We often get questions about how to create a good compost heap to use as garden fertilizer.

Here are some tips from our Gardening experts:

WHERE TO PUT YOUR COMPOST BIN

•In a sunny or semi-shaded position
•Directly on the soil or turf
•Away from water-courses

WHAT CAN I COMPOST?

•Anything that was once living will compost, but some items are best avoided.  Meat, dairy and cooked food can attract vermin and should not be composted
•For best results, use a mixture of types of ingredients
•Some things, like grass mowings and soft young weeds, rot quickly
•Older and tougher plant material is slower to rot but gives body to the finished compost
•“Greens”
•Comfrey leaves
•Nettles
•Grass cuttings
•Raw vegetable peelings from your kitchen
•Tea bags and leaves, coffee grounds
•Young green weed growth (avoid weeds with seeds)
•Soft green prunings

•“Browns” or Carbon-Rich
•Cardboard e.g. cereal boxes, egg boxes
•Waste paper and junk mail
•Cardboard tubes
•Glossy magazines
•Newspaper
•Bedding from pets e.g. rabbits etc.
•Old Bedding plants
•Fallen leaves
•Egg shells
•Wood Ash (in moderation)

DO NOT COMPOST…

•Meat
•Fish
•Cooked Food
•Coal
•Cat litter
•Dog faeces
•Disposable nappies
 

The more often you turn the heap, the quicker your compost will be ready

Compost can be made in as little as six to eight weeks or more usually it can take a year or more