Wednesday 29 May 2013

Composting Bracken in Shropshire

The Long Mynd in Shropshire is a fabulous and famous hill in the south Shropshire hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  The entire site, is owned by the National Trust and is maintained for public access, common grazing and natural beauty.

One of the environmental problems faced at this site is that of Bracken encroachment: this is a problem throughout the uplands of Britain, but particularly so on the Long Mynd where 60% of all the hill is now affected. The problem is being tackled in two ways:
  1. where bracken grows amongst acid grassland e.g. the northern and eastern side of the hill, the bracken is mown on a regular basis, this does not eliminate the problem but reduces its vigour and prevents further encroachment.
  2. where it is growing amongst heather it is not possible to mow so a chemical treatment is being used (applied in larger areas by helicopter) which does not affect any other vegetation or wildlife.
Each year the Trust removes nearly 17 hectares of bracken! Alot of this is then managed through composting.  Thats one big compost heap! You can buy the compost they make from this operation from the Shropshire Wildlife Trust shop on Abbey Foregate in Shrewsbury. 

Tuesday 21 May 2013

Ants!

I’ve got ants in my bin, how do I get them out?

Ants are one of many creatures that can colonize a compost bin. As with most of these creatures ants are harmless and are in fact beneficial for the heap. This is because they make tunnels which help to add air to the compost. They also add potassium and phosphorous to the mixture.   So generally the advice is to leave them alone as they are part of the miracle of nature that play a role in digesting your waste and making your compost.

If you do wish to remove the ants from the bin, disturb them as much as you can by turning the compost and they will normally just move on.  Ants generally prefer arid environs and so adding copious quantities of water will also encourage them to leave (the presence of ants could be an indicator that the heap is too dry). Adding onions should also discourage the ants away from the bin.

Monday 20 May 2013

South Shropshire residents helped to recycle more food waste


South Shropshire residents in the town of Bishop’s Castle, and the surrounding villages of Clun, Marton, Chirbury and Worthern, are to be provided with a kitchen caddy to encourage them to make full use of the area’s food recycling service.
Everyone in this area can already add food waste to their garden waste, as it goes to a specialist in-vessel composting facility to make high quality compost – the type you buy from garden centres.
The caddies, were delivered to households last week to enable people to collect their food waste before putting it into the garden waste bin. Each caddy comes with an instruction leaflet and a starter pack of special compostable liners to make it easy for residents to separate food waste in the kitchen.
The aim is that people will use the new caddies to collect up all their kitchen food waste (including meat, fish, bones, pasta, rice, tea bags, plate scrapings, peelings and leftovers) to keep it separate from the other rubbish which goes for disposal.

Sunday 19 May 2013

Composting Myths - turning your compost heap

We sometimes get asked if you have to turn the contents of your compost bin regularly? I think there is is some truth to this but its not actually neccessary.

As with the conventional wisdom regarding layering, this technique has its roots in the large compost piles traditionally associated with keen gardeners with huge open compost heaps or commercial composting companies.  It involves literally turning the whole heap over in order to open air spaces in the material and to reduce compaction. This can be quite discouraging to people who either do not have the physical capability to lift large volumes of material, or do not wish to spend a lot of time composting.

Air is essential for the survival of the microbes that degrade organic waste and help to turn it into compost. Although turning the heap is the best method to ensure there is sufficient air, there are a number of easier methods. The first is to mix the material around in the bin using a garden fork or compost aerator. The second is to use a broom handle to poke holes in the material creating air channels. However, easier still is to ensure there is a good mix of materials in the bin that will help to create air pockets amongst the material. Materials that are particularly good for this purpose are those that provide structure in a heap, such as corrugated cardboard, egg boxes, the cardboard centres of loo rolls or kitchen rolls, scrunched-up paper, or a jumble of twigs and small branches.

So you dont have to turn your compost heap, if you're smart, or lazy you can built your pile in a way which keeps it structured and save yourself a job in the garden. 



Composting Mare's Tail

When we are out and about giving talks to groups and the like with Shropshire Master Composters we sometimes get asked, can I compost Mares's tail (aka Horse Tail or Equisetum Arvense)?  This is an interesting question because Mare's tail is a very nasty weed.


