Composting dog hair

In a recent series  of blogs, I have been starting to look at the composting of wool and am currently following the progress of some packing wool as it decomposes in the bin.

 Today I would like to look at the composting of dog hair.  If you have a breed of dog that sheds its coat generously throughout the year you are likely to have a significant  amount after grooming and as tumbleweed about the house.  Hair is a good green being high in nitrogen but is slow to compost. It is best added to the bin in small amounts and  mixed with other greens. The photo shows two days’ worth of hair from my two  Clumber spaniels and this will be covered with runner bean plants that have be pulled from the garden at the end of their season.  This will be watered and then turned in a couple of days when the material has reached 40-60⁰C . It will then be turned whenever the temperature starts to fall for the next month. More on the runner beans in the next blog in the Composting Year series to follow shortly. Previous entries on wool at www.caryoncomposting.com