An Obsession with Home Produced Compost

There really is nothing quite so satisfying than recycling food, garden waste and suitable packaging waste, into the most amazing compost to feed back to your garden soil – perfect! I literally would not be without a compost heap of some sort and there is a way making it in almost any size garden.

It is ridiculously easy to produce dark brown, crumbly, nutrient-rich soil-like compost but there are a few rules to follow.

What to put on your compost pile:

The most important thing is to put the right items in and to get the balance right between ‘green’ and ‘brown’ items.

Green waste includes – kitchen waste including raw fruit and vegetable peelings, teabags, grass clippings, foliage cut back from garden plants and home compostable food bags or post wrapping. These are rich in nitrogen and break down quickly.

Brown waste includes – egg cardboard boxes, egg shells, cardboard packaging (remove the tape and staples first), scrunched up paper and fallen leaves. These are rich in carbon and break down more slowly.

The balance between ‘green’ and ‘browns’ is important as too much green waste can lead to a wet slimy pile that becomes smelly. Too much brown and the pile will be too dry and will not break down. It is best to add some of each alternately if you can. This is quite important in a closed bin.  Otherwise, add the material you have, when you have it and make sure that you mix the layers as best as you can by tweaking it with a garden fork, if it is an open bin. Avoid putting thick layers of grass cuttings in at any one time without being able to mix the heap as these will surely turn to a fetid slimy mess!

As a general rule, if material to be added is chopped up into smaller pieces prior to adding to the pile, the quicker they will break down.

What NOT to put on your compost pile:

Plastics, glass and metals will not break down and are not suitable. Perennial weeds and particularly their roots and weed seed heads will make the final compost weedy. Large, thick woody plant stems and can be added but take a long time to break down. Avoid adding any diseased garden material, eg. Rose leaves with black spot. Also, never add dog or cat poo or meat and cooked foods as this will lead to smelly compost and will attract pests.

Turning Compost

To help the heap/pile compost more quickly it really is beneficial to turn it as often as you can. Admittedly I only get to mine twice a year but then I am able to give a good mix with a garden fork when I add new material. Turning it helps to aerate the pile leading to faster composting.

Using your compost

The compost is ready when it resembles rich brown soil. The time this will take really depends on what has been added, whether the heap has been turned every few months and the balance of green to brown material. Then comes the most satisfying part – using your compost!

I use mine to improve the soil in my garden, in the vegetable beds and to augment bought compost for my pots. Home produced compost is just amazing at improving soil quality helping it to retain moisture, improving drainage in clay soils, helping to supress weeds and reducing the need to use additional chemical fertilisers.

The best time to apply mulch is either in the Autumn when the majority of plants are beginning to die back – better in areas where you have a lot of early spring bulbs- or in mid-to late spring before annual weeds have started to germinate and the majority of herbaceous plants have started to come into growth. Applying mulch in the depths of winter can lead to it remaining colder for longer and delaying plant growth. It is also important to mulch when there is moisture in the soil.