Making compost

If you leave living/dead plant material in a heap for long enough, it will rot down and become compost, returning to feed the earth. No science, no artfulness, no alchemy, no mystery really, all the work is done for you. The only rule I follow is to give it a good mix occasionally, ensuring there are no big piles of any one material in one place - mix it through to distribute it evenly, keep it open to the elements, and there you go.

What's in the picture is two years old, and has just been emptied out of the bins we are replacing. They were falling apart, having been in place for about 9 years now, so no complaints there. Once the site is cleared, I'll build a new one asap and off we go again!Everything goes on to mine - teabags, coffee grounds, wine making left overs, eggshells, old dishcloths, cotton clothing, wool and odd bits of otherwise useless fleece, paper, cardboard, grass, orange peel, spent hops, the lot. I don;t put naything cooked on, though, anbd try to avoid perennial weeds, although the heaps can get hot enough in the centre to destoy them, but I try to avoid where I can.

The picture shows it spread on one of the veg beds, now ready for planting.

Off to pick dandelions for wine in the glorious sunshine now :) Hope everyone's weather is as nice.