Text: Loren Shirley-Carr. Photographs: Loren Shirley-Carr, Lynne Yates and Supplied. Article from the June 2012 issue of Garden and Home Magazine.
Turn household waste into valuable food for your garden with our easy DIY guide to making compost
The benefits of turning your kitchen and garden waste into something useful and incredibly nourishing for your garden are many. Rather than clogging up landfills, you are not only recycling waste, but returning vital nutrients to the soil – at little or no cost to yourself.
There are many kinds of composters available that ensure compost-making is a simple and tidy exercise and which are ideal for smaller gardens, but if you have a large garden, all you need is a secluded corner in which to create a good old-fashioned heap.
Choosing your site
To speed up the decomposition process, the ideal spot for your compost bin or heap is a warm or semi-shady area; watch that it doesn’t dry out too quickly as it needs to be kept moist. Don’t position it too close to the house — rather find an out-of-the-way spot; keep a separate container in your kitchen to collect scraps throughout the day so you don’t have to run out to the compost heap every time you cut up veggies.
How to make Compost
Your own heap:
You can either construct a bricked-off area or cordon it off with chicken wire, plastic fencing or wooden slats or you can merely allow your heap to grow unrestricted. If you do want to contain it, just ensure it has proper ventilation from the bottom and sides.- Start off your heap with a layer of small branches and twigs to allow ventilation from the bottom of the pile.
- Then alternate layers of green waste like grass clippings, green garden trimmings and kitchen scraps, with layers of brown waste which includes dry leaves, straw or twigs. (For more information on what to add to your compost heap see box overleaf.) There should be more carbon-rich brown waste than nitrogen-rich green waste – a ratio of about two parts brown waste to one part green is best. Too many nitrogen-rich materials will make your compost wet and smelly and too little will slow down the decomposition process. Avoid using too many grass clippings as they will clump; always mix them in well with other plant matter.
- After the first few layers, you can include a compost activator to speed up the process. This can be manure, comfrey leaves, a diluted seaweed fertiliser, bonemeal or a commercial product such as Efekto’s compost activator.
- Keep your heap moist but not soggy; water is needed for the decomposition process. A dry heap will take much longer to decompose. Water the top of the heap and feed the hose into the centre to water there too.
- If you leave the heap at this point, it will eventually turn into compost passively after about four months. To speed up decomposition, turn your pile regularly with a garden fork to allow air in. Wait about one month before turning it for the first time to allow decomposition to get going. When turning, take the materials from the middle of the heap, which have started to decompose, move them to the outside and then move the outside layer to the hotter inside of the heap.
- Leave it for another month or so and then turn it again. Your compost should now be ready, the contents dark brown and crumbly with an earthy rather than smelly odour.
Using a composter:
- Place your composter on well-draining soil or concrete, but if placed on the latter, put a layer of soil underneath it. If placed on soil, loosen the soil beneath the bin to assist with drainage and make it easier for earthworms and other organisms to enter the compost. Add a few centimetres of manure or ready-made compost to encourage them to do so.
- Add the different layers of brown and green materials as with a compost heap — each layer about 10cm deep. Compost activators can also be added.
- For faster results, keep your compost warm, moist and oxygenated.
- Keep the lid on your compost bin to retain warmth and moisture and to keep the compost from becoming waterlogged when it rains.
- It’s not necessary to turn your compost in a closed bin as they are designed to allow sufficient air into the composting material. Occasionaly turning the compost will however speed the process up.
The right stuff
Your compost will only be as good as the ingredients you add. The best compost is made with kitchen scraps, leaves and woody material cut into small pieces.
What to add
Green waste:
- Green leaves
- Vegetable and fruit peelings
- Grass clippings
- Teabags
- Egg shells
- Coffee grounds
- Spent flowers
- Weeds (if they haven’t gone to seed)
Brown waste:
- Dead leaves
- Twigs
- Dry grass
- Straw
- Bark chips
- Vacuum dust
Other:
- Newspaper and wood ash
What not to add
- Oil or animal products such as meat, raw or cooked, or dairy as the smell will attract unwanted pests.
- Citrus peel, as this can make your heap too acidic and repel earthworms.
- Animal or human excrement due to harmful pathogens that are not destroyed by the composting process.
- Used disposable nappies or tissues due to harmful pathogens.
- Diseased or insect-infested plants as this will spread the problem to the rest of your garden.
- Any chemicals or plants that have been treated with chemicals.
Win! We’re giving away a handy 220-litre Compost Converter from First Dutch Brands (bottom).
Six of the best composters
1. For the enthusiastic gardener
The 470-litre Keter Eco Composter with base from First Dutch Brands is ideal for large gardens. It has a hole in the lid for a hose and the doors can be used as leaf collectors.
Available from leading retailers countrywide, including Builders Warehouse, Builders Express and Livingstones Garden & Home.
2. For the impatient gardener
The 230-litre Keter Dynamic Composter from First Dutch Brands is ideal for any size garden.
It creates compost three to four times quicker than normal composters due to its ability to tumble the compost.
Available from leading retailers countrywide, including Builders Warehouse and Builders Express.
3. For the new-age gardener
Bokashi is the latest method for intensively composting your kitchen waste.
Simply put your kitchen scraps in the Bokashi bin lined with Bokashi powder, where it will ferment within 10 days. Use it in your garden or add it to your compost heap.
Available from www.y-waste.net. Bokashi bucket, and Bokashi powder.
4. For the serious gardener
This wooden compost bin from Wild Ways is at home in a large, informal garden with space for an exclusion area.
The wooden slats keep your compost contained but still allow air in through the gaps.
Visit www.wildways.co.za for a list of stockists.
5. For the eco-friendly gardener
YWASTE’s worm farms are user-friendly and manageable.
They produce worm castings and highly nutritious worm tea to feed your garden.
Available from www.y-waste.net.
There are two options: Recycled tyres, or three-tier worm farms.
6. For the spaced-pressed gardener
The 220-litre Compost Converter from First Dutch Brands is perfect for small gardens. It’s compact with an opening at the bottom for the easy removal of compost.
Available from leading retailers countrywide, including Makro, Builders Warehouse and Builders Express.
Sources:
Builders Warehouse, Builders Express www.builders.co.za
First Dutch Brands www.firstdutchbrands.co.za
Keter www.keter.com
Livingstones Garden & Home www.livingstones.co.za
Makro www.makro.co.za
Wild Ways www.wildways.co.za
YWASTE www.y-waste.net
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