Making your own compost from kitchen and garden waste
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Why
make compost at home? |
| There are many reasons why it is a good idea to compost at home. Composting helps the environment by:
Composting
your own waste can save you money by reducing
the need to buy mulches, soil improvers and fertilisers. |
What
is composting? |
Composting
is a natural process carried out by millions of tiny creatures,
most of which are too small to be seen with the naked eye. These
creatures include microscopic bugs, fungi, insects and worms which
breakdown your compostable matter into a crumbly soil like material. |
How
do I make good compost? |
Successful composting needs three key ingredients:
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What
can I compost? |
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Basically, anything that was once alive can be composted but there are some things that are best left out of the your composting bin. Remember you to have a balance of greens and browns and avoid adding too much of any one type of material in one go. GOOD
Remember
that bugs
prefer little bits, so try to break up any large bits of twig, or
whole fruit and vegetables so that they can get to work straight
away. BAD |
Where
should I put my compost bin? |
Your
compost bin should be placed on bare soil or grass, so that worms
can get in and moisture can drain out. Your compost bin should not
be placed on concrete or paved areas. You should be able to get
to your bin easily, leave enough room so that you can mix your compost
and get the finished compost out. Ideally,
it should be in a partially sunny spot but don't worry if it's in
the shade it will still compost but at a leisurely pace!
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What do I do now? |
Collect
your fruit and vegetable scraps in your a 'kitchen bin' and every
couple of days empty it into your compost bin. You might find it
useful to line your kitchen bin with a bit of newspaper to absorb
moisture.
Composting takes very little effort, all you need to do is add to
your bin regularly and give it a stir occasionally to add some air.
If it gets too dry, add more greens or sprinkle with water and if
it gets too wet add more scrunched-up paper and give it a stir. |
What
about the Green Waste Collections? |
As
kerbside "green waste" recycling collections spread throughout
the country you may wonder how compatable this new initiative is
with home composting. We believe the two methods work well together
- there are many things that you would not wish to include in youtr
home compost but are ideal for the green waste collection such as
diseased plants and weeds. Additionally there is the larger woody
waste that would take a very long time to compost at home (twigs
thicker than your little finger should be in the Green Waste rather
than the home compost) and an excess of grass cuttings can cause
problems in a compost bin (it adds too much nitgrogen and moisture
turning your heap into a slimy, smelly mess). All of these undesirables
can happily go into your council scheme's collection bin where they
will be composted in large heaps at a central site for processing
using specialist industrial equipment and tight process controls
to ensure a proper composting takes place and a quality end product
is produced. |
More
Information for Home Composters |