Composting tips

COMPOSTING TIPS

Composting garden waste is a great way of producing free, nutrient rich compost soil that can be used on vegetable gardens and flower borders. It reduces the need for trucks to come and take away waste. Here is some composting tips for beginners, plus some composter options below.

1. You can add kitchen waste as well garden prunings. Avoid adding non plant matter, such as meat, and fish scraps, as this can attract rats.

2. If you have a shredder use it to turn twigs etc in small pieces, avoid putting large pieces of woody stems in composters as they will take forever to decompose.

3. Composting works best when conditions remain constant, a good place in the garden for your composter, is in light shade.

4. Moisture also helps, so do not let the contents get dry, but at the same time, do not waterlog the composter. Ideally it should be damp to the touch.

5. Site your compost bin directly onto a soil or lawn surface, as this allows insects, worms and microbes to access the bin, and can help breakdown the rotting matter. It also helps with drainage.

6. From your home you can add tea leaves and bags, coffee grounds, egg shells, finished cut flowers, vegetable peelings, old houseplants, natural corks from bottles, plain paper bags, and your shredded Christmas tree. DO NOT add dog poo, cat litter tray contents, vegetable oils, bread, dairy products, bones, or cat / dog food.

7. The contents of your bin should be a mix of green and brown waste. About 30 to 50% should be green, such as weeds, dead annual flowers, grass cuttings etc, with the rest being brown waste, such as plain brown cardboard, straw, wood chippings, saw dust etc. This mix will maximise the composting process.

8. Avoid one material dominating the mix in the composter, and ensure the contents is turned occasionally, as aeration is required.

Compost bins available at www.gardenis.co.uk