Kitchen peelings, grass clippings and prunings can become rich compost in months. Here's the simple route to get it zipping.
Created by jflgardens.co.uk
Composting turns the waste your garden and kitchen already produce into free, nutrient-rich soil improver. It's easier than the blogs make it sound — and you don't need a fancy setup to get great results.
The secret is roughly equal parts 'green' material (grass clippings, veg peelings, soft prunings) and 'brown' material (dry leaves, cardboard, paper, woody bits). The greens rot quickly and add nitrogen; the browns balance it, add carbon and keep the pile from going slimy.
A compost heap wants to feel like a wrung-out sponge — damp to the touch but not sodden. If it's dry, give it a splash; if it's soggy and smelly, add more browns and turn it to let air in.
Turning the pile every couple of weeks speeds things up no end by feeding oxygen to the microbes doing the work. If you can't face turning, a simple stick or fork holes through the pile lets air reach the middle.
Under good conditions, compost is ready in a few months to a year. Finished compost is dark, crumbly and smells of earth. Fork it into beds, top-dress the lawn or mulch borders with it — it's the best free soil improver there is, and it keeps tonnes out of landfill every year.
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