Composting

What Can I Do? Composting

Composting is a fantastic way to transform our organic kitchen and garden waste into a nutrient rich plant food that can be used all over our gardens. Although there are many different composting methods, it is still very easy to get started.

Getting Started

How to Compost

Composting the natural decomposition of organic materials into a high nutrient fertiliser that can be used all over our gardens.

It all starts with a composting bin. The most common are the open-bottom plastic ones and can be bought in many DIY stores, garden centres, and online.

Place all your materials in your composter, and in just 9-12 months you will have a dark crumbly soil like material that can be used to help your plants thrive.

List of green and brown composting materials

What Can You Compost?

Composting requires organic materials to transform into plant food.

A good rule of thumb is to use a 50/50 mixture of nitrogen-rich ‘green’ materials (e.g., grass cuttings, flowers, apple cores) and carbon-rich ‘brown’ materials (e.g., cardboard, hay, tomato plants).

You can adjust the ratio based on what your compost heap needs.

Find out more about the composting recipe here.

Using Your Compost

You’ll know your compost is ready when it is a crumbly texture, dark in colour and has an earthy smell.

You can use this all over your garden to as a fertiliser and soil conditioner, you might have to give it a sift first to get rid of any large twigs that need a bit more time to decompose.

Finished compost ready to use on garden.

Benefits of Composting

Composting offers numerous benefits for both the environment and your garden:

REDUCES WASTE: Composting diverts food and garden waste from our bins
ENRICHES SOIL: Compost adds essential nutrients to our soil, improves the soils’ structure, and increases moisture retention. This means healthier plants and crops in our gardens.
SAVES MONEY: By making your own compost, you reduce the need for store-bought fertilisers, saving you money in the long run.

Did you know?

Composting at home for just one year can save global warming gases equivalent to all the carbon dioxide your kettle produces annually, or your washing machine produces in three months!

Good to Know

Top Tips for Keeping Your Compost Bin Healthy

Adding meat, fish, cooked food, bread, dairy, oils, and fats to cold composting systems can lead to rats and unwanted pests in our compost bins. Please keep these out unless you are using a hot bin system.
In warm weather, add more green materials such as grass cutting, leaves and vegetable peelings. Also, if your compost heap if too dry, add small amounts of water.
If your compost is too wet, slimy, smelly, or sludgy consider adding more brown materials such as cardboard, egg boxes and hay.
Worms and other mini beasts don’t like too much acidity, so try not to add too many citrus peelings to the mix. If you do, make sure they are well chopped up as they can take a long time to rot otherwise.
Your compost needs air to decompose. Add it by turning the contents regular with an aerator, spade, or garden fork.