Benefits of making your own compost at home:

– Reduce house hold waste to landfill

– Create Peat free compost

– Increase bio diversity in your own garden. Composting encourages micro organisms in your soil to create healthy soil

– Use as a soil improver in your borders

– Use as a mulch in autumn and spring

– Add to shop-bought compost to make it go further

– It’s completely free & extremely satisfying!

Kitchen/Garden Waste to use

Green waste

Fruit & vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, tea leaves (check if your tea bags are plastic free – if they are they will decompose) and egg shells.

Brown waste

Pruning’s (chop into smaller pieces to accelerate decomposition), toilet roll tubes, kitchen roll tubes, shredded paper  and egg boxes.

Kitchen waste NOT to use!

All cooked materials, raw meat & fish, cheese & dairy products and citrus fruit peelings.

How to

Layer the materials for example a layer of green waste then a layer of brown waste this allows the material to rot down without too much moisture to give a better consistency. Too much moisture will result in smelly, sticky compost. If the composter is too dry you can add water to it.

When you remove the lid and there are flies, beetles, worms, slugs and snails etc in the bin then this is a very good sign – these creatures contribute to decomposition of the waste materials and will ensure you have healthy soil.

Location

Corner of the garden in full sun or part shade, heat and moisture is needed.

Equipment

(Length of time until compost is ready)

• Dome Composter (9 – 12 months)
• Tumbling Composter (3 – 6 weeks)
• Hozelock Tumbling composter (8 weeks)
• Sieve
• Stirrer

Louise’s DIY Top Tips!

Wooden Pallets

Check with your local pallet supplier (you will need 3 – 4  pallets) you may need some extra pieces of wood to create a hatch to extract the compost once it is ready.

Is space an issue?

Dig a hole in your border, mix in your green and brown waste, water well and cover with soil, this will also decompose under ground and improve your soil structure.  The same method can be used when creating a new border; dig a trench add green and brown waste, water well and cover with soil.

Give it a try and let us know how you get on!

Any further questions?

Please feel free to contact Louise directly!

Louise Oakes | l.oakes@bents.co.uk