Can I compost Giant Hogweed?

Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) is a very large
perennial plant that towers over a grown person, reaching up to
5 m (16 ft) in height. Giant Hogweed is a public safety hazard
due to its caustic sap.

CAUTION : - Giant Hogweed can be a serious health hazard for humans. Its clear, watery sap contains toxins that can cause severe dermatitis (inflammation of the skin). You can get severe burns if you get the sap on your skin.

For this reason we would not recommend trying to compost this plant.   Of course its a natural product so it will rot - but why take the risk? It is best left well alone, do not even try to control or burn it, this is a professional job for a professional contractor.

Should oleander leaves be composted?

Sometimes when we are out and about in Shropshire & Telford promoting home composting we get asked about some unusual plants which are used for ornamental shrubs and such like Nerium (Oleander).

Now generally speaking you can compost pretty much any plants and even the But Oleander (aka Nerium) leaves are extremely toxic to humans and other animals if ingested, so do not use as a mulch or a compost anywhere that an animal or person might accidently eat some.  The composting process should break down most toxins but due to the severity of this we strongly recommend you dont.  Arguably you could use the compost in areas where people and animals wont come into contact for example. The molecule which is toxic in oleander is extremely large however, so there is no threat that the substance might be taken up by other plants but absolutely never should compost made with oleander should be used in vegetable gardens. .

Spring into home composting

Spring has sprung in sunny Shropshire and it's time to get composting.   That's the message to the residents of Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin from volunteer group Shropshire Master Composters.

The group who work alongside the Councils of Shropshire and their contractors to promote more recycling in the county highlight recent analysis of the contents of general rubbish bins in Shropshire which proved that more than half of the waste we chuck out in the county could simply be composted at home.  

Not only would this take the strain off of ever diminishing landfill sites but it could take dozens of lorries off the road and ultimately could save local taxpayers over £15,000,000 a year and help take the strain off of Council tax too.  With ever rising costs for waste collection, treatment and disposal anyone can see that business case for home composting is simply overwhelming. 

Home composting benefits you directly too.  No more trips to the garden center to stock up on heavy and pricey bags of compost - you can DIY and make your own at home - so residents can keep millions of pounds a year more in their pockets too.  What a stimulus for the local economy that could be.  

Composting helps to make your garden more beautiful too.  Composting all your green waste, paper, cardboard and vegetable peelings also returns important nutrients back into your garden, improves plant health and growth, helps soil structure and improves moisture retention.

For more information on composting and if you would like to order a home compost bin to get started please call 0845 130 60 90 or order online at www.shropshire.getcomposting.com 

Carry on composting this Christmas

With Christmas now only a couple of weeks away, the need to reduce waste is significant. Composting food waste can help, and a compost bin is the ideal gift for keen gardeners in your family.

Compost bins make a great Christmas present for green-fingered friends and family - so why not check out www.shropshire.getcomposting.com for ideas.  

At Christmas we always produce more food waste than at any other time of the year. The remnants of your New Year’s Eve party will also be a welcome addition to your compost bin such as nut shells and wooden cocktail sticks.  When the festivities have drawn to a close, if there is any room left in your compost bin you can add those natural home-made decorations like holly and ivy centre pieces, mistletoe and other compostable decorations.

So don't let the cold-weather put you off going down to the garden this Christmas, you can make your own compost, reduce waste and save money all year round with a compost heap.

Actinomycetes

   

Ever noticed a sort of white layer on your compost?  Often if you look closely you can see a kind of spiders web like coating of branches of grey-white filament.  It's not mould in most cases its actually a large colony of bacteria known as Actinomycetes.  These are a type of bacteria which can break down cellulose and lignin (the building blocks of plants) so they are absolutely fundamental to the composting process.

Interestingly they are also the same group of bacteria which cause gum disease but you needn't worry about that unless you plan on munching your way through a pile of compost!

Whilst individual bacteria (if looked at under a microscope) are rod-shaped they cluster together in colonies and form tree like shaped patterns leading the (incorrect but widely held for many years) assumption that they are a type of fungi. 

A higher-form bacteria actinomycetes live in soil naturally but are attracted into your compost heap to feed.  Grayish in appearance, they are crucial because they can process some of the more resistant materials in the pile such as tougher woodier lignin. 

