JOSH: The seasonal cycle of any garden
will involve pruning
and the removal of plants that are ready for renewal.
And they're way too valuable a resource to just throw away.
The decomposition of prunings and spent plant material
are a source of carbon and nutrients to benefit your garden
by reintroducing them to the soil as compost.
Composting's part of my life routine.
And I've got a couple of methods on the go
to make the most of any organic matter
that comes from either the garden or the kitchen.
Now, kitchen scraps are the most regular type of organic matter
that we generate in our household,
so all of this goes into the core compost.
Kitchen scraps are usually full of moisture and rich in nitrogen.
So it's a good idea to balance that
with a layer of fine, dry brown organic material
that is high in carbon,
like these wood shavings
or dry leaves
or even old toilet rolls,
or paper which I use to line my scraps bucket.
Microbes will break down the dry material
as part of the decomposition process.
But it also provides structure to the pile,
which is important for aeration.
Now, air's important so it doesn't become anaerobic or sour
because when it does, it produces stinky gases
like methane and hydrogen sulphide.
What you want to do is keep the pile nice and sweet.
When it becomes a bit sour and smelly,
start by giving a light sprinkle of ordinary garden lime
and then give the pile a bit of a forking
to open it up to get the air in so it remains aerobic.
I like to do this every few weeks
to keep the pile healthy.
And it really helps to break things down.
Having two compost bins on the go works well for our household.
As one gets filled up,
the compost from the second is ready to go and can be emptied.
I find these large open-bottomed compost bins work well
because when they're partially buried, by about 100 millimetres,
and when the lid's on,
it keeps out rodents and other pests
that might otherwise go for the kitchen scraps.
Now, when it comes to position,
underneath a deciduous tree, like this nashi pear, is perfect
because in summer when there's leaves, it keeps them nice and cool.
And in winter when the leaves drop, the sun comes in,
warms up the bins and keeps the microbes working.
Cold compost is relatively low maintenance and easy to manage.
But you'll need to be patient as it may take up to six months
before it's ready to use.
Something that cold compost won't do
is kill off weed seeds and plant diseases like powdery mildew.
To do that, you need to make hot compost.
Now, this is a totally different method in that you need to get
all of your materials that you want to compost together
and put it on as a single batch.
And also get that pile big enough, at least a cubic metre,
so that it gets nice and hot,
retains its heat and gives things a good cooking.
I like to make my hot compost in bays like this,
which is made from a frame of salvaged steel, some steel sheeting
and then timber, including timber panels at the front
which keeps things nice and contained and tidy.
Then it's just a matter of putting the right ingredients together.
I've already made a good start building this pile
with layers of chopped-up fresh leafy garden material,
which is high in nitrogen,
as well as dry prunings which are high in carbon.
I'm going to continue building it up in layers
roughly 50-100 millimetres thick.
This is a layer of chopped-up, dry broad bean stems.
Then a sprinkle of pelletised poultry manure
and some water.
Then some more green leafy prunings...
..then some soiled straw from the rabbit hutch...
..then more pelletised manure...
..and more water.
And on it goes.
The main thing to remember
is to use roughly two-thirds fresh green material
to one-third dry material
and add manure for extra nitrogen and water to kick things off.
I find two bays works well for making hot compost.
The first bay that's filled with a batch
that's cooking away, like I've just shown you here,
and the second bay can be used to store maturer compost.
Now, this is ready to go out onto the garden.
Look how beautiful it is.
Once that's empty, I'll be able to turn this pile,
which would have heated and cooled, over into the empty bay.
And in doing that, give it a second cooking.
And I'll add some extra moisture and manure
and chopped fine greens as it's needed
to get that mix just right.
And that'll get it hot again and give it a second chance
at making sure we've killed off all the weed seeds and plant pathogens.
It's as easy as that.
So there's the lowdown on hot versus cold compost.
Choose one which is right for you and your garden.
Or, like me, do both.
Composting is a way of harnessing the circle of life, really,
because even when plants are dead,
they can still contribute to new life and the vitality of soil.