Why Compost? The Basics on Making a Start

 Compost ready to go....

Entrepreneurs are starting to see opportunities in other people's food scraps. At one time it was just the local councils who recycled your waste. Now individuals are paying householders a visit once a week to collect all of the perishable food waste and composting it.  The jury is out whether there’s any money in it but even if not, there’s a great opportunity for the individuals to have an abundance of compost for the garden.  It just doesn’t stop at food waste either. For example, Gareth Austin our local garden entrepreneur is collecting hair clippings from barbers in Derry with a view to bulk composting it and introducing it into the community gardens as a bulking and nutrition supplement. 

Composting

Composting is getting more common in households and for good reason. It’s an inexpensive, natural process that transforms your kitchen and garden waste into a valuable and nutrient rich food for your garden. It's easy to make and use but as a lot of people don’t have gardens there is still a need for a collection service to deal with the waste.

Benefits for your garden

If you do have a garden to feed, compost is a perfect  nutrient-rich food product for your garden and will help improve soil structure, maintain moisture levels, and keep your soil's pH balance in check while helping to suppress plant disease. It will have everything your plants need including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and it will help buffer soils that are very acidic or alkaline. Compost improves your soil's condition and your plants and flowers will love it.

Setting up a bin

If you do get a notion to put in a compost bin, Ideally site it in a reasonably sunny spot on bare soil which makes it very easy for beneficial microbes and insects to gain access to the rotting material. It also allows for better aeration and drainage, both important to successful composting. Some use wire mesh under the bin to stop rodents getting in and some liquid might seep out of the bottom of the bin and stain paving both underneath the bin and sometimes around it. If this is likely to be a problem, then you should consider building a small raised bed filled with soil to put your compost bin on.

Liquid should be contained within the soil in the raised bed and you can always plant up around the bin to make it a feature. If you are putting your bin onto old paving and staining is not an issue, you will need to introduce the soil-dwelling organisms manually.

If space is limited and you don't have an out of the way corner in which to put your bin, you can screen it from view by using live plants, a trellis, bamboo or willow.

Making compost

Here's some information about what you can add to your bin to make the best compost. Aim for a balance of 50% greens and 50% browns in your compost bin to get the right mix. There are loads of different theories about what to compost and what not to compost, especially when it comes to cooked meats and bones. If in doubt, leave it out is my motto. 

'Greens’ are quick to rot and provide important nitrogen and moisture. Examples are :

 Animal manure with straw, Annual weeds (not seeding), Citrus peel, Coffee grounds, Comfrey leaves, Cut flowers,  Fruit peelings and pulp, Fruit seeds, Grass mowings, Hedge clippings, House plants, Nettles, Old bedding plants, Perennial weeds, Seaweed, Tea leaves and bags,  Urine, Vegetable peelings and pulp.

'Browns' are slower to rot, provide carbon and fibre and allow air pockets to form.

 Some examples are: Autumn leaves, Cardboard, Cotton towels, Egg boxes and shells, Evergreen prunings, Hair corks, Nuts, Paper bags, Sweetcorn cobs, used kitchen paper, Vacuum cleaner contents, Wood ash and Wool.

Here are some items frowned upon by the composting fraternity:  Bones, Bread, Cat litter, Cigarette ends, Dairy products, Disposable nappies, Dog faeces, Meat and fish scraps, Olive oil, Plastic and soiled tissues. Although I’d say most of these items have been in my bins at some stage with no ill effects (apart from the plastic)

Using your compost

You can check the compost is ready to use by seeing if it is dark brown and smells nice and earthy. It should also be slightly moist and have a crumbly texture.

It probably won't look like the compost you buy in the shops and it's very likely that yours will still have twigs and eggshell in it which to me is nicer to look at and they can always be sieved out if you need a finer mix for seedlings.