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Better gardener soil series: day three

Better Gardener Soil Series

So now you’re ready to improve your soil, but with what? Before we get stuck into double-digging, mulching and green manuring, let’s have a composting masterclass for the third tutorial in this better gardener soil series.

Making garden compost

Getting compost right is quite important. It isn’t rocket science, but if you do a few things properly, then you’ll get better compost quicker.

If you possibly can, put your compost heap in full sunlight. The more it heats up, the quicker everything will decompose, and the more weed seeds will be killed by the heat. You can dump all your compost in a big pile, or you can make a big bin using four old pallets nailed together, chicken wire wrapped around four posts, or buy a purpose-built compost bin. Whatever you use, try to make your heap around one cubic metre: this will give it enough mass to be effective.

Hot pile compost heap

The best way of making compost in the garden is via the hot heap method. This is mixture of different materials which will heat up well together and decompose quickly. Compost made this way will be ready within three months during the summer.

The ingredients in a hot pile heap are split into two types: greens and browns.

Greens

Annual garden weeds (not ones that have gone to seed)
Young plant prunings
Fruit and vegetable scraps
Lawn clippings
Coffee grounds
Seaweed
Eggshells
Tea bags
Farmyard manure (horses, chickens, sheep, pigs)
Pond sludge

Browns

Autumn leaves
Straw
Hay
Shredded plant branches,
Pine needles
Cardboard

1. Water the bottom of the heap and throw in some twiggy materials and prunings to encourage air to circulate at the bottom of the heap.

2. Throw in a layer of browns at least 6in deep, and then add a layer of greens of at least 8in. Continue adding in layers, sprinkling a compost activator such as chicken manure or coffee grounds as you go. Aim for a mix of 60% greens to 40% browns.

3. Once you have reached the top of the bin, water the compost well and cover with cardboard, old carpet or a sheet to keep the warmth in and the nutrients from leaching out.

4. After a month, you will need to turn the heap with a fork. This is hard work, but good exercise. Try to turn the heap every fortnight if you possibly can.

Things you can compost that you might not have thought of:
  • The contents of your vacuum cleaner (although do not do this if you have been vacuuming broken glass).
  • Cardboard – avoid anything with glossy printed coatings.
  • Non-meaty food waste such as pasta and rice.
  • Old wine.
  • Hair.
  • Bedding from rabbits, guinea pigs etc. Do not use cat litter as this harbours the deadly toxoplasmosis.
  • Needles from your Christmas tree.
Things you must never compost in an outdoor bin:
  • Cat or dog litter.
  • Chemically treated wood products.
  • Human waste.
  • Perennial weeds, or roots of perennial weeds, especially dandelion, bindweed and bramble.
  • Meat.
  • Diseased plants.

Compost activators

To speed up the rotting process in your compost heap, there are plenty of organic compost activators that you can buy in the shops. You can also use: coffee grounds, chicken manure, wine, urine. Mix these into your heap every so often when you turn it to get things going.

Set up a hot pile heap today. Go to your local hardware store and ask them for some leftover crates and nail them together, and then add your composting materials as shown.

Dead hedges

For thick prunings, sticks, perennial weeds and other awkward materials, organic gardeners like to construct long-term compost heaps called dead hedges. These are heaps that are left over a number of years to slowly decompose. They have the benefit firstly of recycling all waste that comes from your garden, including woody materials which are not at home in a compost heap, and while they are decomposing, they provide a habitat for wildlife.

Stretch chicken wire around four poles arranged in a long rectangle, and add the prunings as and when you are ready. You can add perennial weeds such as brambles after dousing them in hot water and leaving them to soak for a month or so, which should kill them off. Never add horsetail or Japanese Knotweed.

Try to disturb a dead hedge as little as possible.

Hugelkultur

If you have a large amount of woody waste, perhaps from a bit of woodland you manage, or from a number of trees you have felled on your site, consider setting up a hugelkultur bed. Collect all your heavy woody waste and pile it into a mound up to 2ft high, or place it in a trench.

Cover the woody materials with a 6in layer of ‘greens’ and leave for a few months to slowly rot down. You can plant the bed up with pumpkins and potatoes, or sow a green manure on top for the first year (We will deal with green manure in greater detail on Friday).

