From growing cabbages in poo to the secrets of effective home composting, we cover both the most interesting (and sometimes pretty weird!) and useful news for composters.
Back in the 19th century, Albert Howard, considered one of the fathers of composting, was a big fan of adding lime to compost. In recent decades, though, the practice has been discouraged by many composters who see it as unnecessary. After all, lime is alkaline. While compost goes through some major pH swings, it usually …
Lime Increases Compost Speed and Maturity Finds Study Read More »
Would you ever use fresh compost in the garden? One friend of mine did, and used to wax lyrical about the benefit of free municipal compost. “It’s still hot, James – it warms the soil in the spring!” Much as I loved him, he was completely wrong in this case! Fresh compost can be high …
Compost Maturity Matters: Why Fresh Isn’t Always Best Read More »
21st June 2023 Love your popcorn? Then you might be pleased to hear that compost doesn’t just improve soil and nutrition – it also increases how well popcorn pops! That’s the latest findings of a study from South Africa, which has revealed that compost increases the ‘popability’ of popcorn. (Popability, apparently, is common parlance in …
18th May 2023 Imagine you had a simple kitchen ingredient in your cupboard that could make your compost hotter, enhance its nutritional value, AND reduce harm to the environment. If a new Japanese study is right, the cooking oil you use every day could be that ingredient! The researchers had already identified that adding cooking …
Researchers May Have Just Discovered A New Composting Hack – Cooking Oil! Read More »
14th May 2022 Every time we finish a meal, and throw food scraps away in the trash, we’re contributing to a massive global problem. Over one-third of our human food waste is trashed – and the emissions that waste produces are helping to kill our planet. However, a new study just published in Nature has …
How Composting Could Be A Game-Changer In The Fight Against Carbon Emissions Read More »
2nd May 2023 Gardeners and farmers alike are suffering from the effects of climate change. As heat waves sweep across the world, water levels are dropping – and tomato yields are particularly affected. However, a new study may have the answer – at least for tomatoes. Morrocan researchers compared the use of conventional chemical fertilizers …
Are Your Plants Suffering from Climate Change? Scientists Have a Solution Read More »
25th April, 2023 With the advent of AI and development in robotics, a future is fast approaching when much of your work (and maybe your composting too!) could be done by robots. But what will happen when those robots come to their end of life? Will it lead to a new endless stream of waste …
This Young Engineer Just Made Robot Parts Compostable… Read More »
20th April 2023 Boy, do we produce a lot of manure. In the EU alone we produce 1400 million tonnes of manure (and that’s just the animals!) This causes problems – think methane being released into the atmosphere, for example. But it also has the potential for some serious benefits for our soil and ecosystems …
Use Manure, But Make Sure You Compost It First, Say Scientists. Here’s Why… Read More »
17th April 2023 In an exciting new initiative, Tend, a sustainable product brand, has partnered with the Buffalo Zoo to produce compost made entirely from the manure and bedding of 14 different species of hooved herbivores, including rhinos, giraffes, and zebras. The combination of high-nitrogen exotic animal poop and carbon-rich aged stall bedding, straw, and …
Zoo Animals’ Poop Turned into High-Quality Compost – Available for Sale Now! Read More »
A new study has uncovered the secret role of viruses in breaking down organic matter in compost. While bacteria are known to play a major role in nutrient cycling, researchers have often overlooked the role of viruses in composting. Using advanced techniques, scientists have delved into the impact of compost bacteria and their viruses during …