Author: John Gregory
We all live in a society where sending large amount of rubbish to landfill is frowned upon. Recycle is the buzz word and essential if we want to protect our pockets as well as the environment.
As all keen Gardeners know producing your own compost not only supplies vital ‘roughage’ and nutrients for your Garden but also reduces the amount of both Garden and Kitchen waste that ends up in a Landfill Site.
Why spend many ‘s on expensive bags of peat and Garden Soil from a Garden Centre when you can supply your own?
Before I go into more detail here are the items that can and cannot be successfully composted
What Goes in……..
And What doesn’t……..
Annual Weeds
Cooked food scraps, meat or bones and bread should be avoided at all costs; they may attract vermin
Tops of perennial weeds
Diseased plant material and soil pests
Spent bedding plants
Dog or Cat waste
Uncooked vegetable trimmings and peelings, crushed eggshells and tea bags from the kitchen
Weeds with seed heads
Lawn mowings (well mixed in with other materials).
Perennial roots, especially weed roots
Soft hedge clippings, soft pruning’s and spent flowers
Woody material, such as pruning’s and Brussels sprout stems
Dead leaves
Synthetic fabrics and any other non-biodegradable matter
Shredded woody stems
Shredded paper, cotton and wool fabrics
The easiest way to produce compost is to buy a compost bin. These can be made of anything from wood to plastic or metal but essentially all have the same purpose. A range of Compost Bins from a number of suppliers can be compared at Just Garden Tools.
In order for compost to be properly formed it needs to be able to heat up in order to allow it to rot down. Whilst you could just have a compost heap this can be more untidy and in most cases less efficient than a purposefully build compost bin.
The creation of compost requires that different levels of bio-degradable substances are compacted over time (in layers of about 15cm depth) in a hot and moist (not soaking) environment. This is more easily done in a purpose built container. Each layer should if possible be separated with a layer of manure or soil to help provide the bacteria needed to break down the waste into usable compost.
Try to avoid more than 50% grass cuttings as these can cause your heap to turn into a heap of green smelling slime if overdone. If slow to rot down make sure that you heap is kept damp as this will help speed up the process.
After about 3-6 months, depending on the weather and the content of the heap you should have a usable product.
Article Source: http://www.sooperarticles.com/home-and-family-articles/gardening-articles/making-compost-why-you-need-composting-bin-779873.html
About Author:
John Gregory is the owner of Justgardentools.co.uk a price comparison site for all your Garden Tool needs.Justgardentools
