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Christmas compost
Posted by: James Alexander-Sinclair, 18 December 2007, 10.20AM
Like politics and football everybody seems to have an opinion about compost. About the only thing that we all agree about is that compost is a good thing; at the same time there are moments when it gets a little competitive for my liking.
It's true that one of the most satisfying things in gardening is a well built, well maintained compost heap, but it is a bit much when people get smug about what is really just a pile of rotting vegetation. I do not claim to be an expert but what we make ends up brown and crumbly and smelling of fertility without much effort.
I am lucky enough to have a fair bit of space to use as a compostery (I am almost certain that is not a real word but I rather like the sound of it) and the way that my garden is planted (with lots of herbaceous stuff) I have a great deal of raw material. My compostery is in an old cowshed which was divided into bays. One bay is being filled and the other is quietly rotting away. It has the advantage of being big but the disadvantage of being inside so I occasionally have to water it in order to stop it drying out. Of course, you can build a compost bin in a much smaller area.
We took advantage of the recent rainy days to turn the compost heap so it looks unbelievably beautiful at the moment - I often have an urge to roll around in compost but so far have managed to restrain myself. The next task is to rent a shredder in order to get rid of two years' backlog - a pretty scary mountain of old growth (I have to be a bit careful as I found two hedgehogs in it last year).
In amongst this shredded stuff we put all vegetable waste, old leaves and cleanings out of chicken houses (and, when we had such things, hamster cages). I also add the lawn mowings but, in order to stop it becoming a soggy mess, I mix in shredded paper from my office: envelopes (although I have to cut out those annoying see-through plastic windows), bills, scrap paper and everything then ends up in the compost heap rather than in the bin.
"What is all this compost for?" I hear you cry. Because 'Tis the Season to be mulching - every part of the garden should have at least 2" (50mm) of mulch over everything. This is, I think, the most vital of all garden tasks. In spite of all the chipping and tipping I still cannot make enough for more than a fraction of the garden so still have to bring in more. I am lucky in that I know of a farmer locally who has tons of well composted muck but not everybody is so fortunate. Any local council worth its salt should be recycling green waste and should have the end product for sale - so that is a great place to start.
Christmas is a good time to start composting - just think of all those Brussels sprout leaves, and a bit of shovelling and barrowing is perfect for blowing all the mince pies and cheesy festive television out of the system.
Comments
Helen, Malvern
19 December 2007, 12.37PM
Amoret
19 December 2007, 02.41PM
Rachel
20 December 2007, 01.51PM
Hillhermit
20 December 2007, 03.33PM
Christine, Isle of Wight and Hitchin Herts
20 December 2007, 05.39PM
Tommy
27 December 2007, 11.48AM
compost queen
03 January 2008, 02.17PM
Brenda
04 January 2008, 12.00AM
ben gunn
18 January 2008, 09.05PM
James A-S
21 January 2008, 12.10PM
Ian.
05 February 2008, 07.41PM
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