Hello,

I am looking to sort out my household and garden waste into compost.

It is a small household two adults and a puppy with a small garden.

What solution would you suggest to deal with all garden waste pre dominately grass in addition to kitchen waste and if possible cooked kitchen waste as well. Is possible to add dog poo to the compost?

Many thanks for your suggestions

Paul

Martin says...

Dear Paul

Many thanks for your recent enquiry regarding the best way to compost your garden and kitchen waste.

The best way of dealing with a small amount of compostable garden waste and peelings from the kitchen is to use a small composter - our Courtyard Composter  is ideal. Also well suited to the task is the 140 Litre ComposTumbler but whichever model you choose, it's essential to follow these important rules;

• Make sure you add an equal amount of 'green' and 'brown' material to the bin. Too much green (eg. grass clippings) will turn your compost into a slimy mess, so add plenty of paper, cardboard, tea bags, straw and hay for example to compensate.
  
• Be careful when adding cooked kitchen waste. Fruit and vegetable peelings are fine but steer well clear of meat, bones and dairy products; these will attract rats, and although this is not so much a problem with the relatively vermin-proof tumbler, you don't really want rodents nesting in your compost heap. The very best way of composting cooked kitchen waste is to use a wormery.
  
• Under no circumstances add dog or cat faeces to your compost heap. Viruses are contained in the poo which can cause serious health problems and you don't want to be handling or turning the compost containing these ingredients. However, litter from the rabbit/gerbil or hamster cage makes a great addition to the compost heap.    

Many thanks once again for your enquiry and best wishes with your home composting.
Martin