Compost
Compost from Forth Resource Management
Forth Resource Management take Edinburgh's garden waste and turn it into compost. This is a peat-free, sustainable alternative to many commercial composts. Two cubic metres of compost costs £50 including delivery.
You can contact Forth Resource Management on: 0131 339 5554 or see their
websiteCommunity groups (including community backgreen groups) can get compost for free. If your group did not have access to a van, then you would need to pay for delivery (£30) and for the big sacks the compost comes in (£3 each). To get compost for your group for free, this would need to be arranged with the council.
Email Heather Malcolm or call on: 0131 469 5286. Community groups are allowed one free allocation of compost per year, although there is no upper limit how much they can request, so if you have the space its worth stocking up.
Composting
[You can download this briefing on compost as a PDF file at the right of this page]
Making compost for your garden is very simple and happens naturally as dead organic matter decays. As weeds, unwanted vegetable parts, autumn leaves and kitchen waste accumulate, bacteria, fungi, woodlice and worms. These break down material into a homogenous, dark, damp matter called compost. Good composting techniques merely speed up the process.
What to compost:A good mixture of ‘brown matter’ - fibrous materials such as dead leaves, fine twigs, cardboard, shredded paper etc., and ‘green matter’, i.e. materials rich in nutrients (grass clippings, fresh hedge clippings, comfrey & nettle leaves, kitchen/food waste etc.) provides both energy and building materials for the bacteria, fungi, earthworms and other creatures so that they thrive. Too much of one or other slows or even halts composting.
Food waste is rich in nutrients & should be composted wherever possible,
particularly as in landfill (i.e. the bin) it is a source of the powerful greenhouse gas methane. Enclosed compost systems, e.g. Green Johannas and wormeries are designed to take all food waste and prevent rats from gaining access. See
http://www.greencone.com/
Turf stripped from rough ground, or an area of lawn will rot down to make excellent compost in a few months. This is a valuable material which should not be thrown away as the grass and root layer of soil is the part of a soil richest in nutrients. Place turves upside down and stack them tidily close together, then cover over with black polythene or old carpet to keep out light.
Raked up autumn leaves can break down to form leaf mould. This is a low-nutrient material which makes an excellent mulch and bulking material for vegetable plots or flower beds. Adding and mixing lawn cuttings with old leaves makes good, rich compost.
Things to avoid:plastic (fruit labels are particularly durable!), raw potatoes (these will grow) rose twigs and other woody, thorny materials, weeds with seeds attached, perennial roots like dock, dandelions, nettles etc. unless they have been dried and killed first.
Tree roots and larger twigs etc. break down to compost, but take a long time to do so. Wood also slows down the composting by absorbing nitrogen and other nutrients; garden compost should contain little or no woody matter, e.g. saw dust or wood chips.
Compost needs:Moisture - moisture must be present to allow worms, fungi, woodlice etc. to be active. Dry compost has stopped composting.
Warmth - most chemical reactions happen faster with warmth & worms, fungi etc. will be more active in a warm heap. Composting releases heat energy naturally; the trick is to trap that heat by covering with a piece of old carpet allowing the compost to stay warmer. In fact the centre of a good compost heap should become quite hot, killing weed seeds. A big heap will be warmer than a small one.
Air - oxygen is needed for healthy breakdown. Compost should be turned over periodically to allow in oxygen, and to prevent it becoming dense and clogged. Just as raking over the coals of a dying fire gives it new life, airing a compost heap will accelerate the composting processes. Clogged, airless compost simply stops composting. It is good practice to ‘turn’ your compost, using a fork to load the contents of one heap into an empty neighbouring compost bay so the unrotted top layers become the bottom of the new heap. Do this at least twice a year, and more often for better, faster compost. Balance between ‘brown matter’ (e.g. dry leaves, straw, shredded cardboard and paper) and ‘green matter’ (lawn and hedge cuttings, weeds, kitchen waste). Too much of either and composting slows down or stops.
How long to compost?There is no special time at which you can say ‘now it is compost’, as the process is gradual and continuous, but typically a warm, well-turned garden compost heap will yield useful compost after 6 months. If the moisture, air, warmth and mixture are taken care of, this will greatly reduce the time it takes to make good compost.
Wormeries:A wormery is any container such as a box or bin with drainage holes drilled in the base into which compost worms are introduced. These exist naturally and will find their own way to any source of suitably rich compost. But they can also be bought mail order or online. The wormery box/container should have a cover or lid to keep the compost moist, warm and prevent birds or rats getting in. However, the worms need some air so there should be air holes. Ideally the watery ooze that drains through the holes underneath should be collected as this is a rich liquid plant feed.
Preparing Backgreens for Spring:Compost heaps should be attended to now. Rationalise any disorder by removing the upper layers of older heaps, adding the more mature compost to raised beds or flower borders.
Turn any full compost bay into an empty neighbouring one, using a garden fork so that the material at the top of one heap is at the bottom in its new place. The process brings life into the compost as new air and oxygen are introduced. When a heap has been turned this way, cover the pile (e.g. with a piece of carpet - keep an eye on local skips for suitable pieces) and do not add any new material. It can be added to the garden in the autumn.
For more information and support check out the home composting resources from:
Changeworks and also
Zero Waste Scotland.