Help please for a newbie at Compost Heaps

[ohdearme]

Last year was my first and I was rather pleased. However this year I started in late September
and believe that I had the correct proportions of greens to browns, not too wet and I turn it regularly, Also I am not adding to it and it is covered, so I think I am doing it about right.

Two questions please.

I turned it on Saturday and it seems that it is mainly leaves and the green has disappeared.
Is this ok or have I gone wrong somewhere?

It was really hot a week before,this time no heat at all yet the level definitely dropped a bit.

I would love to have your comments,

Regards

 

[StephenStephen]

Hi there,

-When you say leaves - do you mean tree leaves?

-Also - what kind of greens are you putting in?

-My experience is that the heap will heat up, then gradually cool, dropping level all the while - I'm always amazed at how much it keeps dropping, even as I regularly top it up.

 

[JohnD]

Autumn leaves will rot down slowly into leaf mould, but the trees try to drain all the nutrients from them before they fall. They don't really compost, so don't load your heap with them. You can use the leaf mould as a soil improver. It may take a couple of years to decay. It doesn't heat up.

Prunings with green leaves do contain nutrients, and can be composted.

I find it an advantage to have two bays; fill up the first, when full turn it into the second bay, then start filling the first again. If the bays are the right size for your garden, by the time the first bay is full, the other one is ready for use, so when you have used it, you can turn the first bay into the now-empty one. As well as mixing and aerating it a bit, this put the newest material at the bottom, where it will be kept warm and will have the maximum time before it is used.

 

[ohdearme]

Yes Stephen, tree leaves, they are fallen Rusett Apple leaves, brown. The greens are food waste, vegetables egg shells, fruit, bread, no dairy or meat.

What do you think?

John I am not topping up, thanks for comments

Alan

 

[StephenStephen]

Hi Alan,
Basically it all sounds like it is working as it should. The greens will break down and turn brown.
I agree with John that it's best not to put too many tree leaves in the compost - they take much longer to break down, and will tend to slow the composting process down a bit - I tend to keep tree leaves wet in open topped bin bags and expect them to take longer than the composting process to turn into leaf mould (lovely stuff).
I tend to use quite a lot of cardboard for the browns, I keep it outside beforehand, so it's not dry, and is easier to tear, and put in small quantities ,and mix it with small amounts of lawn cuttings.
if you want to get your compost to heat up and work more quickly, then applying nitrogen in the form of household liquid activator, also known as liquid gold, helps, and also stops it getting too dry (as well as possibly saving on your indoor water bill).
...but I don't think there's anything wrong with a slower heap.

 

[ohdearme]

I am happy now, My mind is at rest thank you both
Best regards
Alan