Quote:
Originally Posted by Monkey Orchid  The only thing that no-one here has mentioned so far is natural compost activators... I wondered what experience people have had with these? I've heard the following things recommended as additions to compost heaps, to help with the composting process:
comfrey leaves
nettle leaves
seaweed / seaweed solution
6X / bird droppings
human urine
Anyone had any experience of any of these? |
Activators, natural or otherwise are likely to have a limited impact, although the effects are going to be dependent upon the type of system and the type material going into the system. The only really obvious useful effect would come from adding a nitrogen source to a well aerated system that does not have a high worm population. In that case the additional nitrogen will encourgae aerobic bacteria to continue energetically digesting material when otherwise the available nitrogen would be depleted. Adding garden lime to a compost system where the ph balance has moved toward the acidic can also revamp the aerobic bacteria which tend to shut down in more acidic environments. Beyond that I'm doubtful of there being any benefits to using activators and those that are commercially available are probably only worth an investment where very large volumes of material are being dealt with such as municpal parks etc.
For most domestic uses, adding more green material such comfry and nettles, or using a wet activators may well cause problems rather than improving the finished compost, but these sorts of activators will work for some people in some circumstances.
CM