Think about this – many of us cut our lawns (or get them cut) and then use costly petrol to transport the cut grass to the local dump for disposal. We then visit our local, friendly nursery and BUY bagged compost for our garden. So why don’t we rather use that cut grass to make our own compost? If we adopt the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) system, it is very easy to product our own “wholesome” compost.The recipe is as follows :
Ingredients :
• Cut grass (dry) – collected from the road verges (if you are lucky enough to get yours cut in your area!)
• Lawn clippings (green)
• Garden prunings (soft wood items)
• Garden prunings (hard to semi-hard wood that has been cut into small pieces or fed through a garden shredder)
• Wood shavings (if available)
• Activator – chicken manure, horse manure or any other animal manure (Can also use existing compost or commercial activators)
• Leaves (available during Winter)
• Water
• Cut grass (dry) – collected from the road verges (if you are lucky enough to get yours cut in your area!)
• Lawn clippings (green)
• Garden prunings (soft wood items)
• Garden prunings (hard to semi-hard wood that has been cut into small pieces or fed through a garden shredder)
• Wood shavings (if available)
• Activator – chicken manure, horse manure or any other animal manure (Can also use existing compost or commercial activators)
• Leaves (available during Winter)
• Water
Items that should NOT be added to the heap, include
• food leftovers that may attract rats, dogs and ants
• weeds that have gone to seed – although most seeds would be rendered infertile by the heat of the composting process.
• Hardwood branches.
• food leftovers that may attract rats, dogs and ants
• weeds that have gone to seed – although most seeds would be rendered infertile by the heat of the composting process.
• Hardwood branches.
Tools :
• wheelbarrow
• garden fork
• spade or shovel
• elbow grease!
• wheelbarrow
• garden fork
• spade or shovel
• elbow grease!
Method :
• find an area at least 2m x 3m (or larger) and preferably in a warm, sunny position
• spread the coarse garden prunings to a depth of about 150 mm on a base of about 1,5 – 2m wide and extending to a length depending on the quantity of raw
• find an area at least 2m x 3m (or larger) and preferably in a warm, sunny position
• spread the coarse garden prunings to a depth of about 150 mm on a base of about 1,5 – 2m wide and extending to a length depending on the quantity of raw
materials available
• then layer the dry grass, also about 150 mm deep
• then comes the turn of the green grass,
• followed by the wood shavings,
• next step is the important activator – which can be a thinner layer of about 50 – 100 mm.
• now add a good soaking of water to moisten the ingredients – using liquid manure made from something like chicken manure will greatly improve the composting process.
• Repeat the above steps on top of the existing layers to a height of about 1m.
• Make sure your final layer of activator is well covered by wood shavings or dry grass.
• Add leaves to the layers from your Winter sweepings – leaves, however, do take longer to break down, but putting them through a shredder will help.
• Leave the heap with a flat top, so the rain can help keep the heap moist. The heap should look like a mini Table Mountain!!
• The heap should start to warm up within 2 days – depending on outside temperatures and the amount of greenery and activator used. It can get so hot that you can’t keep you hand inside for very long.
• The next step, the “turning of the heap” should be done after about 2-3 weeks – this helps the heap to continue “working” by distributing the ingredients and aerating it. This is also an opportunity to check on the inside and add more water if necessary. Use a garden fork or better still a hay fork to do this – who wants to spend money on going to the gym?
• Continue “turning the heap” every 2-3 weeks, each time reforming the Table Mountain shape.
• If the weather stays warm and you’ve followed the recipe, you could have your own compost within about 3 months
• then layer the dry grass, also about 150 mm deep
• then comes the turn of the green grass,
• followed by the wood shavings,
• next step is the important activator – which can be a thinner layer of about 50 – 100 mm.
• now add a good soaking of water to moisten the ingredients – using liquid manure made from something like chicken manure will greatly improve the composting process.
• Repeat the above steps on top of the existing layers to a height of about 1m.
• Make sure your final layer of activator is well covered by wood shavings or dry grass.
• Add leaves to the layers from your Winter sweepings – leaves, however, do take longer to break down, but putting them through a shredder will help.
• Leave the heap with a flat top, so the rain can help keep the heap moist. The heap should look like a mini Table Mountain!!
• The heap should start to warm up within 2 days – depending on outside temperatures and the amount of greenery and activator used. It can get so hot that you can’t keep you hand inside for very long.
• The next step, the “turning of the heap” should be done after about 2-3 weeks – this helps the heap to continue “working” by distributing the ingredients and aerating it. This is also an opportunity to check on the inside and add more water if necessary. Use a garden fork or better still a hay fork to do this – who wants to spend money on going to the gym?
• Continue “turning the heap” every 2-3 weeks, each time reforming the Table Mountain shape.
• If the weather stays warm and you’ve followed the recipe, you could have your own compost within about 3 months
If you find the “turning of the heap” a bit of a schlep (good expressive word that!), then your compost will take longer to break down (up to 12 months). There will also probably be parts that don’t decompose at all.
There you go!! A bit of effort and you’ve got compost that your neighbours will be envious of!
You can also set up a worm farm. All your veggie scraps, egg shells (crushed), shredded cardboard and some lawn cutting can be used to feed the worms. Onion, citrus peels and leftover food should not be added.
You can also set up a worm farm. All your veggie scraps, egg shells (crushed), shredded cardboard and some lawn cutting can be used to feed the worms. Onion, citrus peels and leftover food should not be added.
This can give you worm compost plus valuable “worm wee”. Dilute this “wee” 1:50 with water and apply to your plants once a week and watch them grow.
You can also look at getting a bokashi bin. This works by using a probiotic bacteria to make compost. Maybe worthwhile looking into.
You can also look at getting a bokashi bin. This works by using a probiotic bacteria to make compost. Maybe worthwhile looking into.
We have fresh stocks of good compost and chicken manure available. There is also pine bark mulch. Another option is mulching with macadamia nut shells. These are decorative as well as very hard wearing. They will last longer than pine bark. The shells are also great for pots and pathways, where they provide a cobblestone effect.
We have loads of new plants for you this season. So with the early rains, we are looking forward to an exciting gardening season.
News supplied by Tanglewood Nursery.