Choosing a Compost Bin

• Plastic Compost Bin - The standard for modern home composting. Designed to optimise the composting process, providing a well insulated and ventilated environment. Inexpensive and made from recycled plastics.
• Wooden Compost Box - Traditional style wooden composter.
• Compost Tumbler - Compost tumblers can produce good quality compost in as little as 21 days. By turning the tumbler you allow air to circulate to the bacteria breaking down your household waste.

Where to buy your compost bin

Compost Bins are widely available from garden centres across the country.

Why not buy online and have it delivered to your house? The following retailers offer home delivery and good prices.

Placing your compost bin

Ideally your compost bin should be placed in a warm sunny spot, this helps with the decomposition process and speeds up your compost creation.

• Grass Cuttings. Grass cuttings are fine added to your bin. Although they should be added in small quantities, or added along with other dryer items. This stops you ending up with a smelly slushy mess.
• Leaves.
• Fruit skins, peels and cores.
• Uncooked vegetable scraps, skins and peels.
• Eggshells. Crush these, allowing them to compost faster.
• Old Newspapers Shredding/Ripping is advised.
• Hoover Dust.
• Wood Ash.
• Teabags

This list doesn’t cover everything that can be composted. As a rule if it rots, it can be composted. Although some items will take longer to break down than others.

What can’t I compost covers everything you should avoid adding to your compost bin.

How to make compost.

• No Cooked Vegetables
• No Meats
• No Animal Waste, or Cat litter
• No Deseased Plants
• No Dairy Products

What can I compost covers everything you should be adding to your compost bin.

How to make compost or Gardening Homepage.

• Compost Bin Information
• What can I compost?
• What can’t I compost?

Section 1: Placing your bin

Your compost bin will be well suited placed in a well-drained and level part of your garden. Allowing excess water to drain away stops your compost becoming a slushy mess.

Placing your bin in a partially sunny spot can speed up the composting process.

Section 2: Ingredients

You want to aim to add equal parts of dry and wet items. Dry items include newspaper, egg boxes and hoover dust. Wet items include leaves, vegetable peels and grass.

If you find your compost heap becoming too wet or slimy, try mixing in plenty of dry items and turning well.

Section 3: Mix it up

Adding dry items into your compost and turning well increases the amount of air inside the heap, helping it dry out.

If you find your compost frequenty becoming too wet, make sure the excess water can freely drain away.

The Finished Product

After the composting process has finished you should be left a with dark, rich, soil-like substance. It should smell earthy and may well contain bits of egg shell, small twigs and other harder materials. You can dig this into your garden, and it’s perfect for Growing your own veg.