Composting - Why Wouldn't You?

Making your own compost is easier than you think. With a simple compost heap, you can recycle most of your organic household & garden waste and help richen your soil at the same time. If you live in a nice sticky clay area like mine, compost becomes a necessity if you ever want to have a successful garden.

Nothing fancy here

By turning food scraps & organic waste into compost you can:

• Improve soil quality by introducing rich nutrients to the soil
• Reduce the amount of waste ending up in landfill, so doing your part for the environment.
• Recycle valuable nutrients & reduce the need for "shop bought" fertilisers
• Saves money (always a great reason)

Compost Heap: 

A heap is best for the gardener with large quantities of waste. It should be at least 1 cubic metre to make sure it reaches hot temperatures. You could enclose it with bricks, chook wire, iron or wood, but make sure you have an access area to turn the compost. It should be shaded from hot sun & heavy rain to prevent excess water or drying out. A piece of carpet, hessian, tarp or plastic sheet will retain heat & protect from extreme elements.

Easy cheap compost bin

Compost Bin:

Tumble compost

In smaller gardens you may choose a compost bin or tumbler, which are both fly & vermin proof. They can be bought from nurseries, hardware shops & some forward thinking councils. You could make one from an old drum, or garbage bin. They need a tight fitting lid & should be open at the bottom (easy access for earthworms.) You want those worms, as they speed up the decaying process by loosening the compost & allowing air to circulate. If you choose a tumbler, you will help by moving the compost around & turning. As it is fully enclosed , the worms can't help & please don't add compost worms to a tumbler. They can't escape if the heat gets extreme, & also Im sure they must get dizzy.

A Healthy Compost Needs:

Water – keep the compost just damp. Over watering will ruin your compost.

Balance – add a mix of green and brown materials to make well balanced compost.

Air - turn the pile over every few weeks or every 4–6 days if using a bin.

Size - a compost heap will mature quickest if it is at least one cubic metre.

Micro-organisms - help break down the compost material. They come from the soil or old compost you add.

4 Steps to Composting

1/ Choose site - place your compost bin or heap in a well-drained area with some shade. Too much sun or heat will dry out the compost.

From pallets

2/ What to Compost?

Green:-

Aquarium water, algae, and plants (from freshwater fish tanks only) – adds moisture and a kick of nitrogen. Seaweed.

Chicken manure – has high amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

Dead houseplants – adds a dose of nitrogen, but don’t include thorny or diseased plants.

Animal manure – Horse, chicken or cow manure. Note: Do not use cat or dog faeces as you can spread disease.

Kitchen waste – Vegetable peelings, leaves and stalks, fruit peelings and cores, cooked table scraps, tea leaves, coffee grounds, egg shells and stale bread. Make sure they are buried in the pile so they don’t attract animals.

Garden waste – Grass cuttings, non-woody garden pruning, leaves, flowers and vegetable remains. These should be mixed with plenty of drier, brown material, or you’ll risk creating a smelly pile.

Brown:-

Brown garden debris – such as corn and sunflower stalks, dried legume plants, and dried potato and tomato vines, adds bulk to the pile.

Hedge pruning and twigs help keep a pile fluffy but should be chipped first so they decompose faster.

Leaves are an abundant carbon source and full of nutrients. Stockpile them in Autumn so that you have them on hand in summer.

Pine needles decompose slowly. Add only small amounts to your pile. Use excess needles as mulch.

Straw bulks up a pile, but it should not be confused with hay, which often contains weed and grass seeds and shouldn’t be added to compost (unless you want to deal with the potential consequences).

3/ Layering - Start with a thick layer of coarse material, ie twigs & mulch, for drainage purposes. Follow with  a layering of garden clippings & food scraps, then dry leaves & wet paper, adding water to every layer to moisten. Then repeat. To top off, sprinkle with soil or finished compost to reduce smells.

4/ Maintaining - Keep your compost well aired to stop odours or methane. Turn with a fork every week. or you can place stakes or pipes through the heap to allow air in. Depending on the mix of ingredients, you could have working compost within 6 weeks.

