Composting

December 2023: Composting

Why is composting important to our recycling efforts ?

Composting both garden and kitchen waste can be a real help to the environment, and has the added benefit of producing free soil nutrients and conditioning for your garden. It's something we can all do even if we only have a small amount of garden space, and it can also save us money.

Every time you dispose of garden waste off-site via your brown bin or other means, you are effectively removing nutrients from your garden’s soil resource, and this needs to be put back if your plants are to thrive. You'll notice your plants will do much better if they are well-fertilised and watered, and 'home-grown' compost can be just as effective as the bought-in variety.

Many people buy-in compost from their local garden centre to replenish their borders – this is becoming increasingly expensive, and if the compost is peat-based, may actually be causing harm indirectly to threatened peat-land habitats. Far better to generate your own.....and save yourself money in the process.

Contrary to common perception, you can actually put quite a bit of your food waste safely in your composting bin.

Why not help reduce the amount of food and other waste you put into your non-recyclable ‘wet waste’ (i.e in Charnwood your Black wheelie-bin) by adding some of it to your composting bin instead ?

Apart from reducing the amount needing to go to landfill or an incinerator, you’ll reduce the risk of overfilling your black bin, which may not get emptied if it's brim-full. You’ll also reduce the chance of unpleasant odours developing, particularly during the summer months. When it's ready, the compost you've produced can then be mixed with your soil to provide nutrient-rich food for your garden.

How does composting work?

Essentially, it relies on the activity of soil microorganisms in breaking down the plant-based or food material. These need the right conditions to do their work properly, as we'll see later.

Effective composting provides an excellent environment for a wide variety of life. Bacteria, fungi and microscopic organisms share your bin with larger insects and invertebrates, e.g. beetles, ants, slugs and millipedes. They all play their part in transforming the waste matter into a rich soil-quality enhancer.

Many people nowadays use a specially designed composting bin, whilst others prefer to use a more traditional compost ‘heap’.

Composting bins are relatively small and therefore suitable only for cool composting. This is fine for most purposes, but does mean that pernicious weeds, seeds and diseases won’t be killed off during the composting process. For most people a ‘cool’ composting bin represents the most convenient and easy way to deal with most garden waste and certain food scraps. It is also the cheapest option, which is a significant consideration during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

Compost heaps can be as large or small as your garden will accommodate. Larger compost heaps or those that are well insulated allow ‘hot’ composting; this occurs where bacterial activity raises the temperature to 40oC or more and means that weeds and seeds are effectively ‘cooked’ to stop them from re-growing. It can also kill off plant diseases and pathogens. Large compost heaps need lots of material to work properly, so aren’t suitable for smaller gardens. A basic composting bin, on the other hand, will fit nicely into a small corner of your garden and may be a better solution if your garden area is more restricted.

What can I put in my compost bin?

The key to effective composting is getting the right balance between so-called ‘green’ and ‘brown’ waste materials. Here are some examples for each category:

 

*These should not include woody materials such as tree branches or stems, which take much longer to rot down and will impede the composting process if included in any quantity.

The ‘Green’ items will already contain bacteria and nitrogen to help get the composting process going. Avoid including too many greens in the mixture, though, as this will make the waste too moist and stop air from circulating amongst the compost. Not only will this slow the composting process down, but it may also lead to unpleasant odours. Check your bin’s contents regularly - if it appears sludgy or contains lots of damp material clumped together, you need to add more 'browns' and improve ventilation.

‘Brown’ materials tend to be drier and contain plenty of organic matter, vital for balancing the composting process. Although a high ‘Browns’ content will make a great home for ants and woodlice, a over-brown rich mixture does tend to compost very slowly. If your mix looks too brown, just add a few extra greens to it to help speed up the composting process.

The ideal compost bin will contain a balance of greens and brown and will be home to a healthy mix of compost life. The mixture should also be slightly moist and contain air pockets.

What shouldn’t  I put in my compost bin?

The following items should never be put in a ‘cold’ compost bin as they may lead to unpleasant odours and will encourage pests:

 

How much will it cost me ?

 

A traditional compost heap will cost you nothing – apart of course from the space in your garden and the effort of setting it up. A basic composting bin can be had nowadays in some local authority areas for as little as £30 – at present Leicestershire has no bin offers available but watch out for special promotional offers in future. 


An underestimated resource - making the most of your grass clippings

During spring and summer, as any seasoned gardener will tell you, lawns tend to grow at a frantic rate and produce an abundance of grass clippings. These can present a real disposal headache and will fill up your grass pile (or your brown garden waste bin if you can still afford Charnwood's annual subscription charge !) uncomfortably quickly, particularly during the peak growing season between mid-April and mid-June. A cool composting bin can help take the strain off your normal disposal routes and can be great way of keeping your plants fed. Grass clippings are the definitive 'greens' – low carbon, high nitrogen, fast decaying and with minimal woody structure. Three ways to make good use of your grass clippings are:


Composting grass clippings

Here are some useful tips to avoid problems composting your grass clippings:


Mulching with grass clippings

Mulching is the spreading of material (usually organic) onto bare soil or around a plant. It helps to suppress weeds and conserve moisture for your plants during hot, dry spells, and in some cases, such as grass clippings, will also slowly feed the soil. Keep the layers you add thin – at most an inch of clippings at a time – to make sure water and air are still getting through to your plants – this will avoid rot setting in when it rains again.

Grass-boarding

This is a method whereby layers of grass are separated by compostable layers. Spread the grass fairly thinly in your compost bin (roughly just an inch or two deep in each layer) and add a layer of cardboard between each layer. The compost produced is completely homogenous and weed-free. The cardboard also stops the clippings getting soggy as they break down.

A word of warning about pesticides

There are at least two long-lived herbicides that are not fully inactivated during the composting process – clopyralid and picloram – these are sold under a number of trade names.  The golden rule is: if the material has been in contact with any herbicides, do not mulch it. There is a good chance the herbicide will still be active and actually damage the plants you are trying to protect with the mulch.

Leaf-mould

The annual autumn ‘leaves fest’ between October and December can be difficult to manage and the sheer quantity that appears over a short period may exceed the capacity of your normal garden waste disposal system. A useful strategy to deal with this problem can be to make leaf-mould with the excess.

Leaf-mould has very similar properties to peat but has the benefit of being a renewable resource. Like compost, when added to the soil it will improve its physical structure, although it should be noted that it is actually relatively low in soil nutrients. As already discussed, it may save you multiple visits to the nearest garden centre to buy in ‘instant’ compost the following year.

Making leaf-mould is a very simple process, although not particularly speedy because, unlike home composting, it relies on the slower action of naturally-occurring fungi rather than faster-acting, heat generating bacteria.

You can make it yourself by simply adding your excess leaves to a black plastic bag, compressing them down and sealing the bag. Make holes in the bag once sealed to allow airflow in and out – this will promote decomposition. Check every couple of months or so to see how the process is going. Please note that full decomposition to give a product suitable for adding to the soil can take up to 2 years, so be prepared to accommodate the bags out of the way in a suitable corner of your garden.

I hope this article has 'awakened' (or perhaps even re-awakened) an interest in composting in some of you – feel free to use our contact form for any feedback or queries.

For anyone who wants to try their hand - Happy Composting !  

Update January 2024: For anyone keen on building their own composting 'bin' this Spring, the following link may provide some useful hints:

https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/diy/how-to-build-a-compost-bin/

An ingenious use of old pallets, for sure....safety first, though - just watch how you use that sledgehammer !