| It will also reduce
the number of weeds
and therefore the
amount of weeding you
need to do, a great benefit if
you think that a garden is merely a place for
relaxing in. By improving your soil you will of
course greatly improve the quality of the
plants you grow.
Compost containers, available at subsidised
prices from Recycle Now, are themselves made
from recycled material. There are two sizes,
220 litres for £8 and 330 litres for £10,
including delivery. And you’ll get a free
kitchen caddy. Phone 0856 077 0757 or buy
online at www.recyclenow.com (click on
“home composting”). This is a very useful site
with lots of good tips.
Alternatively you can make your own
container. I made mine from old wooden
pallets, although heaps made in this way need
to be covered with old plastic bags to keep the
heat in. Whichever you use it must be set on
the soil to enable worms and other organisms
to make their way into the heap from the
earth below.
You can compost kitchen waste, grass cuttings
and other garden waste, but not cooked food
which may encourage unwanted visitors.
Garden waste will decompose more effectively
if shredded although this is not essential.
Shredders can be expensive and it might be a
good idea to think about sharing the purchase
of a shredder with family or neighbours.
A question that is often asked is do I have to
turn the contents of my compost heap? Well if
you do not, it will eventually rot down but it
will take longer to do so than if turned
regularly. However there are also other
benefits from the turning regime. Turning
enables the air into your heap and encourages
the bacteria required. This aerobic
decomposition produces a compost rich in
nitrogen which feeds the soil and the plants
which grow in it. Whereas a heap which is not
turned will produce a compost high in humus
but low in nitrogen. This will help improve soil
structure but is of less value as a source of
nutrients for plants.
One of the great joys of gardening is emptying
the compost heap. It is difficult to imagine
how you have created this wonderful black soil
from vegetable peelings and grass cuttings.
And when you spread it on your soil you will
stand back and admire how it has improved
the look of your garden.
The most sensible times for using compost are
in the spring (to keep the moisture in the soil
which has accumulated over the winter) or in
the autumn particularly in a vegetable patch
at the time of digging the plot over. In a
flower bed, the birds and worms will help take
a surface dressing down into the soil over the
winter months. There is no harm to
established plants if compost comes into
contact with them. In fact if applied in the
autumn it is quite useful to cover perennial
flowers as it provides some protection for the
winter and may also encourage early shoots
the following spring. However small plants like
freshly planted annuals should not have the
compost up against the stems as it will
encourage rotting and damping off.
So go on; do your bit for the environment
whilst at the same time enhancing your
garden.
Norman Jeffery
Chairman, Highworth Gardening Club, which
meets at St Michael’s Hall, Lechlade Road on
the third Monday evening in every month
except December |
