Blog: turning garden rubbish into a priceless life-giver
The question I’ve asked myself most is ‘how do I make compost’? It’s been my greatest downfall as a gardener, and this year, I want to put that right. I imagine that those of you with large plots and a functioning composting area will be smirking with disdain.
Well, have a look at my garden layout and see how you get on! Being an end semi, my side/back garden is a long, narrow dog-leg – and it’s terraced. A wheelbarrow is a no-go, so everything has to be carried to the bins in trugs.
I did set up a composting area years ago, at the highest point of the side garden near the main road. It’s as far as possible from the pretty areas! Read about the Garden Grow Rotating Composter from Waltons.
Exterminate…
It has two wooden square bins plus a plastic ‘Dalek’ from the council. It became obvious very quickly that there was no room to work on this tiny terrace.
I started off with the best of intentions, but I wasn’t happy with the results. The wooden bins dried out quickly, so there was little decomposition. You need to turn compost monthly, but I found that difficult. The bin slats (a nightmare to put together, by the way) had a horrible habit of flying out.
Even worse was Dalek – easy to fill and turn, but impossible to get more than a trowel full out of the tiny door at the bottom. The only answer – lift the whole thing up and let the contents spill everywhere. Finally, turn it and shovel it back on the tiny space available. I have not emptied the damn thing once. I did get some viable compost out of the wooden beds, but not enough to make it worth my while. I’m ashamed to say, it became a dumping ground, and I hid it with a reed fence! How did I start to fix it? It’s a slow process, but here goes…
Buy the right kit
First, I bought a couple of new trugs, a bin with a lockable lid to keep finished compost in and two riddles (garden sieves). The £6.99 plastic one lasted for 2 sessions before breaking, so I splashed out on a metal one for £12.99. It doesn’t clog up with compost like the cheap one.
Riddles sieve out the lovely, crumbly compost from bits that haven’t broken down enough. You can just add those bits back to the top of the compost heap.
Clean up the mess!
Next followed hours of excavating the bricks, logs, branches, etc around the bins. Once I’d got to the bottom, there was a fair bit of usable compost plus some half-rotted material, which I added to the wooden bins.
Now the wood (which never did come in handy), assorted bags and gubbins have gone to the tip. I’ve cleared away the gravel and need a few paving slabs to make an open area to dig out compost onto. My finished compost is full of gravel – not great!
What can I put in a compost heap?
Ingredients are divided in green and brown waste. For more on the microbes and what goes on inside a compost heap, the book Good Soil will help.
Green waste (25%-50%)
- Green vegetation from the garden and grass clippings.
- Tree leaves (green).
- Some kitchen scraps (coffee grounds, lettuce, potato peelings, banana skin, etc).
- Vegetarian animal manure.
Brown waste (50%-75%)
- Chopped up prunings (large twigs take an age to rot down).
- Paper.
- Cardboard (plain).
- Untreated wood shavings or sawdust.
- Straw.
- Dead tree leaves.
NEVER compost these…
- Invasive or perennial weeds (bindweed, ivy, brambles, raspberry canes – they’ll grow in the compost).
- Colour print newspaper.
- Any food waste with animal fats or protein, which will encourage scavengers. Eggshells can be composted if thoroughly washed.
- Diseased plant remains.
- If in doubt, don’t add it!
Get in a routine
Add layers of green and brown waste. Do this as you garden, don’t leave it to fester in a trug or send it to the council recycling. I am very guilty of both of these. Turn the compost once a month – I have a little aerator from Darlac that makes this easier.
This will become compost in six months to two years, depending on what’s in it, how you look after it, what it’s made in and what time of year it is.
How do I know when compost is ready?
Well-rotted garden compost should be dark, friable and sweet-smelling. If it smells sour and is slimy, there’s too much green matter and too little air. Add more brown material, mix and leave it.
If it’s dry and there’s not much rotting down, add more green material and Garotta (this contains high levels of nitrogen, which can be added if you don’t have enough green stuff). Water the heap, mix and let the microbes do their bit.
Great composting ideas
I loved Liz Zorab’s pallet fencing with built-in compost bays (from her book Grounded) – cheap if you’re handy and have space. If you have a tiny garden, try the Hotbin, the Bokashi composter or a wormery.
I’ll be posting updates – hopefully the last time I’ll have to say to myself ‘how do I make compost’!