Hint: cover heap so it stays moist, not wet. Add compost accelerators - comfrey, young nettles, yarrow.

What To Add To A Compost Heap:

Vegetable & food scraps

Fallen leaves

Tea leaves & bags

Coffee grounds

Vacuum cleaner dust

Soft stems

Dead flowers

Old potting mix

Used vegetable oil

Egg shells

Old wet newspaper

Grass cuttings in layers

Weeds

Lovely Composted Soil

Sawdust but not from treated timber

Wood ash

Human & animal hair

What NOT To Add To Compost:

Meat & dairy products

Diseased plants

Metal, glass or plastic

Fat

Magazines (glossy)

Large branches unless chipped

Weeds that have seeds or underground stems

Bread or cake (attracts vermin)

Bones

Sawdust from treated timber

Animal Droppings

Septic tank or toilet waste

Anything that will kill bacteria ie oil, disinfectant, herbicides, pesticides (anything sprayed too) antibiotics.

Troubleshooting:

Smelly Compost - too much moisture or not enough air. Too much food scraps & not enough dry ingredients.

• Fork in dry leaves or mulch
• Add garden lime, dolomite or fire ash to reduce acidity
• Combine ingredients with sawdust or newspaper before adding to compost
• Give your compost a floor of planks to ensure good drainage.

Pests/Vermin - cockroaches, mice or rats come to live in your compost.

• always cover food with a layer of garden waste or soil, then cover with hessian, underfelt, old carpet, tarp, or plastic.
• Turn the heap to discourage habitation
• Place fine wire underneath the bin or heap
• Don't put meat, dairy or breads in compost

Compost Slow To Mature:

Compost not getting hot enough, may not be enough air or water

Compost Bins for Small Spaces

• Add nitrogen rich  material ie kitchen scraps or green garden waste
• Turn the heap & add water
• Cover the heap with insulating material in Winter if it gets too cold

Keeping a compost bin in the kitchen makes it easy and convenient to make good use of your food scraps. Just because you're in a small space doesn't necessarily mean you don't have room for a compost bin. All of the composters on this list will fit on the counter or under the kitchen sink. And just like that you're a friend of the earth!

* If you want to help your soil without bothering with a compost bin or heap, dig your food scraps into deep holes around your garden. This won't work if you have a dog or cat that will dig it right up again. But it is a quick & easy way to improve the soil over time.

* horse poo, chook poo ,cow or sheep poo are always wanted. Become friendly with your chook owning neighbours, or local riders. Pidgeon poo is great too. Too acidic to be thrown straight onto the garden, but place in your compost & watch it mature.

Good luck.

Happy Grubbing

Comfrey- a Must Have Herb.

Comfrey has a wonderful reputation for its medicinal qualities but no garden should be without at least one plant, for its beneficial use in the compost heap. I have a few plants scattered around each compost heap for that exact reason.

Comfrey - Symphytum Officinale

Comfrey Plant

The Comfrey is a perennial hairy leafed plant that has bell-shaped pink & purplish-violet flowers that droop in bell-like clusters. It is a thick set, bushy plant,  that grows to 1.2 metres. The outside leaves can measure 60cm long & 20cms wide. It is native to central Europe, where it grows on river flats and likes every kind of manure. It likes light, fertile, moist soils & will grow in any location but full shade.

The leaves are collected in early Spring, washed, chopped up & dried in a slow oven. Roots are collected in Spring or late in Autumn. The skin is removed & the root chopped when dried.

Comfrey Flower

USES
Comfrey probably has the widest range of uses in a permaculture system of any plant.

