GARDENING OCT.qxp_Layout 1 24/09/2024 12:31 Page 1
GARDENING
Muck & Magic Elly West delves deep into composting: the wonderful alchemy of turning organic waste into something that brings vitality and life to our gardens
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rowsing through one of my social media horticultural groups recently, a post caught my eye. It simply read: “Okay folks, send me your sexiest, best-looking compost heaps please!” I couldn’t resist clicking on the extensive list of comments and they did not disappoint. These were people who truly understood the wonderful alchemy of turning organic waste into something that brings vitality and life to our gardens. The photos were impressive. From a line of wood-built bins with roofs more akin to a stable block, to beautiful heritage-painted beehive-style composters, there’s no doubt that people get excited about their garden waste. Composting garden and kitchen waste makes sense on every level. It reduces rubbish, lowers our carbon footprint and improves the health of our gardens. It also saves money. Where I live, in North Somerset, the council charges to take away green waste in the form of fortnightly bin collections during the summer months only, and the price of shopbought sacks of compost has gone up massively in recent years (along with everything else). However, for £10 North Somerset Council will deliver a 220-litre compost bin made from recycled plastic, and also offers a free online composting course to help you get started. Bristol City Council also provides compost bins for the garden, for £22. You don’t need much space for a compost bin, whether you go for a plastic one like those the council provides, or build your own system tucked away in the corner of the garden, and with a little bit of know-how you’ll soon be producing your own friable ‘black gold’. There are four main ingredients needed to create your own compost. The first is carbon, known in composting circles as ‘browns’. This includes sticks and dead leaves from around the garden, but also cardboard and shredded paper. Carbon-rich materials maintain moisture and help with aeration in the heap. The second vital ingredient is nitrogen, or ‘greens’. This is found in soft, leafy material, grass clippings and kitchen peelings. Eggshells and coffee grounds also make good nitrogen-rich compost. Avoid meat, fish, dairy and cooked food, as they will attract rats and other vermin. Oxygen is the third ingredient needed, so that the necessary microorganisms for decomposition can thrive, so it’s important to make sure that your compost pile is well-aerated. By actively managing your compost heap and turning it regularly (every three or four weeks) this will greatly increase the oxygen levels and speed up the process. Closed plastic or wooden containers can also be turned by tipping out the compost and refilling it. The final essential ingredient is moisture. If your burgeoning compost gets too dry, add more soft, nitrogen-rich material along with water to speed up the composting process. I should point out that although turning a heap is the gold standard for quick composting and can produce good compost in around 10 weeks, if this all sounds like too much work, just add your materials to a pile or bin over time and leave them alone, still being mindful of a mix of brown and green waste, and they will still decompose without any input from you. It will just take longer, up to two years, to produce usable compost.
88 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2024 | No 239