Compost bin layers

You can use anything that is capable of rotting down, lucious I put carboard, paper, dead plant stems, leaves, cut grass. Bunny Hay would be ideal as it should have Rabbit poo and urine in it, all of which helps composting and rotting down while containing nutrients good for the garden.

 

I, honestly, wouldn't worry about putting the compost in in strict layers, lucius I now have three large plastic compost bins and put material in as it becomes available thereby making a mixture of stuff and did the same with my previous 35 year old compost. So, I would advice you to forget the layer method and just put your stuff on as it comes.

My previous compost heap, lucius, was completely open and only held in on 3 sides and gave me literally tons of compost over the decades. For a compost heap to work you need, (a) air (b) moisture to keep it damp (c) microbes to break the compost down which will be in the compost naturally if you add, say,, old used commercial compost or, as I do, a spade full of soil when you first start a compost heap If your compost bin is placed on soil then the bacteria will be introduced naturally from the bottom. My compost bins are placed on concrete slabs so I introduced the Bacteria by adding soil and old used commerical compost onto the first stuff I put in the Compost Bin. (d) You also need heat, but that is added naturally by the Bacteria as it starts to break down the compost. It's also a sign that your compost heap is working properly.
There are many ways to make successful compost heap but, but like gardening, it's not always best to be influenced by an "expert" in a book. I tend to keep the lids on my compost bins open during the Spring, Summer and Autumn and I always check to see that they are not too dry.
You also don't have to be too afraid, or selective, in what goes on the compost heap....just so long as it will rot down, amd os not food ewxcept salads etc.

My compost bins have large hatches at the bottom and I can examine the bottom portion through it and it's it's ready then I use it without waiting for the rest to be usable. Turning compost in a bin can be awkward, unless it's one of those types that can be rotated, so I never do. So long as you have introduced material that will rot down, don't let it dry out, and the Bacteria is doing it's job then things should be fine. You could add a commercial "activatoe" hasten the composting but it's only Nitrogen with trace elements so I would just let Nature get on what it does best.

 

I think I might sound as though I'm throwing what you might consider to be the ideal rules on how to compost, lucius, out of the window, but you don't need a really sunny site. Why does the postion need to be sunny when all the action is taking place in the darkness of the inside of the Bin?
I have friends who have compost heaps in partial shade, full shade and even under a large tree!!
Two of my Bins are in the open because the position is easier to have at the end of the patio but not becasue they need the Sun to operate. The third bin is in shade most of the dayand works well. Heat will be provided by the bacteria when they start breaking down the material.





Don't forget to keep the compost from drying out and to keep it slightly damp to aid the Bacteria. It's good to hear you're starting to fill your Bins