HorsetailSo the answer is not so simple because YES of course you can  technically compost it - it will rot - BUT!!!!!!

Problems will arise if the heap does not get above 40 degrees C – the seeds will survive cold composting and you will spread the seeds when the compost is used. A hot compost heap (40-60*C) will kill the seeds but most of us using a traditional plastic compost bin at home with a small amount of waste are unlikely to be composting at this hot a temperature.

However as this is such an invasive and tough weed, you need to check that the seeds/bits are only added to the top of a already hot pile, that they stay near the top (do not fork in or turn the pile as seeds will fall down to cooler base). Finally, after hot composting, give your compost a ‘germination test’ – by this we mean leave the compost in an open maturation pile for a few months to check to ensure the Horsetail does not re-sprout. If it does, gently tease out all roots and rhizomes again and zap it through the hot compost again.

This may sound painstaking – but so will your efforts to remove it from soil in the first place. Are there any other options?  Well whilst we generally take the view that burning anything you can compost is a waste of good fodder, perhaps this is one case where it is better to burn the weeds or use your local council garden waste collection service instead.  The Council use industrial processing on local farms where they compost such huge piles that they get up to 60 degrees in their giant compost heaps / windrows.

■Horsetail or Mare’s Tail (Equisetum Arvense) is an invasive, deep-rooted perennial weed with fast-growing rhizomes (underground stems) that quickly send up dense stands of foliage that will spread quickly to form a dense carpet of foliage, crowding out less vigorous plants in beds and borders.

■Horsetail is easily recognised by its upright, fir tree-like shoots that appear in summer. In spring, fertile light brown stems, 20-50cm (10-20in) tall, appear with a cone-like spore producing structure at the end of the stems. In summer, sterile green shoots develop into fir tree-like plants, 60cm (2ft) tall.

■The creeping rhizomes of this pernicious plant may go down as deep as 2m (7ft) below the surface, making them hard to remove by digging out, especially if they invade a border. They often enter gardens by spreading underground from neighbouring properties or land.

You can also find more advice at: Garden Organic Website

Tuesday 14 May 2013

Shrewsbury Town Square Composting Promotion


Some of us volunteers from Shropshire Master Composters teamed up with the Council and Veolia in the Town Square last week for an event to mark Compost Awareness Week.  The aim was to try to engage local people about how they can compost their organic waste at home and encourage them to make use of the special offers provided via www.shropshire.getcomposting.com

We spoke to well over 100 people about composting their waste at home to help them save money and the environment.  Other local charities including the Field Studies Council and the Wildlife Trust also joined us for the event.  Lets hope it helps spread the word about the wonders of making your own compost!

Monday 13 May 2013

Hot Bin Composters

Hot bin - to compost ALL food waste


Some volunteers from Shropshire Master Composters have helped test an innovative new compost bin - The Hot Bin - which allows you to compost all types of food waste at home (including cooked food and even meat products which you would traditionally avoid home composting).  Their feedback was that this unique product was very effective in getting up to very high temperatures (even in the height of the recent cold winter) and processing all types of food waste quickly and cleanly.

Why do we need the hot bin?

Surely food waste rots so we can just add it to the compost heap and it breaks down?   Well to a degree this is true, but the problem is that if you dont do it correctly it may attract unwanted pests like rats and flies.  This means even if you home compost you will still have alot of food waste going in your bin to landfill. 

HotBin Basic 200 litre Compost Bin

This is what why the HOTBIN was invented: ‘to create a compost bin and method that enables millions of existing home composters to compost ALL food waste'.   Unlike standard home composting bins which rarely get hotter than about 40 degrees Celcius, the hot bin is insulated and gets really hot - up to 70 degrees when its really fired up.  This is important if you are going to be composting kitchen waste because it helps to sanitize the waste as well.  Another benefit is that it produces the compost much quicker than normal home composting, so its good if you're impatient too! 

The HOTBIN was specifically designed to achieve HOT composting to allow ALL food waste to be composted, safely and cleanly at home.  

