| Garden
compost is plant matter such as kitchen waste, hedge
clippings, grass cuttings, cardboard etc that has decomposed and become an important supply of
home made compost suitable for top dressing, potting compost, soil improver and more. |
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Here to buy compost bins and wormeries. |
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| A good garden
compost needs to be nutrient rich so keeping an eye on what
goes in your compost bin is good practice, a mixture of
nitrogen rich materials (grass cuttings, soft plant matter
and kitchen waste) needs to be mixed with a mixture of
carbon rich materials (bark, cardboard and paper) to a ratio
of 1:2. Grass clippings need to be mixed with other
materials to avoid compaction and stagnation. |
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In summer,
compost can be used to top dress your borders (mulching) to help
retain moisture and to keep roots cool. |
| Air and water are needed to break down the
plant material. During this process heat is produced which will
destroy weeds and disease spores. The amount of heat produced varies
according to the size of your bin or heap. |
| Compost heaps
can aerated by turning the heap or using a specifically
designed compost
aerator tool. |
| Do not put any roots onto
the compost heap as these may harbour disease. Spring to early
summer waste will produce good compost for the autumn. |
| In a very wet
season cover the heap or composter with polythene to prevent
the materials getting waterlogged. |
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| Grass cuttings, hay, kitchen waste
including tea bags (some modern tea bags use plastic bags and these
need to split open to access the tea), leaves, manure, straw, weeds (avoid pernicious
weeds and weeds gone to
seed), wood chips, saw dust, shredded paper, human and animal hair,
corn cobs and stalks, twigs, coffee grounds, raw fruit, comfrey
leaves, cardboard, egg boxes, gerbil/hamster/rabbit bedding. |
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waste, plastics, pernicious weeds, bones, fatty foods, human waste,
diseased plants, chemically treated wood, cooked food, coal and coke
ash, cat litter, glossy magazines, baby nappies. Meat and dairy
items will start to smell bad unless your compost
heap/bin is tended to regularly and is of sufficient
temperature to break them down. It may help to speed up
the decomposing process if these items were blended
first. |
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Wormeries |
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A Wormery is an easy, efficient system of converting
food waste into liquid feed and rich organic compost
through the natural action of worms. The Wormery is
divided up into a number of chambers, one of which
houses the worms. Drop your daily kitchen waste into the
bin, the worms feed on the food waste and convert it
into concentrated liquid feed and Bio-rich organic
compost. |
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The wormery
can handle ordinary kitchen waste such as peelings,
cooked and uncooked scraps, teabags, eggshells, paper
kitchen towels, even shredded newspaper etc. It will
produce a strong, nutrient rich liquid feed which you
dilute with water prior to use as an excellent plant
food for house plants, garden flowers, shrubs,
vegetables or as a lawn feed, and a rich organic
compost. |
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Buy
worms for your wormery. |
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The History of
Composting |
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Throughout history the art of
composting has played its role in many societies with references
made to inscriptions on tablets during the Akkadian Dynasty
(2329BC - 2120BC) to the writings from the early Roman era AD23
- 79.
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In 1940 Sir Albert Howard made the
breakthrough when he published a paper called 'An Agricultural
Testament'. This English botanist had spent 29 years in India as
an advisor originally sent to pass on his knowledge of western
techniques and found that the techniques already being used
there were superior to his own ways. Based at a government
funded farm at Indore he went on to modernise and revolutionise
their methods and created the Indore technique which changed the
face of composting. |
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The Indore technique is a method of
making compost that comprises the fundamental basics needed. A
layer of leaves and weeds, a smaller layer of manure then a
layer of topsoil repeated until the heap was of a big enough
size, kept moist and turned regularly was deemed to be the best
way of getting a quality compost. |
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Successful
Composting |
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| Compost
plays a huge part of everyday farming and more so nowadays in household gardening. Generally people who compost now
do not use heaps or have parts of their land specifically for
compost as compost bins are available. Compost bins work just as
well as long as the produce that goes into them is suitable. |
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| A
standard office shredder makes recycling card
and paper quicker and easier, definitely one of
the best purchases I made last year. |
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Depending on how long you wish to wait for your compost will
determine how much effort you need to put in. Good quality
compost can be obtained in up to three months however if you
wish Mother Nature to do her thing while you sit back and relax
expect to wait up to a year. |
| Click
Here to buy compost bins and wormeries. |
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| When
choosing the container in which you will be doing your
composting it is a matter of personal choice. There are
wooded compost bins available which look more natural and
seem to fit into gardens better but they can be slightly
less productive as plastic ones, if you do not tend to them,
as they do not hold the moisture as well. Wooden compost
bins will require a bit of diligence to ensure your compost
does not dry out. Also if the slats on wooden boxes are too
far apart they can allow heat to escape which will also
lower the productivity of the waste. Wire mesh bins can be used
for composting certain materials but not for multi purpose as
they allow too much heat escape. They are however useful on a
large scale as they will hold enough material together to
generate heat as long as they have a lid or cover on. Any
container that you look at should be bottomless preferably to
allow natural organisms such as bacteria, worms and insects to
roam freely around the waste. All containers should be used
following manufacturers guidelines to ensure maximum results.