• The leaves are a useful addition to compost or used as mulch,  as they contain silica, nitrogen, magnesium, calcium, potassium and iron. Comfrey is lush and fast-growing in the right conditions and can provide abundant supplies of mulch. When planted in the orchard, it can be slashed to provide mulch under fruit trees. Comfrey leaves, measured as dry matter, are about 15 to 30% protein which is as high as most legumes. The leaves readily decompose when soaked in water to make a liquid manure.
• The whole plant is an excellent soil conditioner, the roots penetrate deep into the subsoil and are able to access nutrients beyond the reach of more shallow-rooted plants. This allows the gardener to cycle nutrients leached from the topsoil back to the surface by cutting comfrey leaves and using them as mulch. This deep nutrient mining is particularly useful for the health of soils in heavy rainfall areas. The large, deep roots of comfrey act to break up compacted soils. Plant comfrey downhill from poultry runs or animal pens to trap the nutrients that would otherwise be washed away in heavy rain.
• Weed barrier; one of its more unusual attributes is its ability to stop running grasses in their tracks. When comfrey is planted as a 'weed barrier', it should be in a strip several plants wide.
• Animal forage; the flowers are an excellent bee forage, the leaves are high in protein, vitamins and minerals and are readily eaten by poultry. Comfrey has been used as an animal forage for centuries and can be fed to cattle, rabbits, sheep, pigs and horses.
• A tea from the root (30g to 1 litre of water) left standing for 6-8 hours, is used as an antiinflammatory, excellent for ulcers of the digestive tract & against diarrhoea.
• Externally, it is great for the healing of fractures & stems bleeding.
• The powdered root is used on cotton wool to stop nose bleeds.

PLANTING DETAILS
Recommended Planting Time: Plant in cool areas in spring, in warmer or more tropical areas plant in the wet season. 


Comfrey is decorative enough to be a herbaceous border but demands plenty of space. It is also very attractive to caterpillars, snails & slugs.

Comfrey can be propagated by root cuttings or crown division. Root cuttings are the most economical, cut pieces of root 3 cm long and lay horizontally in a prepared garden site or a styrofoam box filled with potting mix. The cuttings should be buried 3 cm deep. Keep moist until the first leaves appear.
Spacing: If a row of comfrey is required, space the plants at 50 cm apart.
Growing Details: Try to plant comfrey in the right position the first time as any root disturbance will create new plants. If it has to be removed, simply cover the clump with several layers of wet newspaper and then top with mulch. The comfrey will rot out, leaving a rich, black compost.

Cosmetic:
Comfrey cream, or ointment is soothing & healing for the skin, & great for a night cream for wrinkles under the eyes. Comfrey tea helps cleanse the blood & clear complexion.

Companion Planting:
Comfrey is closely related to Borage, & is helpful in much the same way if a few plants are grown near strawberry beds to improve the size & flavour. Comfrey leaves should be added to the compost heap, as a compost activator. A liquid fertiliser made from large, old comfrey leaves which have been left to rot in water - & then broken down with more water & applied to the roots of plants, is very beneficial.

Culinary:
Comfrey is wholesome as a food. Pluck the small young leaves & add to a salad, as they taste like cucumber. Steam the leaves & eat them like spinach, or add to the juicer.

Comfrey Fritters:
Comfrey Leaves
batter
Strip comfrey leaves from the plant. Dip them in cold water, then into batter. Fry to make unusual but delicious fritters.


Happy Grubbing
Tamara

Mulch Ado About Nothing

It's Autumn & time to mulch. Personally I would like to see the garden get a bit moister before I place another layer on my gardens, but we make do with what Mother Nature gives us.
Mulching is a great time for the garden. I always like the look of everything when its been freshly mulched, all uniform & weed free (for a while at least). If you are going to mulch, it is always a good idea to dig in a 2 - 3 cm layer of compost first. 

What Is Mulch?
Mulch is the term used to describe the uppermost layer of soil. Every ecosystem has mulch in some form - ie in the bush, it is leaves & twigs that protect the soil (remember this when raking & burning those leaves). In the desert, it is sand or pebbles.

Why do We Mulch?
There are four important reasons to mulch. 
1/ The most important reason, in Australia, is water conservation.  Mulch stops the top of the soil drying out, keeps the soil moist, helps stop soil erosion and can reduce watering by about 60 per cent. 
2/ Mulching also prevents weeds and weed seed germination, which compete with plants for moisture and nutrients. 
3/ Mulching keeps the soil temperature constant & helps protect delicate root systems in times of frost as well as searing heat.
4/, Using an organic mulch means you’re adding extra organic matter to the soil & encouraging worm movement in the soil. 

