How good is compost? You throw a bunch of organic waste into a pile, it heats up, and these things called microbes come along to transform your rubbish into a precious garden commodity! The earth has been doing this forever, locked in an endless cycle of growth, death, decay, compost and fertilisation. Nutrients are reused again and again. In this way, composting is the ultimate form of recycling, and there is no greater satisfaction than seeing those tangible results in your own garden.
Fully matured compost is pH neutral and can be used to propagate seeds, but when added to your patch holistically it’s like a shot in the vein. It contains a broad spectrum of nutrients and all the essential trace elements so that it not only boosts a plant’s growth, but also the overall activity of life in your soil. Compost is the number one candidate for making soil into something living and correcting any imbalances. It wins Soil Additive of the Year hands down every year.
Green waste is ‘wet’ waste, comprised of nitrogen-rich plant material such as kitchen scraps, but also fresh garden trimmings. It’s the main source of food for composting microbes.Brown waste is ‘dry’ waste, including carbon-rich plant material such as straw, wood chips, dry leaves, paper, cardboard and sawdust. These lightweight, dry materials help to aerate the compost bin, providing oxygen and carbon for the microbe diet.
Getting the balance right
In general, we tend to have much more green waste than brown. Food scraps go into the bin every day and the result is that our compost can get a bit saucy, sloppy and stinky. When there isn’t enough brown waste to balance the mix, too much moisture and nitrogen can create an anaerobic environment. Food starts to rot and ferment, rather than decompose - which is exactly what happens at a rubbish tip but to a much greater scale. A good composting environment needs about two parts green waste to one part brown. To alleviate this problem have a bag of mulch handy and correct the balance by adding a small scoop every time food scraps are emptied into the compost bin. This gets you into a good routine and in time you can ditch the mulch and begin incorporating legitimate brown wastes.
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