g.city
19,07,07, 00:31
What kind of rubbish is safe to use as compost? Make your own green machine the easy way.
Steps:
1. Get yourself a compost bin from your local garden centre or make one yourself out of an old dustbin. Remember that it needs a lid and a flap at the bottom, so you can get to the compost when it’s ready.
2. As far as garden waste is concerned, if it rots then it will compost. Grass cuttings and young, soft weeds will rot quickly. They work really well as activators or ‘hotter rotters’ to get the composting going.
3. Make sure the bulk of your compost bin is made up of older, tougher plant material that rots more slowly. Anything really woody decays very slowly, so you’re better off chopping them up or shredding them, before you put them in your compost bin.
4. You can also use household rubbish, but don’t put anything like meat, fish, nappies, glossy paper, coloured print or cooked food into your compost bin. You’ll end up with a horrible mess that will become a health hazard pretty quickly!
5. Biodegradable materials such as used teabags, vegetable peelings, old flowers, hamster or rabbit bedding, cardboard and paper towels are all fine. The more varied the mix of things you put in, the better your compost will be! The secret to getting the balance right is to add alternate layers of soft, then tougher materials to your bin. Then just press it down gently.
6. Add a bit of water for every extra 60 cm you add, and then just leave it to do its thing.
7. Depending on what you’ve put in, and how well you’ve tended to it, you could have compost in six to eight weeks. What you’re aiming for is a lovely dark brown, earthy smelling mix.
8. If you can, leave it for a month or two to mature before you use it.
Steps:
1. Get yourself a compost bin from your local garden centre or make one yourself out of an old dustbin. Remember that it needs a lid and a flap at the bottom, so you can get to the compost when it’s ready.
2. As far as garden waste is concerned, if it rots then it will compost. Grass cuttings and young, soft weeds will rot quickly. They work really well as activators or ‘hotter rotters’ to get the composting going.
3. Make sure the bulk of your compost bin is made up of older, tougher plant material that rots more slowly. Anything really woody decays very slowly, so you’re better off chopping them up or shredding them, before you put them in your compost bin.
4. You can also use household rubbish, but don’t put anything like meat, fish, nappies, glossy paper, coloured print or cooked food into your compost bin. You’ll end up with a horrible mess that will become a health hazard pretty quickly!
5. Biodegradable materials such as used teabags, vegetable peelings, old flowers, hamster or rabbit bedding, cardboard and paper towels are all fine. The more varied the mix of things you put in, the better your compost will be! The secret to getting the balance right is to add alternate layers of soft, then tougher materials to your bin. Then just press it down gently.
6. Add a bit of water for every extra 60 cm you add, and then just leave it to do its thing.
7. Depending on what you’ve put in, and how well you’ve tended to it, you could have compost in six to eight weeks. What you’re aiming for is a lovely dark brown, earthy smelling mix.
8. If you can, leave it for a month or two to mature before you use it.