Bark Mulch

Mulch types

Mulches can either be organic or inorganic, but I prefer organic mulches because they break down and add organic matter to the soil. This improves soil structure and drainage, and encourages earthworm and soil microbial activity. 

Organic mulches, such as straw based mulches, are quite common. Try pea straw, but there is also lucerne and bean, and cane type mulches. They can either come by the bale or some people prefer to use the chopped product for a neater look. 

Cube type mulches are also available, such as cubed pea straw which has other ingredients added to it. As soon as this mulch gets wet it forms a softer material. This can be used as mulch, but is better used as a soil conditioner and worked through the soil. 

My favourite mulch is pea straw and I love to use it by the bale because it's easy to use and inexpensive. Simply grab a biscuit and lay it on the garden like pavers. Then loosen it up to fill the gaps.  The only problem with pea straw is the weeds that come with it.

Bark based mulches are another great organic choice. An advantage of the bark based mulches is they take longer to break down so you don't have to apply them as often. They come in a range of grades, from fine through medium, and coarse. It's best to use medium to coarse grade bark mulches because they don't absorb any moisture and allow rainfall, or irrigation water, to penetrate the soil where it's needed. Another problem is that during the natural decomposition of woody materials, such as uncomposted fresh sawdust, pine bark and woodchips, soluble nitrogen is taken from the mulch by fungi and bacteria. This causes something called nitrogen drawdown, but it can be overcome by applying a balanced organic fertiliser before mulching. 


Inorganic mulches, including scoria, gravel and stone river pebbles, don’t break down. These come in a range of colours, are trendy at the moment, and can look effective when used as mulch on pot plants. But bear in mind, if using pebbles in the garden, do it where they will not be littered by leaves and other debris, or it will end up looking messy. Plants with low nutrient requirements, such as many native plants, often benefit from inorganic mulches. Thick woody mulches without leaves are also perfect for these types of plants as they last longer before breaking down and they release very little nutrients.

Stone pebble Mulch

The depth of mulch depends on the type of mulch used. For coarse mulches a layer of between 2 and 6 centimetres is ideal. Although unprocessed straw mulches from the bale can be applied thicker. 

Very fine mulches are to be avoided as they can compact and not allow water to penetrate to the soil beneath. Their fineness also means they are capable of holding a lot of water, once again preventing it from infiltrating the soil beneath.

A good organic mulch is one that is a mix of fine and coarse particles.

Rather than using lawn clippings, leafy prunings and leaf litter as mulch, it's far better to put it in the compost and let it break down naturally. Although some people like to apply compost as mulch, it's actually better to use a coarser material, such as straw or bark. But try putting compost on first, and use it as a soil conditioner or improver, and then add mulch.                

How to Mulch

Take these few steps before laying your mulch down to ensure success.

1. Remove or poison weeds (then wait for a fortnight after using poison)
2. Moisten the soil thoroughly. Ensure that the water you apply is penetrating .
3. If the water is running off the surface, fork through some compost to aid with the water retention.
4. If you are planting into the soil, add some water saving crystals into the planting hole.
5. If you are using bark-based mulches, you might consider sprinkling some blood and bone over the soil. This extra nitrogen will compensate for any nitrogen being taken up by the gradual decomposition of the mulch.
6. Lay your mulch thickly (7-8cm deep), keeping the area directly around plants free of mulch.
7. Lastly sprinkle soil wetting agents over the surface. This will ensure that any watering doesn’t run off the surface of the mulch.

Following these steps will mean you have mulched well.

How often?

Over time organic mulches break down, contributing beneficially to soil structure. Fine mulches will break down quicker than more coarse materials and so will need topping up more often. A yearly top up is usually enough.

The length of time that it takes for a mulch to break down determines how rapidly the plants will be able to access the nutrients in the mulch. Some mulches as they break down may actually take nutrients away from the soil, this effect is only shot-term but in these instances it may be necessary to add manure or blood and bone prior to mulching.

AND my next Blog will be on composting. Oooh I love composting.

Happy Composting & Grubbing in your garden.
Tamara.