droppings
Shredded newspaper
Fruit / vegetable scraps
Treated wood
Straw or hay
Kitchen scraps
Dairy products
Saw dust
Garden plants
Weeds / diseased
plants
Dryer lint
Chicken / rabbit
manure
Poison sumac / ivy
Batch composting
Your composter has 2 compartments, add new raw materials to one compartment
until it is full. Then continue to fill the second chamber.
Composting process
•
Rotate the composter 5-10 times every 2 to 3 days this will mix the materials
and keep the composting process active.
•
It is important to check that the mixture has warmth as this will aid the
composting process. If it does not get enough sun, the composting process
will take considerably longer.
•
Squeeze a handful of material to check that it has enough moisture; it should
feel like a damp sponge. If it feels a little dry, add some water; be careful not
to over water. Remember to rotate the composter and mix well.
•
Depending on the materials added, the compost should be ready in 2-8
weeks. To remove the finished compost, rotate the composter so the doors
