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Make your own compost...it's easy.

Why should I compost?

You will end up with the best compost there is, better than anything you can buy at the garden centre. You will reduce local council landfill use, recycling and their associated transport costs and polluting factors. It will save you time in the garden, and reduce trips to the tip and time spent cleaning your car afterwards. Creating a heap is much quicker than chopping and bagging all your waste for collection or the tip. It's fun, easy and very satisfying.

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What can I Compost?

Ideally you want a mixture of 'Green' material (25-50%) and 'Brown' material (50-75%).

Greens: kitchen waste, grass clippings, annual weeds, old bedding plants, manure, uncollected garden fruit.

Browns: Shredded prunings, paper and cardboard, dead leaves, straw. a small amount of

wood ash.

Is there anything I shouldn't compost?

Pathogen carriers like dog and cat faeces. Cooked food as it can attract rats. Citrus fruit is too acidic for the worms. Large quantities of one material (particularly greens). Where possible have a supply of browns ready to mix in. Perennial weeds such as bindweed which will often survive the composting process only to be spread round the garden when you use your compost.

When can I compost ?

Year round; but you will be be limited to when you have the material available.

How do I compost?

It's best to have at least to two bays or bins on the go. One which you 'feed' and one to 'cook'.

As materials begin to break down they can be transferred to the second bin. Any larger pieces or less well rotted materials can go back your first bin.

The key is achieving a good balance of air, moisture and warmth. It's a good idea to cover the compost with thick plastic to speed up the process. The downside is this will reduce the rainfall that gets to your compost but it will also reduce moisture lost to evaporation.

It will take a little practice but you'll soon get used to knowing whether you need to water your heap or mix in a greater quantity of greens or browns.

Easy composting program.

Autumn and Winter

Keep a bowl in the kitchen for peelings, cores etc. add these to the heap every few days or collect in a larger bin outside the back door for less trips down to you heap.

Save up browns like bags of leaves, newspapers, cardboard boxes and plant stems. Mix a little of this material in as you kitchen waste begins to pile up. Aim to build a stockpile for later in the year.

Having an extra composting bay is handy for this.

Spring and Summer

Each time you mow your lawn compost the clippings along with your kitchen waste and any annual weeds. Mix in any available browns from the garden supplementing them with a bag or two of leaves or some shredded paper and cardboard if necessary. Turn the heap with a fork and water it if it is dry.

Using you compost

When you have a nice dark, fluffy compost you're ready to go. Your compost is great for mulching your beds and boarders in spring or autumn when the soil is moist and warm. It can be used as a soil improver prior to planting or dug into your raised beds. Alternatively mix with potting compost when you plant up containers to give your bedding a slow release fertiliser.

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