Perfect Compost Recipe - The Local Buzz making your own compost

Perfect Compost Recipe

Sue Sargeant gives us her Perfect Compost Recipe using the layering method

Sue Sargeant

Perfect compost recipe using the layering method

Depending on the size of the garden you will need a compost bin, or a few pallets and breeze blocks to create an enclosed area. As a guide, 20 tonnes of compost will “feed” a 5700m2 garden. For a top dressing mulch, leave to “cook” for six months. For soil conditioning, the compost should ferment for up to nine months.

Method:

Cut the grass and allow the cuttings to dry (too much wet grass can lead to smells). Do not include couch grass or tap root weeds. Place in the compost container. Collect fallen autumnal leaves and add to the cuttings.

To this mixture, add various quantities of vegetable peelings, shredded cardboard, egg shells, coffee grains and tea bags (not general food waste).

Continue to add these ingredients and include twigs or straw to help with air circulation. Try to keep the pile wet. Turn over with a pitchfork every now and then, particularly after rainfall.

First published in the Sep/Oct 2018 issue of The Local Buzz.

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