Getting started
Whether you choose a three-bin, wooden-slat system or plastic compost bin, the method is similar. And like a good cake, following a recipe will get the best compost. The two basic ingredients are carbon and nitrogen. Carbon is brown, dry material. Nitrogen comprises green, wet material. Within these two basic ingredients, there are many components.
The first component is temperature. Compost needs to heat up to between 30 to 60°C to break down effectively. This is achieved by a good balance of wet and dry material.
A very dry heap may require extra wet material, or simply a good soaking.
An overly wet heap requires more dry material to soak up excess moisture.
The second component is air. oicrobial activity (critters responsible for breaking down compost) needs oxygen.
Again, this is achieved through a good balance of wet and dry material. Turning the heap will help, but it’s hard work. It’s much easier is to use a bin with good aeration and build the heap properly from the start.
The third factor is particle size. The smaller the pieces, the faster they break down. Lastly, encourage microbes through adding garden soil or products such as compost activator.
Build it up
Bottom layer: Lay loose, coarse twigs and small branches on the ground.
Second Layer: This moist nitrogen layer heats up the heap. Build a 15 to 20cm deep layer of green waste such as kitchen food scraps, green garden prunings and grass clippings mixed with other coarse green material.
Third layer: This dry carbon layer soaks up moisture from the nitrogen layer. Build a 15 to 20cm deep layer of dry leaves, shredded stalks and twigs, straw, shredded newspaper and contemts from your vacuum bag.
Fourth layer: Sprinkle compost activator, garden soil or blood and bone. Repeat the process until the bin is comfortably full. Layers will sink as decomposition takes place.
An efficient compost heap will be ready in just a couple of months, but 12 to 18 months is more likely.
It’s time…
To give the garden a once over before winter to set it up for spring.
Treat your lawn with Yates Lawn oaster to boost growth, resist weeds and cope with the colder winter temperatures.
Try Confidor for scale on citrus, mealy bug in sword-leafed plants and thrips on rhododendrons, azaleas and viburnum.
Feed citrus, azaleas and camellias for energy during fruiting and flowering.
Lightly trim summer growth on hedges, scruffy shrubs and whippy growth on climbers. Wait until winter for hard pruning of deciduous plants, such as roses, and early spring for evergreen varieties.
Spray weeds to tidy the garden for winter.
To add, or not to add…
Add:
Carbon: Paper, egg cartons, wheat, straw, sawdust, chipped wood products, dry dead leaves, stalks and branches.
Nitrogen: Animal manure, grass clippings, green garden prunings, weeds and food waste.
Do not add:
Dairy products, meat, fish, dog, cat or human faeces, weed seeds, large bones, oil or fat products, disposable nappies (despite some manufacturers urging customers to do so), diseased plant material or noxious weeds. **
Speed up the process by:**
Adding comfrey, yarrow or chamomile leaves.
Using commercial compost activator.
Adding garden soil now and then.
Adding blood and bone then turning the heap.
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