If you’re reading this: it’s the Ideal time to start a compost heap!
Making a compost heap is such a positive thing to do. People with compost heaps enjoy fabulous compost delivered straight to their gardens and allotments, for free! Save money on council green bins and spare yourself weekend trips to the tip by starting a compost bin. Homemade compost enriches our soils and benefits nature and the environment.
When setting up a new composter, place a handful of sticks at the base of the compost bin. Throw in a couple of handfuls of autumn leaves. Next, add a spade-full of homemade compost from an established heap to introduce beneficial fungi and microorganisms.
The secret to successful composting is to add layers of different materials or mix green and brown materials together. Air is a key ingredient; add paper or cardboard scrunched up into balls, to create air pockets within the heap.
Green compostable materials:
- Used tea bags (avoid tea bags that contain plastic)
- Coffee grounds
- Vegetable/ fruit peelings
- Faded cut flowers
- Grass cuttings: add small amounts at a time. If you have a large lawn that’s cut regularly, consider using some of your grass cuttings as mulches. Leave grass clippings to dry out before composting them.
- Annual weeds (not in seed)
- Weeds that have been submerged in a bucket of water for weeks/months and have become weed soup
- Faded bedding plants, annuals, edible plants
- Prunings with soft or green plant material
- Egg shells
- Duckweed
- Emptying pots? Compost the old compost!
Brown compostable materials:
- Vacuum cleaner dust
- Small twigs, prunings
- Bark
- Sawdust
- Woodchip
- Dried grasses
- Hedge trimmings
- Shredded branches
- Straw/hay bedding from vegetarian animals
- Horse/cow manure
- Dried plant material
- Egg boxes, toilet rolls,
- Newspaper and office paper scrunched
- Plain cardboard, torn, scrunched
- Compostable packaging
- I leave autumn leaves for wildlife or make leaf-mould, but leaves can be composted. Add small quantities. Use a lawn mower to chop leaves before composting.
Don’t Compost:
- Diseased plants
- Invasive plants
- Perennial weeds
- Weeds in seed
- Cooked or processed food
- Bread
- Meat
- Oil
- Fish
- Dairy products
- Large pieces of wood or branches
- Shiny paper
- Ash
- Cat litter
- Faeces from meat-eating animals
Homemade and shop-bought composters can be attractive features. A compost bin that simply was made with love will undoubtedly be beautiful. Homemade compost bins can be custom fit to utilise awkward areas in small gardens. Wormeries are small, yet productive and the best option for balconies and tiny gardens.
Composting for wildlife
Many gardeners turn their compost heaps throughout the year, as exposing the compost ingredients to air quickens their decomposition, speeding up the composting process. My compost bins provide a home for wildlife. I never turn my compost heaps. Don’t turn compost heaps from September to April to give wildlife a safe space to hibernate.
I’d never take a fork and stab it into the compost heap. Be gentle to avoid causing harm. Frogs, toads, newts, hedgehogs, snakes, and wildlife maybe sheltering inside.
Folks without gardens may wish to donate their kitchen waste to community composting schemes. Consider starting a compost heap with your local school and at your nearest community garden.
For more gardening advice for October, please click here.
To read my plea to leave autumn leaves alone, please click here.
For more information on how to help hedgehogs, please click here.
