Home Composting

Home Composting: What to do

As we’re regularly asked about home composting, we wanted to put all our information in one helpful guide for you.

Home composting is certainly the most environmentally friendly method of dealing with kitchen and garden waste. As a bonus, this waste also produces compost that can be used as an excellent soil improver.

We understand that councils offer green waste collections, however there are heavy transport costs associated with this which can be avoided with home composting.

How to compost

Composting can be done all year round, all you need to do is select a space in your garden which isn’t subject to extreme temperature or moisture (shady areas work best) and place a container into the space with an earth base to allow drainage.

Larger containers tend to work better as they retain more warmth and can create compost more quickly, but even an open heap will compost eventually.

What to compost

The bacteria that produces the compost function best with a good balance of green and brown materials. Avoid letting one material dominate, especially grass clippings as these can become slimy and smelly.

Aim for between 25%-50% soft green materials such as grass clippings, weeds, fruit & vegetable waste or manure.

The remainder should be woody brown material such as hedge trimmings, wood chippings, paper, cardboard (torn up/shredded), straw or dead leaves.

Maintaining your compost heap

Turning the heap adds air which is necessary for composting to occur; don’t let it get too wet. Turning it once a month should be enough to introduce enough air to the heap. Remember to keep it moist in dry weather, turning will give you an opportunity to assess the moisture level.

Garden compost can take between six months to two years to reach maturity when it will appear dark brown with a crumbly soil-like texture, smelling like damp woodland. Any remaining un-rotted material can be added to the next batch of compost.

We hope you enjoy creating your own source of compost whilst helping the environment!

Source: www.rhs.org.uk/advice

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