To make good compost you will need to have a mixture of green and brown materials. Green materials contain a high percentage of nitrogen and breakdown quickly; brown materials contain a high percentage of carbon and breakdown slowly. Aim for a 50/50 mix of both wet greens and dry browns. For example, for every caddyful of fruit and vegetable peelings you add, match it with a caddyful of scrunched paper and cardboard packaging.
It can take approximately 6-9 months to make your compost. Finished compost is a dark brown, almost black. It has a spongy texture and is rich in nutrients. Spreading finished compost into your flowerbeds greatly improves soil quality by helping it retain moisture and suppressing weeds.
Tip: If your compost heap tends to be wet & smelly, add more browns; if it is dry, add some greens.
Compost Materials
Compost Greens
Annual Weeds, Bracken Leaves, Cabbage, Citrus Peel, Comfrey Leaves, Cut Flowers, Grass cuttings, Green pruning, Lettuce/salad trimmings, Manure, Old Bedding plants, Potato tops, Rhubarb leaves, Seaweed, Straw, Tea bags/leaves, Vegetable/fruit peelings, Weeds without seeds
Compost Browns
Cardboard, Coffee grounds, Egg boxes, Egg shells, Feathers, Hair, Hay, Kitchen paper, Newspaper, Paper bags, Pet bedding from herbivorous pets, Shredded garden waste, Shredded paper, Spent perennial stems, Wood ash, Carpet dust, Wood shavings, Charcoal (cold)
Materials to avoid
Butter, oil and dressing, Bread, Cigarette ends, Cooked food leftovers, Crisp packets, Coal ashes, Dairy products, Diseased or insect infested plants, Fatty/oily foods including cheese, Human Faeces, Meat, bones and fish scraps, Pet Waste (cat and dog), perennial roots, Plant or grass clippings treated with chemicals, Rose prunings/thorny materials, Weeds with mature seeds.
