A CLOSER LOOK AT THE COMPOST IN YOUR GARDEN
C
ontinuing on from last month’s article about feeding the soil
with nutrients, we will now talk about the importance of composting. Compost is decayed organic material and it can be created from garden and vegetarian kitchen food waste. T ese materials create the foundation of composting that can be developed using diff erent ingredients throughout the year. Composting is a great soil conditioner and is free to make. T e basis of it is brown coloured garden materials (for example, leaves and woody material)
added to green
material (for example, grass and food scraps) at an equal ratio. It is very environmentally friendly as
although some
councils off er green waste collection, it involves the use of transportation whereas home composting will more than likely not involve pollution. To really develop the compost the extra ingredients needed are air, water and micro-organisms
such as earth worms and fungi.
T e fi rst place to start is by choosing
a your
and how you are going to contain
composting site compost. You
can choose to compost in a composting bin or in an open pile and the diff erence is that the
bin usually composts quicker as it retains more heat
ready when it is crumbly, not slimy
and moisture. According to the RHS website a compost bin which is less than 1 cubic meter is less eff ective. Another important factor in considering where to place your compost site is temperature. Having the compost in the shade or light shade will be more eff ective as the micro-organisms within the compost prefer a constant condition rather than extreme diff erences. Now that you have the site organised, it is
“Compost is ”
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the building of the compost which involves combining the green matter and brown matter in an equal measure however, not using all of
the
same materials. T is is because the compost needs variety; grass cuttings, leafy plants, fruit and vegetable cuttings, straw, plant stems combined together is an example of a healthy composting recipe. Maintaining your compost throughout the year involves adding to it, turning it and keeping it moist in dry weather stretches.
Garden compost can take between six months and two years to reach ripeness and it is ready when the compost is a crumbly, soil-like texture. When I last turned my compost it was slimy and this usually indicates that
it has had too
little air and too much water. I will look to cover the compost with a covering and add more brown material to balance it out. Daisey McQuaid
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