Composting at Home
Turning food waste into "black gold"
Healthy Gardens
Composting is nature's way of turning garden and food waste into a valuable product for reuse in your garden - and it reduces the amount of waste going to landfill. When compost is used on your garden the end result is an improvement in the nutrient levels of the soil and soil structure. It prevents erosion and improves the water holding capacity of your soil.
Recipe for 'Black Gold'
The key to compost is to keep the micro-organisms (bugs), that process the 'waste' healthy - they need food, air, moisture and warmth (just like us).
Greens + Browns + Water + Air = Compost
Greens: are nitrogen rich materials such as kitchen scraps, vegetable peelings, tea bags and leaves, coffee grounds, grass clippings, soft garden debris, hair, fur, sheep or horse manue and seaweed (materials that rot away quickly).
Browns: are carbon rich materials such as paper, sawdust, straw, leaves, cereal boxes, cardboard, napkins, paper towels, tree clippings, vacuum cleaner dust, egg shells, wood ash and wood materials (materials that are tough and dry).
Avoid - meat, grease, oils, fats, dairy products, bones, inert materials (glass, plastic, metal), cat/dog manure, toxic materials (treated wood) and coal dust.
Water (moisture): Compost should be moist like a wrung our sponge. If you find that your compost is too dry, add a little water. If it is too wet, add some brown materials i.e. paper, sawdust, leaves.
Air: like all living creatures, micro-organisms (bugs) need air to live. It is important to allow air into the bin to aid composting. For example, add scrunched up paper, egg cartons, or toilet paper rolls to make air pockets, or dig your compost over using a garden fork.
Getting Started
Compost can be in a free standing pile or in a bin/container. You can make the bin yourself at little cost, from wood, bricks, concrete blocks, or other recyclable materials. Alternatively commerical compost bins can be purchased from your local hardware or gardening store. |
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Making the Compost
- Place your compost bin in a sheltered spot that gets partial sun and has good drainage. Preferable sitting directly on the soil.
- Encourage the earthworms and other 'bugs' into the heap by forking over the area where the bin will be placed. This will also help with drainage.
- Start with a layer of coarse material i.e. branches, twigs, newspaper (or a mixture of all) this will help with drainage and airflow.
- Put in a bucket of 'green' material (grass clippings, vegetable peelings, kitchen scraps) and a bucket of 'brown' material (straw, paper, leaves). Add a little water if the material is dry.
- Mix, stir and fluff, after every few additions.
- Within a day or two, the heap will heat up - marking the start of the composting process.
- Keep building the compost heap to the desired size and cover with soil or plastic sheeting to retain the warmth and moisture
- Leave the compost to mature
Turning
Making Compost is simple as all the really hard work is done by the micro-organisms (bugs). However composting does take time. Generally it will take between 6-12 months to get usable compost. Alternatively with a bit more effort on your part, turning the heap will reduce that time to 3-4 months.
For best results, expert recommend turning the heap once every 4-6 weeks. Turning should be done in a manner that allows all the material from the sides, to be moved into the new centre.
If you do not want to turn your compost - use only the best composted material from the centre of your pile on the garden when you need it, and use the other remaining material from the sides as the basis to build your next compost heap.
Using your Compost
Your compost is ready when it looks like potting mix (dark brown in colour with an earthy smell). It maybe lumpier than the potting mix from your local gardening store, with bits of twigs and egg shells in it, but don't worry, it will still be just as effective. Simply sieve out the larger items and return them to the compost bin for further processing.
Your compost can be used for new gardens, flowerbeds, mulch, around trees to enrich borders, as potting mix to feed the lawn and for your vegetable garden.
What more can I do?
There are many simple things you can do to reduce rubbish at home, at work or at school:
- Get more life out of your rubbish
- 10 Steps to change the world
- Recycle all that you can
- Scroll through the Bite Library of Waste Tips
