Grow your own - compost!

Yes it's the post the you've all been waiting for - welcome to the wonderful world of composting! How to make your own, to grow your own:

I've been composting for a few years now and I have to say that it gets quite (secretly) addictive! Not to mention the fact that it saves money on buying compost which is often poor quality and of very dubious origin! If you are vegan and/or environmentally conscious it's the only way of ensuring good quality compost that's totally green and has no animal or chemical components to it.

There are several types of different composters you can buy - but it's also fine (and free!) to just create a pile in a disused part of your garden.

The classic bell shaped composter usually has a lid at the top to remove for filling and a 'hatch' at the bottom. This is where you draw the finished compost from.

bell shaped composter with collection hatch

These wouldn't be my first choice of composter because of the hassle bending down to get the finished compost out - but I've inherited one of these and so I've just filled it and kind of left it!
These type of composters rely on generating heat to get started, so add quite a lot of matter if you can - all different kinds of things from the list that will follow.

As you cannot rotate the bin its a good idea to aerate the contents occasionally with a garden fork or similar - but having said that, if you just pile layers of things in you would find it would still probably turn to compost - it's just that it would take about 2 years!

aerator which you push down in twist & pull back up to mix

For me, the better types of composter - which are so easy to use, are the tumbling kind. I have one large one and two small ones (like the picture below). They remind me of the old tombola boxes and the principle is basically to add matter and then give them a spin to mix every day. If you can locate it near your backdoor somewhere, it's a great habit to get into taking out kitchen scraps at the end of each day, and giving it a spin!
All of the marketing around these says you will make compost in just a few weeks - but I find it does take about 6 months, if not more. But you can make a really rich compost for use next season, and, like I say, they are really easy to use.

a tumbling composter with two compartments

For larger scale composting of prunings and grass cuttings etc I find these wooden composters good. You can build them anywhere on an accessible piece of flat ground and the slats at the front come away so that you can tip a wheelbarrow of compost material in more easily.
Again - its good to get started with a large pile of greenery and to keep the compost aerated. I have a tarp-type cover on mine too, to aid breakdown of matter and to stop it getting water logged and all the 'nutrients' washing through/away.

this is called an easyload wooden composter

And finally, if you have the space then I would strongly recommend having an open leaf cage. Leaf mould/compost is really rich and is great for mulching plants and for mixing into garden soil to improve texture as well as nutrient content. I use it all the time.
Add all of your leaves to it throughout the autumn and turn over every month or so.
Then the following season you can dig down to retrieve the more rotted mulch or you can transfer the mix to another cage or wooden composter like the one above, cover and leave until the following season - when it will be an even finer texture (This is a system I inherited here at secret cottage and it produces a wonderful compost that I've used with all of my food crops this year).

our leaf cage at the end of the garden - this was full last autumn!

So - what can you compost? That's the key question now...

Things to add (same for all types of composter):

• veg peelings, unused veg etc
• egg shells - crushed
• used tea bags (split) and coffee grains
• newspaper and brown bags - shredded
• cardboard such as loo roll inners and cereal boxes - torn up
• junk mail - shredded - best place for it!
• grass clippings
• small weeds - [or large ones too if you can shred through a chipper or similar first]
• hedge / shrub clippings
• saw dust and wood shavings

Things to avoid:

• Meat fish and bones of any kind (no problem if you are veggie/vegan - hurrah!).
• Any cooked foods - they must be raw.
• Citrus peelings
• Wood / tree / bark chippings (they absorb too much moisture).
• Heavily printed / thick glossy paper / card 

 
 
 
Speeding up the process:

To speed up the composting process it's best to shred / breakdown items as much as possible before you add them. I always chop up hard veggie stalks such as those from cauliflowers or cabbages and when I replace my food processor I think I shall use my old one to shred veg before I compost it.)

You can also buy a 'compost starter' which is like a 'sand' that you add when you have topped the bin up with a layer of goodies [NB at the time of writing I am unsure of the components of this - it may not be suitable for vegan / organic gardening].

It's also effective to add a little garden soil each time - as it will contain the bacteria / organisms that you need. 

You'll get the best compost from adding a mix of all of the items above.

As a specialist note, if you have chickens you can also add their droppings and bedding (providing it is something that will rot well) to the mix (or to one of your mixes separately).

Chicken manure is rich in nitrogen which is great for growing brassicas!

So there you have it - my starter guide to composting!

As you get into the process (and if you have the space and the time) you can get quite involved in creating different mixes that will have different nutrient content for growing certain crops. But really any of the ingredients above will provide you with a rich source of plant food for the next year. Nature is wonderful in that the remains of our food can be used to create food for our subsequent crops - what a virtuous circle!

Have fun!

Chantal xx

[Disclaimer: I am not a gardening expert - these musings are simply gathered from my own research and subsequent gardening adventures and experiences.]