Composting guide for beginners

Composting is widely considered an environmentally friendly way of helping our gardens thrive, and the great thing is that it’s far easier than you’d might think to get started!

What is compost and how does it help your garden?

Compost is essentially a mix of decomposed plants and manure that uses its natural ingredients to make plants grow.

Another advantage of using compost is that it will provide a healthier environment for your soil on a continual basis which in turn will then enable it to retain and drain water better.

Using your compost as fertiliser will benefit your plants inside as well as your lawn, trees, flowers and vegetables and any new planting areas that you may have.

What can be used to create compost and what shouldn’t be used?

Effectively anything that is organic can be turned into compost – anything from food waste (which is a great way of recycling), to weeds and leaves.

The kind of things to avoid using include certain plants that are diseased, some types of manure and meat and dairy products (pests love these).

Carbon and Nitrogen

Anything going into your compost will be either carbon or nitrogen based in essence. To create quality, healthy compost you will need to make sure that you keep the correct balance. The ideal ratio is that you should have double the amount of nitrogen based items in your pile.

Nitrogen based items have sappy / wet attributes: food scraps, green waste such as grass clippings & weeds and manure that has rotted.

Carbon based items have more woody / dry attributes: wood chips, sawdust, cardboard, newspapers, leaves.

Why use a composter?

A composter or compost bin serves as an organised, functional place to store your compost at the same time as being a constant reminder to keep composting!

There are different features to consider when looking at buying a composter or bin:

Size – It tends to be the case that a larger composter is the better bet, but there is a dependence on how much compost you can produce from leaves and lawn clippings and from food waste.

Shape – Cone shaped composters are beneficial as they provide better drainage and air circulation.

Colour – Darker colour composters work well as they absorb and keep heat.

More information needed?

If you would like to know more about composting or any of our products get in touch.