There’s plenty of interest in organic compost – and plenty of shops selling it. But in my research for this article, I’ve found plenty of pitfalls too. The very definition of organic compost is questionable, and not all organic compost is good for the environment. Some gardeners assume that organic compost is also peat-free – …
A few years ago, a man knocked on my house door when I was at work. My wife answered. ‘I’ve got a trailer full of shit here for you.” (It was a big trailer.) She wasn’t very happy. When she asked me why I hadn’t asked her first, I asked her if she would have …
You don’t need an in-depth understanding of composting terms in order to compost successfully. But if you’re keen on developing your composting skills and knowledge, and understanding of key terms can quickly come in useful. In this post we explain many of the terms used in more in-depth guides. Do note we haven’t included bins, …
In the summer I can haul several wheelbarrows of weeds in a day to my compost heap, rapidly building up its size. But things are very different in the garden in winter. Having just come back from a pleasurable hour in the garden, I’ve only managed to pull up a small bucketful of weeds and …
The process of making compost can take anything from a couple of weeks to several years – it all depends on which composting process you use, and how much work you put into it. Let’s dig into the details… Compost in two weeks One of the fastest ways to make compost is to use the …
A cold compost heap can take months or even years to reach perfection. The good news is that you don’t have to wait that long. In fact one composting system produces finished compost in just 14-21 days. (You’d ideally let it mature for a while before using it for the first time). If you’re as …
If you read much about composting, you’ll soon come across the terms carbon:nitrogen ratio (often shortened to C:N ratio). Everything you put in your compost has a different carbon:nitrogen ratio. Materials such as grass and manure, known as ‘greens’, have a higher level of nitrogen, and ‘brown’ materials, such as paper, have a higher level …
My first compost pile wasn’t great. A corner of my garden behind my garage had three walls around it, and I simply dumped my garden waste there. I didn’t pay much attention to the intricacies of composting, but when I dug down after two years I got compost. You see while you can dig deep …
You can minimise or eliminate the smell of indoor compost bins, if you take the right steps. Fortunately, it’s not hard to produce indoor compost without stinking your kitchen out. In this article we’ll cover everything you need to stop your compost from becoming smelly. I’ll be honest, I’m not allowed to compost in the …
We drink a lot of tea. The British drink 36 billion cups of tea a year, while in 2018 the US consumed 84 billion cups. That’s a lot! So it makes sense to do something useful with them – something like composting. After all, a single teabag might not make much compost, but a year’s …