Happy Composting Week

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Happy Compost Week

Did you know that the 15th – 21st of March is a week to celebrate the benefits of composting and encourages the UK to become rotters! 🌱

What is compost?

So what is compost? It’s the most important supplement you can give to your garden – a nutrient-rich material that can transform soil and give your plants a healthy boost. It is comprised of decomposed organic matter, with help from bacteria, fungus, insects, and other organisms. It’s also free, easy to make, and great for the environment, reducing landfills and recycling your kitchen waste.

Nitrogeon / Carbon ratio:

The secret to healthy compost is the carbon/nitrogen ratio. The RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) recommends a ratio of  2/3 ‘green’ (nitrogen) and 1/3 ‘brown’ (carbon)…however this topic is always up for debate! The best way to determine whether your compost is healthy is by eye. Observe the moisture and smell – it should be moist but not wet, and smell fresh, not rotten or fermented. These are telltale signs to add more brown, yet if it’s dry and woody then add more green.

Brown and Green:

Examples of dry carbon-rich ‘brown compost’ are dry leaves, straw, shredded branches, sawdust, hay, and dead plant clippings. And nitrogen-rich ‘green compost’: vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, tea bags, and grass clippings (without herbicide). 🚫 Be sure not to use any meat, fish, dairy products, poop, diseased plants, or bone. 🚫

Create your own:

Get started on your home compost today, you can even begin your pile on the bare earth: lay twigs first and layer compost material alternating between green and brown, be sure to keep your compost moist, cover, and turn every few weeks.

Happy Composting!