Garden Compost

Making your own garden compost is an efficient and environmentally friendly way of disposing of organic and kitchen waste. Garden compost will then provide high quality and very inexpensive material to enhance and improve the quality of your soil.  A well controlled and thought through regime of garden compost making is essential.  Organic matter ideal for the garden compost is generated throughout the year.  However, autumn is the time when most of the suitable material becomes available.

Almost anything of a vegetative nature can be added to the garden compost making process:- annual weeds, grass clippings, end of season bedding plants, the contents of containers and hanging baskets when they have finished flowering, leaves and any surplus crop materials from the vegetable plot. That’s not all! You can even add waterweed and other debris from the garden pond along with raked out moss and thatch from the lawn.

Wood ash can also be added to the compost; this adds potassium, lime and trace elements. However, this can make the compost alkaline so do not add too much at one time and mix it in with the other ingredients so it will bind to organic matter and humus particles and so be readily available to the plants growing.

Wood ash can be applied directly to the soil but avoid this if your soil is already too alkaline and only add a thin sprinkling and fork it into the soil. Handling wood ash is best done on a calm day when the ash will not get in your eyes - it can be irritant and burn!
Ash from previously treated, painted or preserved wood is best avoided on the garden as toxic trace elements may harm your plants. 

Avoid adding any diseased material and, at all costs, do not include and perennial weeds when making garden compost. Also it is not recommended to include any plants with seedheads or woody stems such as you would get when pruning tress or cutting hedges.

There are three important elements for successful garden compost. The first is to get the mix of the ingredients right as has been discussed above. Secondly there is a requirement for beneficial bacteria, which help to activate the garden compost process. These bacteria can come from soil and it is often useful to leave some soil on the roots of weeds or old plants. In addition include a spadeful of soil in the different layers. Other good additives are animal manure or waterweeds from the pond. Alternatively, you could use a starter/activator compound which can be readily purchased.

 

Nitrogen is known to help speed up the composting process and green material is high in nitrogen content. Thirdly there is a requirement for moisture in the garden compost; so dampen the ingredients as they are added. During a hot dry spell in the summer you may need to add water as the moisture encourages the material to break down.

Garden compost bins are a good option for small plots or where you wish to keep things confined and tidy. Garden compost heaps are large and can look a bit messy or untidy. The most common garden compost bins are usually made from plastic and resemble a bottomless dustbin. Always stand the bin directly onto soil, so the worms can easily find their way in to assist with the process. The enclosed space will quickly heat up the garden compost ensuring it will be ready in a matter of months. Fill the bin by layering with a good mixture of ingredients, damping these ingredients where they are dry. Add some soil as you go and cap it off with a thin layer of soil. After 3 to 6 months, depending upon the time of year, there will be a rich supply of garden compost. Garden compost bins can also be made from recycled or old unwanted wood, and would be a great do-it-yourself project to construct a bin. Alternatively wooden garden compost bins can be purchased in kit form for easy home assembly.

It is often a good plan to start your garden compost heap in the autumn. There will be plenty of ideal ingredients around at that time and the heap can be completed in a matter of weeks. The heap will then be ready for use in the following spring, just when you need it! You will need a fairly large area for the garden compost heap since it needs to be at least four feet square for it to heat up and work properly. Unlike bins the heaps do not have sides or a lid to keep in the heat necessary for the process. Mix up the ingredients in layers and water as you go. When complete cover the heap with some old carpeting to keep in the generated heat and retain the moisture. In the spring when you come to break into the heap all but the outer layer will be ready to use garden compost. The outside layer which has acted as protection for the heap can then be used to start off another garden compost heap.

If you want to continually improve your soil, the addition of home produced garden compost on a regular basis is highly recommended. Producing your own garden compost is cheap, efficient, environmentally friendly and above all a satisfying experience.