What rot! A compost addict's guide to composting

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Warning! Composting can be addictive

Composting turns waste products into pure gardening gold, saving the planet in the process. Whatever the size of your garden (or even if you don't have one at all), there's a style of composting for you.

You can compost in a heap, or a bin (buy one in, or make your own!), with worms or simply in a hole in the ground.

The Little Book of Compost: Recipes for a Healthy Garden and Happy Planet 

Surprise your favorite gardener with a little book of compost 'recipes' this Christmas - it makes a great stocking filler!
The Little Book of Compost: Recipes for a Healthy Garden and Happy Planet (Little Book Of... (HarperCollins))

The Little Book of Compost: Recipes for a Healthy Garden and Happy Planet (Little Book Of... (HarperCollins))

by: Allan Shepherd

Amazon Price: $11.01 (as of 12/18/2009)Buy Now

Whether you are crazy about compost or just eager to discover the uses of organic plant food, this handy guide will show you exactly how easy compost is to make. The basics of soil science are explained, including details on how to find and maintain composting creatures. Simple schemes for the space-conscious-such as compost-in-a-bag options and indoor wormeries-as well as advanced options for enthusiasts and those with large gardens are all included. Handy tips for overcoming common problems and plans for a feed-and-forget composting system are all included. Packed with practical information, this is the perfect guide to starting your own compost pile.

More Composting with Worms 

Check out Ooffoo, a new green online community, to find out about the basics of composting - why we should compost, how to set up a worm bin and how to keep your worms happy!

How to make leaf mold 

Turn trash into treasure by making leaf mold

No one likes to look forward to the end of summer, but if you plan ahead then falling leaves can become a valuable resource for your garden.

Falling leaves need to be removed from most areas of your garden - they bleach lawns, foul ponds and look messy - but they're not trash, they're treasure.

Create a leaf mold composter and you can turn your leaves into leaf mold. Leaf mold is gardening gold - a low fertility soil improver that helps soil hold nutrients and moisture by improving soil structure.

Don't add leaves to your regular composter - they are very slow to break down. Create a wire container (or simply use a plastic sack with some air holes) where the leaves can break down on their own over a year or two.

Learn more about making leaf mold in episode 32 of Alternative Kitchen Garden podcast. Or, if you're in a hurry, check out my 8 point guide to making leaf mold.

Oh rats! 

Worried about rodents in your compost?

Making compost at home has many advantages. It cuts down on the amount of waste we produce, and the fuel used to transport it to landfill sites or incinerators. And home made compost is the best source of fertility for your garden, ensuring bumper crops and bountiful flowers without costing a cent.

But many gardeners are wary of making compost at home, because they believe a compost heap attracts rats and other vermin. In fact there is no need for a compost heap to cause problems, and following a few simple rules will ensure that it doesn't.

Master Composters on the Alternative Kitchen Garden show 

Share your love of compost

Steaming heapIf you love making compost, why not share that love with your friends and neighbors? Throughout the world there are Master Composter schemes, designed to help you do just that!

Check out Emma's experience of her local Master Composter scheme in episode 67 of The Alternative Kitchen Garden show.

Compost: The natural way to make food for your garden 

The most practical book that all gardeners have been waiting for, this fun and informative guide shows how to make the best compost using ingredients that are easily found around the house.

Ken Thompson writes regular columns for organic gardening magazines, has published over a hundred articles and is the author of An Ear to the Ground: Understanding Your Garden.
Compost: The natural way to make food for your garden

Compost: The natural way to make food for your garden

by: Kenneth Thompson

Amazon Price: $12.24 (as of 12/18/2009)Buy Now

High Fiber Composting 

Easy peasy cold composting

Leaning tower of compostThe Center for Alternative Technology is a hot bed of research into new techniques and technologies for sustainable living.

Through extensive trials, they have come up with a method of cold composting that's really easy and suitable for all households.

With their 'high fiber' method, the compost heap not only disposes of kitchen and garden waste, but also recycles waste paper and cardboard. The resulting mix of materials breaks down quickly and easily, with no real maintenance required, into compost for your garden.

For more information, check out my article on high fiber composting or listen to episode 60 of The Alternative Kithen Garden.

In-Vessel Composting 

In-Vessel (AKA Enclosed) composting is an environmentally friendly way to deal with organic waste - garden waste, food waste and cardboard that residents can't compost at home. It's done on a vast scale - this fearsome looking machine turns the piles of compost!

Learn more about my trip to see in-vessel composting in action in episode 73 of the Alternative Kitchen Garden Show.

Composting: a brief guide for beginners 

There's a lot of pressure on householders to compost their kitchen and garden waste. Even if you've never done it before, it doesn't have to be a daunting process.

Check out my top 10 tips for beginner composters.

Get read and get paid: write for Helium

Red Worm Composting 

Red Worm Composting is the online diary of a passionate worm composter with over 10 years of experience.

