A well made compost heap has various benefits for both the environment and your own garden. Compost heaps are relatively easy to make and a well made heap gives a personal sense of satisfaction.

Main benefits of a compost heap.

Saves Taking Garden and Kitchen Refuse to Landfill. This will save you time, but also help the environment by reducing strain on landfill sites. You also save petrol and time of taking garden rubbish to local tip.

Provides Excellent Organic Soil Improver. Garden composts is high in trace elements and so helps fertilizes the soil. It is also an excellent soil improver adding much valued humus to the soil. Well rotted garden compost will help any soil, but especially if you have a sandy or clay soil.

Natural Cycle. Composting dead material to put back into the soil, is a natural process of Mother Earth. By composting material, we make our garden more of a living organic entity and can rely less on artificial fertilisers.

Attractive soil conditioner. Some people feel a compost heap is to be kept well hidden, but a well made compost heap needn’t be a source of embarrassment, plus the rotted compost has an attractive and sweet smell to it.

Healthy outdoor exercise is provided when you spread your eco-friendly compost

Provides a home for numerous insects, worms and creatures involved in the environmental cycle.

Get More Benefits from Your Heap of Compost

Greedy boards can be used in summer to increase the height of your compost heap. Leafy matter reduces in volume quickly and the extra space can be useful.

Adding a sprinkling of garden soil will improve the rotting process by adding bacteria, worms and trace elements. I do this when there is a lot of green matter and not much brown to compost.

Shred and chop your waste into smaller parts. The rot sets in to all the damaged and cut areas quicker than undamaged stems and stalks. A chipper or shredder may be used for branches and trees.

A compost heap provides a place to collect all rotting plant matter and helps to keep the garden tidy

Potential Problems of Compost Heaps.

Rats and other vermin – attracted by cooked food. – Don’t put meat or cooked food on a compost heap, but do put vegetable peelings and other uncooked organic waste.

Odour. A badly made compost heap made start to smell of methane. But, this tends to be compost heaps that become sodden and waterlogged. Solution – put a mix of green material with more woody stems. Provide aeration and cover in excessive rain.

Doesn’t Rot Down. This occurs if the compost heap is badly made. – too wet or too dry, or not enough sources of nitrogen such as grass clippings.

Disease. Don’t compost plants if they are infected with disease as these could be recycled, better to burn or dispose of diseased plants.

See:

• Mistakes making compost
• Tips on Making a compost
• Compost accelerators
• Spreading out compost