Advice Needed. SIMPLE COMPOST HEAP

[NorthofEngland]

For the last few weeks I've been separating my refuse. Tea bags, Potato peel, vegetable scrapings, egg shells....have gone into 12 litre buckets.
I now have 3 of them that are full.

WHAT'S A VERY SIMPLE COMPOSTER - That I could construct?
I have a spare plastic garbage bin (the 4ft high, square type with 2 wheels and a swing open lid).
Could this be used???
Would I need to put holes in it?

COMPOST TIPS
I have a pet Chinchilla. Would it's cage refuse (droppings, hay, dried food [seeds, pellets, etc]
be beneficial to the compost mix?

ANY LINKS TO USEFUL SITES/THREADS WOULD BE APPRECIATED.

 

[Jack Harer]

You need to be able to turn the heap periodically. A large rubbermaid tub would be preferable.
You ought to be able to use the chinchilla cage litter, depending on what the shavings are. Im not sure about the suitability of cedar (if the shavings are cedar). The cedar aromatics may be a problem. I've never used cage shavings as compost before.
OOPS, I see you said hay. Yes. No prob, in fact if you use alafalfa hay, you are GOLDEN!

 

[LIBERTYCHICKEN]

http://www.compostbinplans.com/compost-tumbler-plans/ - Compost tumberler plans , most of these plans are for 55gal. drum's but they can eazly be modyfied for smaller or larger applications

but you dont even need to do any more than pile it up and let nature do it's thing / it just goes faster if you flip the pile

 

[NorthofEngland]

http://www.compostbinplans.com/compost-tumbler-plans/ - Compost tumberler plans , most of these plans are for 55gal. drum's but they can eazly be modyfied for smaller or larger applications

but you dont even need to do any more than pile it up and let nature do it's thing / it just goes faster if you flip the pile

I can just make a simple pile and, occasionally, turn it?
The UK weather is relentlessly cold, dark and wet at the moment.
Won't that cause problems?

 

[NorthofEngland]

You need to be able to turn the heap periodically. A large rubbermaid tub would be preferable.
You ought to be able to use the chinchilla cage litter, depending on what the shavings are. Im not sure about the suitability of cedar (if the shavings are cedar). The cedar aromatics may be a problem. I've never used cage shavings as compost before.
OOPS, I see you said hay. Yes. No prob, in fact if you use alafalfa hay, you are GOLDEN!

Cheers
There's no wood shavings.
And the hay is leftovers from before the Guinea Pig died.

It's mostly LOTS of tiny, hard little droppings
and left over dried food.

 

[frizzlegooch]

Yes cedar is a natural insecticide so having it there would slow the organic breakdown.

I just wanna get a big ol barrel cut a hole in the bottom, put a grill to hold the solid material up from the new soil and get a broomhandle to stir.

Goddam -33 Celsius tho

 

[frizzlegooch]

I can just make a simple pile and, occasionally, turn it?
The UK weather is relentlessly cold, dark and wet at the moment.
Won't that cause problems?

I think the more rotting the better man, as far as rain goes but the cold slows growth im sure.

just make sure your pile doesnt wash away..

 

[LIBERTYCHICKEN]

I can just make a simple pile and, occasionally, turn it?
The UK weather is relentlessly cold, dark and wet at the moment.
Won't that cause problems?

Sure you can just make a simple pile and occasionally turn it , thats how its ben done for 100's of years , Just the more you turn it the faster it decomposses , the speed it decomposses makes very little to no difference once it is finshed
Many backyard farmers just take 4 pallets screw them together in a square and fill with waste products , some smaller pilles use chicken wire , Its better to cover with a tarp but not nessary , and as always the more you turn the pile the faster it decomposes , Thats why the barrels are popular , their simple to turn with no tools

I dont see a problem with your weather conditions , it will just take longer at a coller temp., The moisture will not be a problem , as long as you cover the pile (It will most likely be fine even if left open), most piles even require to have more water added to them every now and then , becouse it helps speed up the process as well as the decompision process build heat and drives the moisture out, the more turning the faster the process, the more heat builds up , Some large compost facilitys can even have their piles catch on fire

 

[LIBERTYCHICKEN]

Cheers
There's no wood shavings.
And the hay is leftovers from before the Guinea Pig died.

It's mostly LOTS of tiny, hard little droppings
and left over dried food.

Likely straw not hay , many people confuse them, hay is food, Straw is bedding

Most people dont like Hay in a compost pile it contains seeds which can make useing the post in certain areas a pain in the ass. (Straw does not contain these seeds)

 

[Brokeoldbloke]

For the last few weeks I've been separating my refuse. Tea bags, Potato peel, vegetable scrapings, egg shells....have gone into 12 litre buckets.
I now have 3 of them that are full.

WHAT'S A VERY SIMPLE COMPOSTER - That I could construct?
I have a spare plastic garbage bin (the 4ft high, square type with 2 wheels and a swing open lid).
Could this be used???
Would I need to put holes in it?

COMPOST TIPS
I have a pet Chinchilla. Would it's cage refuse (droppings, hay, dried food [seeds, pellets, etc]
be beneficial to the compost mix?

ANY LINKS TO USEFUL SITES/THREADS WOULD BE APPRECIATED.

Yes to all of the above. I have a old 60 gal rain barrel (looks like a trash can) that I use as composter. I use a screw type aerator to mix the compost in my bins. Its like a 3ft corkscrew. http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/08/52/13/70/03/0852137003061_500X500.jpg You can also just dump the compost out, mix it up, then shovel or fork it back in to the bin.

 

[Brokeoldbloke]

Also here is a link to U of C's hot composting method, commonly called the berkely method. Just don't believe the crap about finished compost in 2-3 wks. Good compost needs to mature for a couple of months IMO. http://vric.ucdavis.edu/pdf/compost_rapidcompost.pdf

 

[Jack Harer]

In my opinion, even a couple months is way overly optimistic. Most organic matter will take AT LEAST 6 months to completely break down. If you can still identify the contents of the compost heap, it aint ready. A more realistic expectation would be somewhere between 8 months to a year or more. The more you turn it (every couple months or so) the faster the process. The compost will create its own heat at the center of the pile.

 

[*BUDS]

Put a length of pvc with holes down the middle of the heap for aeration, you wont have to turn it much.

 

[Brokeoldbloke]

In my opinion, even a couple months is way overly optimistic. Most organic matter will take AT LEAST 6 months to completely break down. If you can still identify the contents of the compost heap, it aint ready. A more realistic expectation would be somewhere between 8 months to a year or more. The more you turn it (every couple months or so) the faster the process. The compost will create its own heat at the center of the pile.

I get good compost in about 3 months during the summer. Just depends on how you do it. I start with a full bin of material w/ 2 brown to 1 green ratio. I use leaves for the carbon and not wood or paper. Needs to be turned at least weekly for the 1st month. I get high temps for 1st 1-2 wks and gradual cooling for the next 2-3 wks. Then I let it mature turning every couple of wks for 2 months. Smells/looks like soil when finished.

 

[LIBERTYCHICKEN]

Put a length of pvc with holes down the middle of the heap for aeration, you wont have to turn it much.

If you put a removeable U-bend on top of the pipe and throw some shreaded news paper, scrap greens and such it will attract worms

It works well directly in the garden