Composting

Getting started

Home composting is an inexpensive, natural process that transforms your food and garden waste into a valuable resource for your garden.

Finished compost is great for using on flowerbeds, vegetable plots, and for mixing into planters. It can really make your garden and houseplants bloom.

To start composting you need a space in your garden to store your compost bin.  Bristol City Council currently offers compost bins at discounted prices, details of which are on the following page.  Alternatively you can build your own compost bin.  Building a box using wooden planks is common practice (make sure it has a lid or cover as well), and insulating it with cardboard or straw helps the composting process.
 

• Place your bin somewhere level and well drained, on soil or grass. This is so that excess liquid can drain out and worms can get in to start breaking down your waste.

• Ideally, you should place it in a partially sunny spot, but don’t worry if you have to put it in the shade; your waste will still break down, but at a slower rate.

• If you cannot place your bin on soil and you have to put it on a concrete or paved surface, add some healthy soil, compost or manure to introduce some micro-organisms and get the composting process started.

• Make sure you can access your bin easily, and leave enough room to mix the waste and get the finished compost out.  If you find it difficult to stir, add scrunched up paper or small cardboard items. This will ensure that you have air pockets in the bin.

• Ensure your compost bin contains a balanced mix of materials and the right amount of moisture and air (see below). 

• Keep adding garden and kitchen waste to the top; the process begins in the middle and over time you'll have finished compost at the bottom of your compost bin ready for use in your garden.

MATERIALS

BROWNS are dry, fibrous materials which are high in carbon. These include:

• Cardboard tubes
• Egg boxes
• Straw and hay
• Woody prunings (shredded / chopped)
• Old perennial plants

GREENS are soft, sappy materials with a high nitrogen and water content. They include:

• Fruit and vegetable peelings
• Grass clippings
• Green prunings
• Annual plants
• Weeds
• Flowers
• Young hedge clippings
• Fruit / vegetable crop remains

You will get the best results by using a mixture of half BROWNS and half GREENS. Also remember that worms don’t have teeth, so to get good compost as quickly as possible, it is best to chop your material up into little pieces. 

The general rule is that anything that was once alive can be composted. However there are some things that are best not put in the bin, either because they will not rot down properly, or because they will create smells and attract pests:

• meat or fish
• dairy products
• cooked food
• cat and dog poo
• disposable nappies
• biscuits and bread
• diseased plants
• plastic, glass and metal
• coal ash
• Japanese knotweed

If you are still unsure whether or not something is suitable for your compost bin, Have a look at our composting frequently asked questions.
 

MOISTURE

It is important to get the moisture levels of your compost right. Too wet and the compost becomes slimy; too dry and the composting process will slow down and might even stop!

To test the moisture level, squeeze a handful of the composted material. Ideally it should feel about as damp as a wrung out sponge.

If the compost gets too dry, add more 'greens' or sprinkle it with some water. If it gets too wet add more scrunched–up paper and give it a stir.


AIR

The tiny organisms that make your compost need air just like us. Introduce air into your bin either by using a garden fork to mix the material, or by adding more scrunched up paper and card, which will help to form air pockets.

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