Composting
Composting
Composting is a fantastic way to utilise everyday waste items! Most people on an allotment will have a compost bin, or a compost area, but not everyone knows how to make compost effectively! If you don’t have an allotment, you can just as easily make your own compost at home!
What can I compost?
Which of these things did you know you can add to your compost?
Autumn leaves, Tea bags, Newspaper, Coffee grounds, Wood ash, Comfrey leaves, Egg boxes, Nettles, Kitchen roll, Vegetable peelings, Toilet roll tubes, Fruit scraps, Cardboard, Grass cuttings, Junk mail, Young annual weeds, Egg shells, Old Flowers, Tissues, Old bedding plants, Vacuum bag contents.
Maybe you knew all of them (well done!), maybe there are a few there you hadn’t thought of, maybe you were unaware of what you could compost altogether?
How do I compost?
Compost should be made 50:50, that is 50% greens (nitrogen rich) and 50% browns (carbon rich). Take a look again at the list of what you can compost… this time they are colour coded into greens and browns:
Autumn leaves, Tea bags, Newspaper, Coffee grounds, Wood ash, Comfrey leaves, Egg boxes, Nettles, Kitchen roll, Vegetable peelings, Toilet roll tubes, Fruit scraps, Cardboard, Grass cuttings, Junk mail, Young annual weeds, Egg shells, Old Flowers, Tissues, Old bedding plants, Vacuum bag contents.
Why should I compost?
So, before you throw away any of the above items into your general waste, think about that lovely rich compost you could make instead. Why? Well, compost is a fantastic nourisher for your soil! Compost feeds your plants, helps light soils hold more water, makes heavy soils lighter and also helps control diseases! Not only that, home composting cuts down on the amount of waste transported for disposal, reduces our reliance on peat based materials and buying ready made packaged materials and also prevents the production of harmful gases! What is not to like!? You want more? Well, making compost is a physical activity so it is beneficial for your health too! ?
More composting information
For more information about composting, have a look at this leaflet here!
If you are after buying a compost bin, check out some of the different types of compost bin available here and always check to see if there are special offers available!
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