With food prices rising all the time, more people are having a go at growing their own vegetables, herbs and salad greens at home. Compost can be expensive to buy, but you can make your own, organic compost at home.
Making your own organic compost helps to reduce landfill waste, and provides natural, inexpensive food and nutrients for your garden and vegetable patch.
What do you need?
- A compost bin (preferably with a hatch at the bottom)
- An area of flat soil to place the compost bin on.
Don’t place the bin on concrete or slabs as any liquids produced will need to drain away.
What can be composted?
- Cardboard
- Coffee grounds
- Egg shells
- Autumn leaves
- Fruit and vegetable scraps
- Grass cuttings
- Old straw & hay
- Paper based Egg boxes
- Paper towels & bags
- Plant material
- Rabbit, pigeon, cow and horse manure
- Rodent bedding
- Sawdust
- Soft prunings
- Tea bags
- Tree and shrub clippings
- Tree Leaves
- Vegetable plant remains
- Weeds
- Wood ash
- Wood shavings
- Woody prunings
What can’t be composted?
- Ash from glossy magazine coloured news paper
- Cat litter and cat faeces
- Coal ash
- Cooked food
- Disposable nappies
- Dog faeces
- Fish
- Human waste
- Meat
Making your compost
To make good compost you need to have an equal mix of “greens” and “browns”.
The greens are the tender, moist material such as grass cuttings, veg scraps etc. Bacteria love this and can multiply quickly to help create the compost.
Browns are the twigs, dry leaves, cardboard and paper that take longer to break down but add body and bulk to the compost. This material also allows air to circulate.
Add in layers or mix them together to get a good mix. If you use paper make sure you crumple it up rather than shredding (to help air circulate).
Add water if the mix is too dry.
It’s best to add lots of raw materials in one go as they will break down more quickly. The material should start to heat up in a couple of days which means the composting process has begun.
Other bits you should know
As compost is formed it will fall to the bottom of the bin ready to be removed through the hatch. You can keep on adding new raw materials to keep a constant supply going.
It takes between 6-12 months for good compost to form, so the sooner you start, the sooner you get fresh compost.
Wondering what to do with your new compost?
We’ve got a range of organic seeds to get you started growing your own herbs, chilli plants and strawberries. Why not have a look at our range.