Once you have chosen the type of container you will be using you
need to choose a site for it. It should be sited on soil or
grass but also close to the house for easy access. |
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| Making Garden
Compost |
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| The
perfect garden compost should contain a mix of carbon rich
material such as shredded paper and bark and nitrogen rich
material such as grass clippings. Use thin layers of grass
clippings to increase air circulation and shred any large pieces
of wood to aid decay. If it is not possible for you to shred the
woody bits add them anyway and when you come to use your compost
simply put them back in the next batch. Add to this the kitchen
waste from the above list and you should be well on your way to
making compost that will look crumbly, dark and smelling sweet.
If you require the compost process to be speeded up then more
nitrogen is needed and although you can buy this in the form of
a chemical organic gardeners know the best natural source is
from manure. Alternate levels of organic matter and manure for
the best results. Heat is a major factor in creating the perfect
compost but it does not necessarily have to come from the
sun. |
| The heap should heat itself up within a couple of
weeks and turning or agitating the soil will aid the process by
allowing the heat to move around the pile. Your compost should
not smell if it does it means you have an imbalance in the pile.
Too much nitrogen and you get a whiff of ammonia simply add more
carbon and less manure if that is what you are using. Too little
air and you get a whiff of rotten eggs simply turn your compost
to aid circulation. A general rule of thumb is to also balance
the moist products you put in with the dry ones. You don't want
your compost drying out nor do you want it to be a soggy mess.
It should always look wet but not soggy. If you think it is
drying out either add water or add more grass clippings or
kitchen waste. If you think it is veering towards the soggy side
then add more newspaper and cardboard. By combining equal
amounts of brown and green waste you will achieve an ideal mix
and it won't take long before this balancing act becomes second
nature to you. |
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Compost
heap on a frosty morning. The rising steam shows that
the bacterial action in the compost heap is
exothermic. |
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Photograph
© Andrew
Dunn. |
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| Using
Natural Assistance |
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| Worms
are seen by some as a pest but they prove that your garden is
healthy and thriving. Worms help to loosen the soil allowing air
and water to circulate more freely thus providing a better
environment for your soil. A worm's excretion is made up of high
levels of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous which soil needs
to be productive. Using worms in your compost will provide good
air and water circulation, will provide essential nutrients
needed to break down matter and will also prevent pests and
diseases from taking hold. Worms also speed up the composting
process so having a wormery is a good way of ensuring quality
compost. If using a wormery it is important to get the correct
worm to put in it. Earthworms are usually found in the garden
and live quite deep so their job is mainly tending the flower
beds and vegetable plots. Composting worms can be bought and
your local garden centre or online supplier can offer
advice on the best type to use. Worms will populate themselves
in relation to their environment so you will never end up with
too many. When buying a wormery and the worms to go in it, it is
essential to follow the manufacturers guidelines so that your
worms do not die and that you get maximum results from
them. |
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| Composting
in the 21st Century |
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is easy today to get started composting on whatever scale you
need as there is so much advice out there and places to get
equipment and accessories from. Even properties that have the
smallest gardens can compost adequately. Biodegradable bags,
composting sacks, kitchen caddy's, soils sifters and organic
accelerators to name but a few are all on the market aiming to
make your composting experience stress free. Of course the die
hard few out there will continue to compost with maximum effort
using tried and tested methods but for those beginners or for
those who have little time on their hands there is nothing wrong
with cutting a few corners. In today's ecological state it is
vital that we all do our bit to help our planet and composting
is a large part of that. We already recycle all of our goods
with the help of our local councils so why not recycle the waste
we have and turn it into something to help not only our gardens
but our planet. Composting in a garden is much more efficient
than sending it all to a landfill, as landfills do not offer the
correct environment for the waste to decompose correctly. They
compact the waste so much that air can not infiltrate the heap
thus creating a release of the gas methane which is harmful to
the planet's atmosphere. In a garden the correct amount of air
can circulate thus decreasing the methane released and giving
you a perfect product at the end for use in your garden. It is
vital that we all do our bit to lower greenhouse gases and
composting is a perfect way of doing this whilst ensuring your
garden is given luxury treatment with this nutrient rich
food. |
| To
pee or not to pee: That is the question. |
| Allotment
holders like me are used to peeing into a bucket
(sorry), but what do we do with it? Well, its nitrogen
rich and great for speeding up the rotting process of
your compost. Especially if you have a lot of woody
material. Add it to your heap in small quantities
and keep an eye on the pH levels. Remember urine is 95%
water and its free. If your still not convinced,
nitrogen compost accelerators are available at your
local garden centre or online. |
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