What can we use to make compost?
In principle, any animal or plant waste or residue; for example:
Food remains:
Coffee grounds, crushed eggshells, fruit and vegetable peel, cooked food, bread, etc.
Garden waste:
Grass, straw, dry leaves, weeds, withered flowers, etc. If you use grass, it either has to be fairly dry, mixed with other materials or placed in a fine layer. Otherwise the compost will be too damp and difficult to ventilate. Only a limited amount of straw can be used, as it is very low in nitrogen and decomposes very slowly. It is a good idea to mix it with mature manure.
Trees and bushes:
Some of these are difficult to descompose because they contain very acidic substances; they include pine, eucalyptus, olive, horse-chestnut, poplar, lentisk and conifers in general. The remains of woody plants are only used to increase ventilation when the compost has been broken down to a certain extent, as they are difficult to descompose. If necessary, they can ben cut into small pieces or even better passed trhough a biocrusher and turned into shavings.
Animal dung:
Horse, sheep, goat and pig. Animal dung must always be well cured (mature); recent dung should never be used. Chicken and pigeon dung should be used in moderation as it contains a high quantity of mineral such as nitrogen, wich could become toxic.
