Making a compost heap

Composting is dead easy – despite what the old bloke two allotments down says, he’s still trading on the status he gained from winning 2^nd prize for his marrows in 1989.  The hardest part if you have chickens or pigs is trying to decide what goes in the compost heap and what goes into their food.  The trade off with the chickens of course is that you get great manure from them.  After that it’s mainly about waiting.  Here are some easy steps to get you up and running with your compost in no time: -

Site

The best for your compost bin is a sunny site on a patch of bare soil. If you have to put your compost bin on concrete, tarmac or patio slabs ensure there’s a layer of paper and twigs or existing compost on the bottom. Choose a place where you can easily add ingredients to the bin and get the compost out.

Ingredients

Posh department stores will try and flog you a ‘Compost Caddy’,  I use an old bucket I leave in the porch.  The difference?  About a tenner. Fill your ‘kitchen caddy’ with everything from vegetable and fruit peelings to teabags, toilet roll tubes, cereal boxes and eggshells. GOLDEN RULE: No meat or fish.

Fill

Put your ‘kitchen caddy’ and any garden waste such as veg thinnings and green waste into your compost bin.

Wait

When you build a compost heap you are really investing in next year’s soil improvement.  It will be anything up to 12 months before its ready to be dug in.  Keep topping it up though as you will be amazed at how much you use.

Ready

Once your compost has turned into a crumbly, dark material, resembling thick, moist soil and gives off an earthy, fresh aroma, you know it’s ready to use.

Remove

I know this might sound awkward but try to use the compost from the bottom of the heap first as this will be the stuff that has rotted down the most and give the best results on your garden.

Use

Your compost will look a bit like lumpy soil and will probably have bits of eggshell and other identifiable stuff in it – don’t worry, that’s normal. Dig it into your soil in the autumn or spring when you freshly dig over your beds. 

And there you have it.  Great compost in a few simple steps.