COMPOSTING A BRIEF GUIDE

If you don't already make your own compost, now is the time to start. With all the restrictions on bonfires, and the possibility they will be tightened up even further, composting is becoming more and more crucial. And there really is no easier way of disposing of garden and kitchen waste than chucking it in the compost bin - unless, of course, you've got diseased material such as blight-ridden tomato plants that must either be burnt or sealed in a plastic bag and thrown into the skip.

 

WHAT TO COMPOST

Vegetable and fruit peelings, Tea leaves, coffee grounds, crushed egg shells.

All weeds (except for pernicious weeds - couch grass, bindweed, creeping buttercup)

Grass cuttings, evergreen clippings, leaves, prunings, straw and hay,

Hair (human and pet), Animal manure

Paper (scrunching it up creates air pockets which speeds up the process)

Nettles and comfrey (high in nitrogen, will speed up the process)

 

WHAT NOT TO COMPOST

Diseased plant material such as blighted potato halms or Tomatoes.

Cooked food or raw meat, as will attract animals such as rats.

Body fluids (so no used nappies or hankies, could carry disease)

Excrement (human, cat or dog, could carry disease).

Brightly coloured or shiny card or paper.

Hard objects, stones, glass, metal, plastic, Cleaning fluids and other household/garden chemicals.

 

HOW TO COMPOST

The composting process works all on its own. You don't need to add the products that garden centres sell. But, getting the composting process to work well, it needs heat, air and moisture.

To start composting, you can just throw things on a heap ö and if you keep it covered with old carpet, it will keep the heat in and the rainwater out. Better to use a container. You can make one yourself using wood, bricks, netting·. You could use an old dustbin or you could get a compost bin. The London Boroughs sometimes offer subsidised bins (see below).

TIPS:- If your compost looks slimy (which happens when there is a lot of grass) add newspaper. If it looks very dry, add water. Stir the rotting material (use a stick) from time to time.

 

USING HOME-MADE COMPOST

It should take 6-12 months to make a compost that is brown, crumbly, sweet smelling, and in no way resembles any of the things you made it from. Use as a mulch or soil improver. You can dig it into the soil, in late autumn or early spring, to improve the soil structure (it will act as a slow release fertiliser) or just spread on the surface and let the worms do the work! They will pull the mulch down and mix it into the soil.

More Info From:-

 

Compost.org