(soft music)
- Hello, and a very warm welcome back to the garden.
Now there were so many different ways of composting,
but for me, I try and keep things as simple as possible.
And if you're into the simple methods,
that are also effective, then you'll enjoy this video
that explains the lazy, no-nonsense way of composting that we've been using for around 15 years.
What is compost?
Well put simply, it is the breakdown of organic material
into this beautiful rich humus that contains organic matter,
nutrients and micro organisms.
The great thing about lazy composting
is that there's only a few key things
that you need to follow in order for it to be effective.
And the first one is that you want to make sure
that the sides are at least a meter (3.3ft) long.
But why should we go for larger compost bins?
Well, the reason why
is when you have smaller ones like this,
especially the dalek ones, that tall narrow ones,
is that they don't really have that big of a core inside,
which means it's not as likely to warm up.
And that warmth and heat that you get
from bigger compost bins help promote the decomposition
and make it the perfect environment for all the organisms
that help break down that organic matter.
There are two categories of ingredients
to add into a compost bin.
The first one are your green materials.
These are high in nitrogen, and tend to have
a greater moisture content.
The next, your brown materials.
These are high in carbon and tend to have
a lower moisture content.
You can find a comprehensive list
of green and brown ingredients to add to your compost bin
down below in the video description.
And just quickly, I just wanna draw your attention
to grass clippings.
These are great high in nitrogen,
you can use them absolutely.
But you want to use them sparingly,
not thick layers in your compost bin
because these can make a sludgy, smelly mess.
So instead with grass clippings,
apply them in fairly thin layers of around an inch
or two and a half, three centimeters, and it should be fine.
Now usually when you're just starting off making compost,
there are different ratios of green and browns
that are recommended to follow.
And I usually go for the two parts brown to one part green.
But with lazy composting, we don't worry about that at all.
We just simply whatever is available,
no matter what time of year, we will just put it
on the compost bin.
So for example, at this time of the year,
as I'm cleaning up the garden,
we've got quite a lot of brown material coming in,
and we just put it on as and when.
The same applies for anything that you get in your house.
If you have some veg scraps,
the odd bag of used coffee grounds from your local cafe,
all things like that can be added.
There was really no need to worry about ratios,
as long as you follow one key rule.
That one rule for lazy gardening is simply
that you have to add diversity into your compost bin.
It doesn't work if you just add two or three ingredients
and let it be, you want to add as many different ingredients
and materials on that list as possible.
And I know, say during the growing season,
you're gonna get a lot of green materials, but that's fine,
just use lots of different green materials,
use whatever you have in your house, newspaper,
cardboard, et cetera.
You just want to add loads in smaller quantities
of different things.
And the reason why is because by using diversity,
you gonna have that natural or gonna be a lot more
of a natural balance in terms of pH
as well as the nutrients are going to be available
in your compost.
For example, if you just use two
or three different ingredients,
you might be lacking some micronutrients.
And the other thing is that by using the principle
of diversity when adding to your compost bin,
you're naturally gonna get quite a good balance
in terms of greens and browns anyway,
so it just makes it even easier for you.
For over 15 years, we've just been applying that principle
of adding a wide variety of ingredients
in a kind of little and often manner,
and we haven't had a single problem with our compost.
It is that simple to do lazy compost.
Now when a bin is nearing completion,
there's one more thing that I like to do.
And that is to jump on it, or even just step on it,
weigh it down.
And the reason why is you can suddenly fit in
a lot more material.
And because it's closer together,
it will help heat up a little bit more.
Now once you've filled your compost bin,
the last thing that I like to do,
mainly to serve as a reminder that it's full up
is to put a covering over it.
Now this is actually some sheeting leftover
from a building project,
but we usually use things like cardboard and newspaper.
And this gives one other advantage.
It helps to shed some of the rainfall
'cause when you get loads of rain,
it can sometimes get a little oversaturated in there.
You do want moisture, moisture is important.
And If you've just built a bin during dry whether
and it's filled up,
do add some watering cans full of water over that
just to add the moisture.
But then it's always a nice idea
just to put a little covering over the top.
Now, when is lazy compost ready?
Well, the compromise of being lazy is that it often takes
a bit longer than say hot compost,
which can take a month or two months.
What you wanna do is wait around six to eight months.
Now it sounds like a long time,
but it is very much worth the wait.
And when you have a little look,
it should look almost like soil, really nice and rich,
and everything is broken down.
Now, you may have some kind of sticks left over,
that's absolutely fine.
I don't worry about that.
Now, for me, the ideal way of testing if it really is ready,
is to simply use my nose and smell it.
And if it smells like a vibrant, fresh,
full-of-life forest floor, then that is a sign for me
that it's ready to use.
So I'm gonna now use this compost to help put
some of the raised beds to sleep over winter.
A very common concern that people have about composting
and making compost bins is rats,
and whether it encourages rats so you get rat issues.
Now, the only real reason why you would get
serious rat issues with your compost bins
is if you're putting in cooked food
and things like dairy and bread.
And you'll have noticed that I don't include those
on the ingredient list.
Because if there's no kind of food stuff
for the rats to eat, they're not going to be interested.
Now yes, they might like the warmth
but the thing is rats are going to be
around the area anyway.
And surely you'd rather them be at the compost bin
rater then trying to get into your house.
So if you are a little worried,
just try and put your compost bin as far away as possible.
But as long as you don't put in cooked food
and things like bread and dairy, you're gonna be fine.
Now something you should try and aim for
if you have the space
is for around three compost bins.
The reason why is one compost bin is going to be ready,
one compost bin is something you're gonna be filling
and the other compost bin is already full
and it's starting to break down.
So you kind of have that complete cycle,
there's always a bin to fill up,
and there's always a bin that has compost available.
And if you wanna find out the best way
to use your homemade compost at this time of year,
check out my video that I've done which is a complete guide
of preparing raised beds for winter.
And if you're interested in some 100% organic
and ethical clothing,
then click here. They are designed for gardeners.
So thank you for watching,
and I look forward to seeing you again soon.
Goodbye.
(soft music)