Leaf mould

Any gardener who sees their lawn covered in fallen leaves every autumn should make leaf mould. It is very easy to make, and within two years produces compost that is perfect for potting soil or for using as a mulch on your beds. It is also a good way of using excess leaves if you have more of these than greens in your compost heap.

Place the leaves in a black sack with a few holes punched in it or in their own dedicated heap, and leave for two years. You can in the second year add comfrey leaves to speed up the rotting process if you wish.

Bokashi composting

This is an indoor method of composting that uses bran and airtight containers. It is perfect if you live in a flat but want to compost your kitchen waste, and also allows you to add cooked food and meat without fear or vermin. The bokashi works by adding kitchen waste and sprinkling bran in layers before leaving for two weeks to decompose entirely.

Wormery

Wormery composting uses a special sort of worm that loves to eat through garden and kitchen waste. Wormeries are perfect if youur garden doesn’t produce a sufficient volume of waste for a hot pile compost heap. You can also buy indoor or outdoor sets, although in very cold weather you will need to keep the worms warm.

You will need a box with a tap fitted at the bottom to drain off excess liquid and prevent the worms from drowning. The liquid makes a great plant feed. The lid of the box should have holes in it to allow the worms to breathe.

1. Sprinkle sand in the bottom of the box, and then sprinkle a layer of sticks on top. Shred some newspaper, soak it in water, and then add as a layer.

2. Place the worms (which you can buy here) amongst the damp newspaper and start adding food waste.

3. As the worms eat their food, add more, and drain the liquid from the tap regularly.

Trench composting

This is very useful if your heap is full, you have a lot of green waste, and you want to grow something hungry and warm-loving like beans or pumpkins.

You can do this at any time of the year, but for the best growing results, start in February. Dig a trench about a foot deep and the same width, and add kitchen waste to it once a week. Cover each new layer of kitchen waste with well-rotted horse manure, and gradually fill in the trench until it has reached the top.

You must fill the trench at least two months before you plan to plant out your crops so that the waste is as well-rotted as possible. It is also worth throwing in worm tea or comfrey tea to speed up the rotting process and add extra goodness.

Are there new composting methods that could help your garden and make you more sustainable? Have a think about taking up one of the methods above in addition to your normal compost heap.

Compost problems

In outdoor heaps, vermin can be a problem. One of the best ways to safeguard against rats and mice making your heap a home is to never add cooked food or meat, as the scent of these materials will attract the creatures in the first place.

Rats will only take up residence in your heap if it is dry, so make sure that you turn the heap regularly and water it every time you turn it. If you see a lot of woodlice in the heap, this is a sign that it is too dry, so add more greens and water it.

If your heap is very slimy, you have added too many greens. Add more browns and don’t water it to restore the balance.

If there are lots of pale, threadlike worms in your heap, the balance is too acidic. You may have added too many citrus peelings. Again, add more browns, and leave off the citrus for a while. Or if you have chickens, you might find the droppings make the heap acidic over time. This can be rectified by throwing bokashi in, either to their feed (which is good for their gut) or into the heap.

Even if you have a well-established heap, it is worth checking that it has none of the above problems. Do that now to make sure you’re getting the best compost possible.

 

Tomorrow we’ll be learning about improving your soil using this compost and lots of other materials as well.

(or go back to day two).

 

5 Responses

    • F&F

      Thanks Linda - that is really appreciated: I’d love to hear what you plan to do in particular.
      Helen - thanks for the comment too!

      Reply
  3. Bokashi Jolijn

    Yeah Bokashi is good solution which helps reducing our trashes as well as providing us a natural fertilizer for our garden. It’s pretty easy to use, odourless, and doesn’t need a high maintenance. This is perfect for anyone caring about a healthier planet

    Reply
  4. NorthernTeacher

    Very good reading. I’ve been putting the right things into my black compost bins but probably not in the right proportions. Good to have the greens and browns spelt out so nicely.

    I love the dead hedge idea. I already have a woodpile but as I have plenty of space for more, I will start a dead hedge.

    Thanks.

    Reply

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