Home Composting

COMPOST: The Basics

What is composting?
Composting is nature's form of recycling. It is a satisfying way to turn your organic kitchen and garden waste products into a dark, crumbly, sweet smelling soil conditioner. The organic materials (plant matter) are transformed through the process of decomposition in the presence of oxygen and micro organisms from the air and soil.

Why make compost?
Making your own compost has four main benefits. It: -

• Improves soil quality and helps plants flourish;
• Saves you money by reducing the need for expensive chemical fertilisers;
• Reduces domestic waste going to our landfill and reduces pollution;
• Helps to protect our endangered peatland habitat and its wildlife.

What do you need for composting?

• Compost is best made in a compost container or bin, as it will be neat, protected from weather and pests and will make the job easier.
• Your kitchen material can be collected in a kitchen pail or small bin.
• Place your bin in a sheltered spot, directly on to your garden. This will allow for drainage and access of micro-organisms from the soil. You can then begin to add your green waste and kitchen waste to your bin.

What materials can be composted?

• All compostable (organic) materials contain a mixture of carbon and nitrogen. Items containing carbon are generally brown in colour and items containing nitrogen are generally green in colour (see Compost Ingredients).
• For best results, your compost pile requires roughly equal amounts of browns (carbon) and greens (nitrogen). The right balance is something you will learn with experience.
• Do not add those materials that can not be composted as they will cause odours and attract pests.

Compost Ingredients

• Add a mixture of materials, to form a layer of 30cm or more. Spread the ingredients out to the edge and firm down gently.
• Unless items are already wet, water well every 30-60cm. Do not let the heap become waterlogged.
• After a week the materials can be turned a few times to add more oxygen to speed up the decomposition process.
• The compost is said to be "ready" as soon as the majority of the items you put into the container are no longer recognisable.

HELPFUL HINT: If you are getting large volumes of a certain material at one time, such as grass or leaves, store it and add the material a little at a time.

HELPFUL HINT: Chop materials up before you put them into the compost bin. The smaller the material is, the more surface is exposed, and the faster it will decompose.

Composting - the process

• When suitable kitchen and garden waste are heaped up together in your bin, naturally occurring micro-organisms start to work. They begin feeding on more tender juicy items, such as grass clippings. Their numbers build up rapidly and the process of decomposition increases.
  
• As a result of their activity heat can be produced which can be quite noticeable within a few days. Where high temperatures are reached, (40ºC+) weed seeds, pests and diseases can be killed. However, it must be stressed that a compost heap does not have to heat up to be successful.
  
• After a week or so the speed of decay slows down, and the heap cools as the supply of air in the heap runs low. Already, the volume of the heap will have reduced noticeably.
  
• The process can be re-energised by re-mixing the heap to introduce more air. If the heap is not remixed, the process will simply continue at a slower rate.
  
• Once the more tender ingredients have been consumed, the microbes move on to the tougher stuff, which is what gives the compost its final "body". This again slows down the process.
  
• At this stage larger compost workers such as worms, slugs and beetles will move in.
  
• By the end of the process, the vegetable scraps, weed, grass mowings and other ingredients will be unrecognisable. They will have been broken down, mixed together, and rebuilt into what we know as garden compost.
  
• The final volume of compost will be less than 50 % of the original.