next || prev
The joy of composting
Thu May 15 22:54:07 BST 2008
A couple of years ago we bought one of those compost bins that Councils in the UK seem to have perpetual discount offers on: a black, truncated, plastic cone looking something like a dowdy dalek. It came with a shiny leaflet describing the basics of how to use it, complete with the kind of pictures you get on aeroplane safety cards of folk looking cheerful in the brace position as the plane performs an emergency landing into the sea. Only in this case they were looking ecstatic as they shovelled armfuls of kitchen waste into the top of the garden dalek in picture one, and practically orgasmic as they shovelled rich, environmentally friendly compost onto the roses in picture two. What could be simpler?
After having been trying to get composting working well for two years or so, I am inclined to suspect there is more than compost than meets the eye. Certainly, there is more that the leaflets from the Council should be mentioning. For example: you really need to keep a good balance of things in the heap, or you'll be overrun with flies; or: lots of beasts like eating things that are rotting, and this includes slugs of monstrous proportions. These are things that can shake the conviction of the unwary, and frankly I'd probably have given up by now were it not for my deep-rooted hippy convictions.
Hurrah, then, for the Internet, with it's joyous cacophony information on diverse topics. I've particularly enjoyed:
- Fred Pappalardo's low-work composting setup. In fact, the whole of the Fine Gardening website is cracking: check out their tomato pruning tips!
- Mary Applehof's worm composting expertise. Mary is pretty much the queen of vermicomposting. I didn't get on with worms so well myself, but if you want to try it out Mary's site is worth a look.
- The Compost Guy blog, which as the name suggests is dedicated to all manner of composting.