Starting and maintaining a home composting system is a great way to reduce waste and enrich your garden soil. You can begin at any time of year, but spring onwards is ideal for composting as your garden is producing plenty of suitable material.
Here are 5 tips to get you started.
1) Choose a bin and a location
There are several types of compost bins available. They vary in price, size and material, and can be open or enclosed. Wooden compost bins tend to look nicer, often blending in with your garden surroundings. The downside is they can smell, as they’re designed to allow the organic waste to aerate, and you may also have to turn the pile more frequently.
Plastic bins are usually not the most attractive, but they keep the compost out of sight and contain the odour. You could also choose a tumbler. They are efficient and easy to use, as the compost pile can be turned, or tumbled, by operating the hand crank.
Once you’ve selected the perfect bin, you then need to find the right location for your composting system. We recommend placing it in a discreet part of your garden with easy access, so you can effortlessly add materials to the bin and remove the compost when it’s ready for spreading.
2) Collect suitable waste
The next step is to start collecting the right ingredients for composting. There are lots of suitable items, generally classified into brown and green waste. The latter breaks down quickly, adding nitrogen to the compost which helps to keep it moist. Brown materials take longer to break down, but they create air pockets and contribute carbon to the pile. Aim for a 50/50 mix for the ideal results.
Green waste includes grass cuttings and garden or house plants, as well as kitchen scraps like vegetable and fruit peelings, coffee grounds and teabags, and even eggshells.
Brown waste consists of dried leaves, pine needles, pine cones, wood chips, hedge and woody trimmings, egg boxes, used paper coffee filters and even the contents of your vacuum cleaner.
3) Avoid certain materials
Not all organic waste is suitable for composting. Cooked or baked food, raw meat or fish, bones, dairy products, human or pet waste, diseased plants, weeds, garden waste that’s been treated with pesticides, and coal or coke ash cannot be composted. Some of these items can attract pests or cause diseases. Plastics must not be added either, even if they are biodegradable.
4) Start composting and be patient
Begin with a layer of coarse materials, like twigs, to aid drainage, then alternate between green and brown layers. Turn the compost frequently with a garden fork to aerate it – this speeds up the process. Keep adding materials regularly and, if you can, turn every few weeks. Don’t worry if you can’t, it will just take a little longer but it will still get there.
Your compost should be as moist as a wrung-out sponge. Add water if it’s too dry or more brown materials if too wet (e.g. when it smells). The composting process works best when it’s warm. A good tip is to insulate your bin with cardboard or a compost duvet during the colder months. If you’ve opted for an open design, consider covering your compost during wet weather to prevent it becoming too moist.
5) Get spreading
Compost is ready when it’s dark, crumbly and has an earthy smell. It usually takes 6–12 months. You can use it to condition soil, to mulch or make potting mix. You can also blend it with garden soil or other materials to lighten the mix for container gardening.
And finally, composting is a bit of trial and error. Don’t be discouraged if your first batch isn’t perfect; you’ll quickly get the hang of it and find it very rewarding!