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Worm composting on the Alternative Kitchen Garden podcast 

Learn all about my worm composters and what's involved in having your own in episode 26 of the Alternative Kitchen Garden.

Subscribe to the Alternative Kitchen Garden podcast

Book review: Worms Eat My Garbage 

The definitive guide to vermicomposting-a process using redworms to recycle food waste into nutrient-rich food for plants. Newly revised and updated, this 162 page manual provides complete illustrated instructions on setting up and maintaining small-scale worm composting systems.

Topics include different bins, what kind of worms to use, sex life of a worm, preparing worm beddings, how to meet the needs of the worms, what kinds of foods to feed the worms, harvesting worms, and making potting soil from the vermicompost produced.

A 63 page bibliography, 24 annotated references, a glossary,and comprehensive index make this a valuabe reference book as well as a practical manual.
Worms Eat My Garbage: How to Set Up and Maintain a Worm Composting System

Worms Eat My Garbage: How to Set Up and Maintain a Worm Composting System

by: Mary Appelhof

Amazon Price: $9.32 (as of 12/18/2009)Buy Now

Mary Appelhof was known as the Worm Lady because of her tireless efforts to promote worm composting.

Worms Eat My Garbage is the definitive book on the subject, covering everything from how to make your own worm compost bin to worm reproduction and the ecology of worm composters.

If you're thinking about setting up a worm compost bin, or just want to know a bit more about what's going on in yours, then this is definitely a book to have in your library.

Bring on the Bokashi 

Compost food waste safely with EM

Bokashi bin with comfreyBokashi is a composting system for food waste. Waste is put in an air-tight bucket with Bokashi bran (which contains EM, Effective Microorganisms). Over a couple of weeks, the EM pickles the waste.

When you empty the bucket, the waste will look the same but smell of vinegar. When you add this pickled waste to a compost heap it breaks down very rapidly without attracting vermin.

Composting with worms 

Worm composting is perfect for people who have a lot of kitchen waste, or no garden, or who want to keep composting throughout a cold winter.

Worm composters cam be expensive, but there are plans to build your own on the internet. You just need to remember to add proper drainage, so that the worms don't drown.

Composting worms are available via mail order, or you may be able to get some at your local fishing supply store as they are also used as bait.

Composting worms will happily eat their way through your uncooked vegetable waste. They don't like an acidic environment, so avoid adding too much citrus peel. And don't add leftover Mexican food, as they don't like it spicy!

When you first set up your worm composter, don't add too much waste. The worm population will gradually expand to match the amount of food available, but too much waste early on will rot before they can eat it.

Worm composters are easy to manage once they have been properly set up, but in the early stages they can need tweaking to make them work properly. Read what happened overnight when I set up my first worm composter.

Coffee-flavoured compost! 

Coffee grounds are not trash - they make great compost

Whether you brew your own or go to a coffee shop for your daily fix of coffee, there's no denying that coffee grounds make a great addition to your compost heap. They have a high nitrogen content, so they're ideal for kick-starting the composting process and ensuring you end up with highly nutritious compost. You can add the coffee filter too.

If you're a compost addict and just can't get enough materials for your heap, then try asking at your local coffee shop - many are happy for you to take away their coffee grounds as it saves them money.

Coffee grounds have many uses in the garden, so if you have a good supply check out my article on how to reuse coffee grounds in the garden.

Composting is for everyone 

A large proportion of the garbage thrown out by the average household is organic waste that could be composted. When it decomposes in landfill it creates methane, contributing to climate change. When it decomposes in a compost bin it makes gardening gold out of waste.

You don't need a garden to compost though. There's a style of composting for everyone. To find out more about composting, listen to episode 3 of the Alternative Kitchen Garden podcast.

Composting with plastic composters 

Plastic cones are one of the most popular choices for garden composters because they are inexpensive and readily available. Garden and kitchen waste go in the top and lovely rich compost comes out of the bottom. That's the theory, but in practice beginners can run into problems. Follow my guide to composting with plastic composters, however, and you won't go far wrong.

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Great composting sites 

Red Worm Composting
Worm composting (vermicomposting) guide: | Information about setting up & maintaining a thriving worm bin or larger vermicomposting system
The Worm Woman
Worm composting (vermicomposting) resources for all experience levels. Secure online payment - books, videos, bins, worms.
Garden Organic
Make your own compost, a comprehensive guide from Garden Organic - the national charity for organic growing

Marvellous Compost Bin 

Marvellous Compost Bin

A silly song and animation about the joy of composting. Photo animation by eclectech http://eclectech.co.uk Drawn animation by Grandma of Shoes http://b3ta.com/users/profile.php?id=14914 Music composed and performed by DogHorse http://www.stablesound.co.uk/ Larger higher quality Flash version at http://eclectech.co.uk/compostbin.php

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by EmmaCooper

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