"Sue" wrote in message
reenews.net...

wrote
Janet Baraclough wrote:

As you fill it, include some cardboard screwed up into fist sized
balls (this will make air spaces).

I'd favour screwed up newspaper too but something coarse will help
aeration a lot.

I usually add cardboard inner rolls and plain(ish) torn packaging, but
is there any harm in putting printed card or coloured cardboard packing
in as well, as long as it isn't coated with anything too glossy? It may
as well go in the heap if it's ok.

And don't ever include any meat or animal
fat scraps as they will stink like, er, a decomposing corpse.

And attract lots of flies too.

One other thing that may help with a small heap is to use a starter
culture like the proprietory Garotta stuff to help get it going in the
right way. With luck you only need to start it once per season.
Unnecessary with a large or established heap.

I did make quite decent compost when I began with a fairly small dalek
type bin, even without any bought activators. A turn out and a good
mixing every now and then seemed to be the key. What's actually in
Garotta btw?

--
Sue

Garotta contains (amongst other things) ammonium sulphate--i.e. just a
source of nitrogen.