How to Make Compost to Gladden the Hearts of a Worm#

2 - Practicalities
(# worms have 5 pairs of hearts I like worms)

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In a Nutshell

• It is better if you can make a large heap of compost in one go

• Shred the material that you add to the heap, this is one of the best things you can do make quality compost.

• Make sure you mix brown and green material together, the exact proportions are can vary quite a bit, just make sure that there's always some of each and always more brown than green.

• Put some kind of lid on the compost heap to keep the rain off and for insulation. Even if you make the compost in a proprietary "bin" with its own lid, cover the top of the compost (inside the bin) with a piece of old carpet or polystyrene to help with insulation.

• Water very well initially and keep moist afterwards, but protect from rain.

• Push a broom handle into the heap after a couple of weeks when it has settled to open it up to the air.

• Turn the heap over once complete, say after 1, 6 and 12 months. If you can manage it more than this, then all the better, this is the principle behind compost "tumblers" that are used to turn compost in a bin or barrel on a daily basis.

• To make compost in the best possible way you really need two identically sized heaps, one next to the other. One that you are adding to and one that is rotting down gently after the initial heating phase is over.