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There's a mouse living in my compost bin. I first saw it one evening the other week, when I added a fresh layer of tomato side shoots and yellowing leaves. It leapt out of the bin and charged through the border. That frog looks just like a mouse, I

We have a bumblebee nest in our compost bin. I first noticed a month ago when the first few workers started coming and going. Now we have a steady stream. The bees are buff-tailed, Bombus terrestris, one of our commonest species.I've told the family

Ever wondered what the ingredients of great compost are? Chris Beardshaw shows you what to put on your heap and what to leave off, to create black gold for your garden.all year roundMore tips on how to improve your soilBuild a compost binHow to make

Storage containerall year round10 minutes every dayFind a sunny corner of your garden, on soil, where you can site either a plastic compost bin or build a compost bin using wooden pallets or similar. Setting your bin up on soil will allow worms and other micro

The aerobically decomposed remnants of organic matter used to enrich soil.Peat-free composts commonly consist of composted bark, wood fibre and coir, with added nutrients. Using peat-free composts has considerable environmental benefits

.So this week I'm improving my soil with home-made compost. This seems a good use of my time as I can stop instantly and pack up as soon as a passing shower turns into steady rain (I'm not a wuss really - I get wet enough at work but I get paid for those

I'm a great fan of wormeries. I feed all my kitchen waste to the hungry brandling worms inside the wormery bins, which turn it into wonderful compost.There's been a definite chill in the air for the past few days, so I'll move the bins into my

sturdy wooden stakesSledgehammerBow sawStrong wireall year round1 dayClear the area where you're going to put the compost bin and, if necessary, level the ground using a spade or a rake.Take a pallet and stand it on its long edge to form the back edge

, they don't bother too much about how the 'delegated to' get the job done.So, last week in the same spirit, I devolved responsibility for the compost heap to my husband. I explained the basics of how to build a heap (twiggy sticks at the bottom then green

... round shrubs, roses and flowers, along the base of the hedge, around fruit trees and bushes, and over the veg plot. Beans get a good, deep mulch of compost to help conserve soil moisture, too, but it's not just water retention that mulching is good for