composting failure

owd potter

Hiya.
Was intending to mulch my borders this afternoon using garden compost made last year, only to find that it hasn't composted, and it is basically a pile of dry grass and leaves.
I used a standard plastic garden composting bin and thought that I had been quite diligent with layering of green and brown materials and also watered it occasionally.
The bin stands in shade and the lid has been mostly kept on.
What did I do or not do wrong?

Hostafan1

I'd say not enough moisture. 
Stick it back in and water it. It'll get going again.

JennyJ

Too dry.  Last summer's hot weather will have dried it out faster than normal and would have meant that the grass clippings had less moisture in them than usual to start with. A bit of soil helps, to introduce wee beasties, bacteria etc that help the composting process, but what's on the roots of weeds etc is probably enough.

owd potter

Thanks guys,
That does make sense Jenny when I think about it. 
We are paying for that good summer now in unexpected ways…
Owd

Stevedaylilly

Hi 
i would give it a good mix up and water in but do not over water as this will cause a much of a problem as it drying out. I wouldn’t mix any tree leaves in to the mix as they decompose at a different rate. Normally garden compost imo need a bit of time to decompose. I have 2 large bins. One was filled up from March to September of last year and the other from September to March of this year.
That means that last years compost has been decomposing is ready to be used now 
You can accelerate the composting rate by using compost maker but normally under normal circumstances a 12 month period gives you a good yield

Lyn

Once you get the balance right you will make compost very quickly, we make enough in the year to cover all the borders in our garden by the winter, we have a 2 month turn over. The leaves have kept it dry, you usually put those somewhere separate. 

owd potter

Thanks all for the comments and suggestions.
Since starting off compost last year in the plastic bin I have also constructed a second bin from old pallets which is open to the weather and which I was thinking would provide me with alternating sources for compost. I have also made a leaf basket intended to collect my leaves for leaf mould, but which may not be large enough I have found.
So I have some options now but what would be the best way to utilise them?
Should I water and return the failed compost into the existing bin, or include it in the new pallet bin and then restart afresh into the plastic bin. Or should I use the plastic bin for leaves (I do get a lot of leaves) 
Owd.

madpenguin

Were there any worms in your compost?
They help in the decomposing process so if too dry they may have been absent.

owd potter

I did not see any. Just dry vegetation.
But I only extracted a couple of shovels worth from the access port. 

DampGardenMan

Our closed plastic "dalek" did just the same. I have now started watering it and am hoping something will happen. Our wooden bins, which will get wet when it rains (not that it did much last year) are doing a lot better.