Composting benefits our gardens by reducing kitchen waste and providing a mini ecosystem all ready to get to work by improving the structure and health of your soil. If you have the space for an open compost heap it will also provide a home and a larder for wildlife including Hedgehogs and grass snakes. Your homemade compost will boost the fertility of your soil without the need for chemicals. It can also help your plants resist disease by increasing water and nutrient retention.
What you can do
- Buy a compost bin or make a compost heap
- Add the following to your bin: grass cuttings, fruit and vegetable scraps, cardboard, coffee grounds, tea bags (if not containing plastic), eggshells, shredded paper, soft prunings and dead plants
- Do NOT add cooked food, meat, fish, bones, cat litter, dog poo, perennial weeds, woody stems, diseased plants
- Turn regularly to get air in
- When your compost is dark, crumbly and sweet smelling, layer it on as a mulch, the worms will do the rest
Sources of Information
- How to compost your waste https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/actions/how-compost-your-waste
3rd March 2021