How to start composting at home
Composting at home is quick to set up and easier than you may think. The process is simple, but it's important to get the basics right from the start to ensure you get the best from your home compost bin.
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Setting up your compost bin
- Place your compost bin on bare soil in a sunny spot where possible
- Add a 50:50 mix of 'green' materials (such as grass, fruit and vegetable peelings, coffee grounds) and 'brown' materials (such as eggshells, newspaper, cardboard, dry leaves and twigs) to your compost bin
- Mix the compost with a garden fork regularly to allow air to circulate and keep adding fresh materials
- After 9 to 12 months your compost will be crumbly and dark. This means your soil improver is now ready to use on your garden
What you can compost
There are a lot of things from your kitchen and garden that you can add to your compost bin, but some that you should avoid.
Try to get a great mix of ingredients to produce your soil improver - this will quicken the process and produce better results.
How to use your soil improver
Spread the soil improver on borders and vegetable patches, to add nutrient-rich content and structure to the soil. This will build resilience in the soil, helping it to withstand periods of both drought and waterlogging. It will also lead to healthier plants. You can either add it as a layer of mulch on the surface of the soil, or dig it in if you prefer.
You can also use your soil improver in pots:
- for a potting soil suitable for growing most vegetables, mix two-parts soil improver to one-part sieved garden soil
- for a potting soil suitable for containers, combine two-parts soil improver, one-part compost and one-part sand