Composting
COMPOST :Natures ultimate recycling
Want to make your plants thrive and help the planet at the same time?? Then composting is the way to go.
It is the ultimate in recycling-- nature’s way of breaking down food and garden waste into a crumbly pile full of goodness. Once added back into our gardens it creates a rich, friable soil that provides loads of nutrients and micro-organisms for healthy growth of our plants, trees and veges. It helps to retain moisture in the soil, can improve aeration in cloggy soils and will suppress weeds when added as a layer of mulch. Your plants will love it!!
Things you will need
-A container to compost in. All sorts of options here, ranging from a dedicated composting bin or tumbler purchased from a store, to building your own using pallets or recycled wood. Have a look online for some creative options, limited only by imagination (and materials, budget and skill of course!)
-Sunny position in the garden. Composting requires some heat from the sun to keep the process going. A cold, wet heap will take much longer to break down. Make sure there is easy access to put material into, turn the heap if you need and of course to get the finished compost out.
-Composting material. An ideal compost pile is made by building up layers of brown (dry) material such as dry leaves, twigs, cardboard, newspaper, and green (fresh) material such as fruit and vege scraps, lawn clippings, coffee grounds, egg shells and teabags.
Start with a layer of sticks on the ground, and if you have some finished compost then add a few handfuls to help get the process started. Then simply add layers of green and brown material until the bin is full. Ideally add more brown material than green. This allows air within the layers, which helps breakdown the material. The compost pile can get stinky if too much green is added.
You can also add in pet fur or fleece, untreated sawdust or wood shavings, and chopped up seaweed. Don’t forget those autumn leaves that gather in the local park, they are a great addition to compost.
Avoid adding meat, bones, or dairy products, as these will attract pests.
Make sure it is kept damp, and you can turn the pile from time to time if you like. This will speed up the decomposition.
Your compost should be ready to use within a few months.
It is best dug into the garden or added around the dripline of your trees and shrubs. Avoid piling it up against the trunks of trees and shrubs as it will risk rotting them.
Your plants and the planet will love you for it!!