The hot bin is now available via www.shropshire.getcomposting.com 

The Herb Garden Wormery



One of our volunteers from Shropshire Master Composters discovered a really cool product the other day which we just had to share.  Especially as its made by a local firm Bubblehouseworms who are from just across the border in Worcestershire - their beautiful herb garden wormery combines an aesthetic planter with a eco-friendly food waste treatment solution which will hopefully encourage more people to give composting a go.

They were designed for and will particularly suit folk for whom space is at a premium and green fingered folk will love the fact that instead of a lid they have a planter so you can grow herbs or whatever you fancy on top.  Lets hope this clever little take on a wormery will get more people in Shropshire composting and growing more too.  Check out their website www.bubblehouseworms.com for more details on this unique take on worm composting.






Composting chicken muck



Increasing numbers of Shropshire folk are keeping hens at home these days which is great but as you can imagine this produces one heck of a lot of muck!
Each chicken produces about 40 kg of muck a year - to visualise this that’s a pile about the size of a large sack of potatoes - and that’s just the muck - so you can probably double that amount if you factor in the bedding materials that will be mixed in with it.  
So if you are going to keep even a small flock of chickens you are going to have to think about waste management.   But don’t let this put you off, because actually far from being a problem this "waste" is a fantastic resource for your garden.  Chicken muck is loaded with Nitrogen, Potassium and Phosphorous - all essential for plant growth
That said you cant just add chicken muck direct to the garden because in its "raw" form it will actually scorch the soil and burn the plants as it is so high in Ammonia.  Also it contains harmful bugs such as salmonella and parasites - it also stinks! A lot!
So before you can work with it, you need to "mature" the muck in a heap for at least 6 months if not longer.  This process helps to stabilise the material into a less odourous compost like output plus it reduces the physical size of your pile significantly and helps attenuate pathogens. 
For most back yard chicken keepers you are going to produce muck mixed with typical bedding materials such as straw, shredded paper or sawdust.  The good news is that these materials also make a great addition to your compost and help keep balance the Nitrogen-rich chicken muck with carbon-rich material to ensure a good balanced compost like output.
If you wish you can then add the well rotted manure onto your compost heap for further maturation.  
Once ready you can then dig it into your flower beds to get all that goodness into your soil.

Friday 3 May 2013

Compost Awareness Week 2013



What is Compost Awareness Week?


The thirteenth annual International Compost Awareness Week (CAW) will be celebrated from Sunday 5th to Saturday 11th May 2013!  CAW aims to encourage more people to realise the benefits of home composting and the great results that can be achieved by using peat-free composts containing recycled material.

Throughout the week volunteers from Shropshire Master Composters will be out around Shropshire encouraging people to give new composting activities a go.

New to composting? Why not give composting a go. Anyone with even the tiniest bit of outside space can compost at home.

Already a compost champion? Think about additional things you could compost, such as eggs shells, shredded paper, cereal boxes, tea bags or even the contents from your vacuum cleaner.  Its not just garden waste which composts well.

Don’t know what to do with your compost? Try using your homemade compost to enrich your borders or to give your potted plants and containers an extra boost.

Ever tried peat-free compost? It’s made from recycled materials - and that’s good news for the environment because it contains natural goodness and it helps to cut down the amount of organic waste that is sent to landfill.  It also gets blooming good results for your garden!

For more information visit the www.homecomposting.org.uk website. 

To buy discount home compost bins visit www.shropshire.getcomposting.com

Thursday 2 May 2013

Why compost?

Why compost?

Compost is a natural, nutrient-rich food product for your garden. It will help improve soil structure, maintain moisture levels while helping to suppress plant disease. It will have everything your plants need including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and will help buffer soils that are very acidic or alkaline. Compost improves your soil's condition and your plants and flowers will love it!



Home-made compost is natural and peat-free which means it is good for the environment outside your garden too. It reduces the need to buy peat products, which have been commercially sourced and extracted from peat bogs, resulting in the release of the carbon which had previously been safely stored for millenia in the ground.

Composting is also the ultimate form of recycling, transforming your unwanted organic waste into a quality product which will help your garden bloom.  So really the question is why not compost - its something we should all be doing really - do what are you waiting for get composting today, visit www.getcomposting.com to get started.