You can make a very good, useable compost in 3 months - if you use the aerobic, hot system. Trouble is, most of us don't have time for that - it means collecting together various elements, then building the heap in layers (and not smaller than 3 feet square minimum), adding nitrogen if none is present, adding water if too dry, turning every 2 or 3 days and keeping covered with something to keep it hot. What usually happens is we all shove it on a heap or in a compost bin as and when, and find about a spadeful that's usable at the bottom every year, because it's decomposing anaerobically and doesn't heat up. So those are the choices, really - a word about leaves though, these are best composted separately, there's a good blog on the site already written by Spritzhenry called Black Gold that tells you how to do that - even so, that takes up to 2 years to be usable.
You could try using a compost accelerator mix (available at the garden centre) or (and I'm quite serious) put urine on it (yes, human) as its full of nitrogen, particularly if collected first thing in the morning. That'll speed things up a bit.

Many thanks to an anonymous person, this is my first day on this site and pleasesd that i have an awnswer- my question was sent to BBC Gardeners question time, and i think it gets lost in the cyber space. Is there any way to know if there is enough nitrogen? Also finally woudl shed roofing felt be a good cover?

What's the particular advantage of 'black gold'? As long as compost has heated sufficiently to kill weed seeds and is no longer smelly or disgusting to use, I just spread it on the surface as a mulch, and the earth worms do the rest taking it into the soil.
I think if you leave compost too long, even in a well-constructed bin, by the time it's reduced to crumbly black gold, most of the nutrients will have washed out into the soil underneath your heap.
But really you want all those nutrients in your garden soil.

Piece of old carpet is better - lets water through, which the roofing material won't. Suggest you go and buy some activator, which has not only nitrogen but other things that help the heap as well. Nitrogen otherwise comes in the form of green - leaves, stems, grass cuttings, but should be distributed throughout the heap (particularly grass cuttings) and not put in a solid layer.

Shhhh. Can I be the first to say that human urine is one of the best nitrogen activators. Method of application optional!

Funny you should mention that,Bulbaholic,as I have just been reading about that today.apparently,.men's is better than womens',as the latter can be more acidic.
Your optional method of application,that comes to mind,would be easier for the former too :o))) The mind boggles....

I just use a bucket in the potting shed Bloomer...

This is all useful- seems my leqves will do as well as urine then? I am surprised nobody said worms?

Pas worms will automatically come to your compost it is a wonderful home for them with lots of perfect food. Yes green material will put nitrogen into your compost but wont give it the same boost as urine. Like Bertie I do not expect our compost to turn into black-gold. That is what I expect of our leaf mould.

Its amazing how those little red worms appear in the compost,they certainly are alive and well in mine.My compost bin is one of those plastic ones,but with proper care,I get good stuff every year,it doesn't have to be black,as others have pointed out.Hope this has helped you,Pas...

Thanks! ny name is Philip and im in nursing- so gardening is spare time (what is that?)- BUT did potatoes and Green beans last year with a spectactular failure on Sprouts! I suppose the weather is more ideal for web sites than digging!

Hi,Philip,you are so right about web sites in this awful weather.Glad you had a good success with your potatoes and beans,so did I.Hope you enjoy this site.There is so much help and info,from all the friendly members on here..it does get addictive though,but in a good way.Happy gardening..when you can get out to do it :o))

Bloomers' comments just remind me about where those little red worms come from. I'd always assumed they were everywhere in the soil and garden debris. But when we first got here (6 years ago) and built our first compost heap, there was nary a red worm. Couldn't understand it. I even went searching in the forest until I found some under the bark of rotting wood.
In the end, we brought some good healthy sturdy Anglo-Saxon stock back with us from the wife's aunt's in the UK, and ever since that they are everywhere!
Our predecessor here (a French peasant) used weedkiller and other nasty chemicals everywhere, so perhaps that why all the little red worms gave up the ghost.
You only appreciate something when it's not there.

I just wanted to say, thanks to all my friends at GOY....I have unloaded my first ever compost bin and im mulching the borders at the minute...because of all the good advice given all year, i have made the most beautiful sweet smelling compost....Think i'll get a couple more bins....:>)

I know I tactfully buried it in my first answer, Bulbaholic, but I did mention the urine thing, so you weren't the first to be so indelicate, lol. And I'd argue doesn't matter whether its female or male - I know from experience both work!
If you really want the worms, they're brandlings and I think you can buy them as bait for fish - but they will arrive quite naturally anyway once the compost gets going properly.

Glad you commented on the red brandling worms,Bertiefox,they are amazing hard workers.You know its good in the compost bin when you see lots of them.
When you use the compost on the garden,or mix it in containers,obviously they go in as well,but I never see them again.Wonder where they go.?do you think they die off,if their food supply has gone?

Reading these notes has reminded me of when I was using a bucket,just inside the greenhouse, with the door wide open,when a head came up over the quite high fence,to ask if I had seen their cat. I never see the neighbours normally.

Ha ha, justvera - I have been similarly caught out in a shed by the decorator...

Red brandling worms don't live in soil, only in decaying vegetable matter. When we tip them out onto the soil, they do die (unless the soil is full of organic matter) but they may leave eggs which will survive until there are conditions suitable for them to hatch. (more organic matter).
They are amazing creatures as they come back in such numbers when you simply place a piece of black plastic over an area of grassland or garden.
They transform all that vegetable waste matter into beautiful compost full of plant nutrients.
Using them for fishing is just plain ingratitude on our behalf!

Justvera,this made me laugh,as I can picture the facial expressions of both of you Lol...so funny...
Bamboo..Why,was he wanting to use the bucket too?ha ha...Maybe he wanted the bucket to wash his brushes in!!!
Bertiefox..Thanks for explaining that,as I had been curious .We aways seem
to find an answer on here,which is great.:o)

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