What kind of heap grows smaller, the more you add? A compost heap!
Moving from Winter into Spring is an exciting time in all gardens. At the Community Garden, where we open all year round, every Wednesday 9.30 am – 12.30, we have been spotting the signs of spring since back in early January. The bulbs have been pushing their way up through the leaf litter, and some early flowering plants, like blue Iris unguicularis, and white Diosma, have been cheering us on.
Winter has been a time for repairing our many wooden structures, planting and watering winter salad in the polytunnel, and, let’s be honest, for chatting and getting to know each other. Being out in the fresh air, with a cup of tea steaming in your hands is an uplifting experience.
One part of the garden works its magic because we leave it alone: the compost heap. Everyone should have one. We toss plant material into one of our three bins. When one bin is full, we use old carpet as a lid, leave it for 9 months, and when we come back to it, there is rich, brown, crumbly compost which the plants love.
At home, you can make your own free stuff. Keep a pedal bin in the kitchen for all your vegetable and fruit peelings. Don’t put in any meat – save that for your council caddy bin. Add coffee grounds, and loo rolls. Straw, droppings and wood chippings from rabbit hutches are ideal. Hedge clippings, lawn clippings, and chopped stalks can also go in, in moderation.
Ideally, have two compost bins. They don’t smell, so can sit, on the soil, wherever is convenient for you. When one compost bin is completely full, start the next one. Small red worms will appear and break down the material. Over the year, the pile inside your first bin will get smaller and richer, transforming into the compost you could be buying in bags.
Carry on using your Council Green Waste bin for sticks, weeds and seedheads, as these don’t break down well, so you would be literally sowing trouble for the future.
Come and take a look at our compost bins for inspiration. We are between the Peace Garden and the Crouch Gardens, and visitors are always welcome on a Wednesday 9.30 -12.30 all year round plus Saturdays 10 – 12 in July and August.
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