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.