They are the bacteria which is responsible for the pleasant earthy smell of compost. As they reduce materials, they liberate carbon, nitrogen, and ammonia, making nutrients available for higher plants.  Which is exactly what you need to help your garden grow. 

Make leaf mould this Autumn

If you want to try something new in the garden this Autumn, why not make your own leaf mould.  By dealing with your own leaves you directly benefit from the end product produced.  Also you help reduce waste which helps reduce lorry movements and avoids the huge financial cost and environmental impacts of waste management. Autumn strips our trees naked and carpets Shropshire with fallen leaves you really should see this not as a problem but an opportunity.  Leaves are a wonderful resource with which to make a rich leaf mould. 

So if you want to try something new in the garden this Autumn, why not make your leaves work for you. Leaf mould is not the same as compost.  Compost is produced by bacterial decomposition but leaf mould is produced by fungal decomposition.  It is a slow, cool process and requires minimal oxygen, which means you don’t have to turn it.

Here are our top tips to make good leaf mould for your garden.

 1. Rake up fallen leaves from deciduous trees into manageable piles.  Avoid evergreens as leaves are much tougher and take years to break down fully.  A good idea is to collect leaves using a lawn mower because chopped leaves rot down a bit more quickly, but the end product is just as good.   

2. Put leaves into a cage. These are simple to make from a roll of chicken wire. Alternatively a builders bag (with a couple of air holes in it) filled with autumn leaves and with its handles lashed together also works well.

3. Make sure leaves are wet, watering if necessary. This is essential to kick start their decomposition.

That’s it – now walk away – make yourself a cup of tea and put your feet up - it really is that simple.  Come back in a couple of a years and your cage will be full of rich organic humus.  You can utilise this around your garden as a soil improver, a potting mix or a mulch. 

So this autumn don't see collecting fallen leaves as a chore, see it as a gift.  

The Green Cone

The Green Cone is a unique type of product which is available at discounted rates for residents in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin via www.shropshire.getcomposting.com

The green cone is unusual for us composters - in that it doesn't actually produce any compost!! So... if you want lots of nutrient rich solid material to dig into your garden as a soil improver this is not really the solution for you.... However we know from talking to thousands of Shropshire residents each year that oddly though this may be an attraction for some folk who are less into gardening and simply want somewhere to get rid of food waste without having to fill up their rubbish bin!

Thats why the green cone is not strictly (by those of us in the know) refered to as a composter at all - its a food waste digestor.  Its literally just somewhere to safely and securely allow your food waste to rot down.

And the good thing about the Green Cone is that its rodent proof - so you can use it to get rid of ALL types of food waste, meat, fish, dairy, left over take away curry, you name it, it can all go into a green cone - which is great if you're a major carnivore or if primary motivation is just to reduce waste to landfill.

The main way that the Green cone acheives this is by the 'basket' which you bury in your garden and this stops pesky critters tunnelling under the cone to get at your leftovers.  The cone then goes on top to provide an entry route and accelerate the breakdown of the food waste. So its odd for us composters because its dug in to the ground it does feels some what almost like having a mini landfill site in your back yard!

This is of course very diffferent from a landfill though or from simply burying food in your garden because its an aerobic process.  So in that way its like composting, the food waste you put in is exposed to air.  This is completely unlike a landfill site where waste is compacted and buried and becomes deprived of air and thus breaks down anaerobically.



As the diagram above shows quite neatly, the green cone utilises aerobic decomposition.  The solar energy creates convection currents within the cone which drive air flow and keep the material well oxygenated so it breaks down into harmless products which actually fertilises the surrounding soil. 

So if you want to help reduce food waste to landfill go to www.shropshire.getcomposting.com and check out the Green Cone, this could be a great solution to help reduce waste disposal in Shropshire.

Special offer for Compost Awareness Week 2014

As part of International Compost Awareness Week (5 to 11 May 2014), people in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin are being urged to take advantage of a special offer from www.getcomposting.com is encouraging more residents to get composting with a special ‘share and save’ offer on home composting bins.

The ‘buy one get one half price’ offer on the already discounted compost bins means residents can team up with a family member, friend or neighbour to each get a compost bin for only £14.98 plus delivery, a saving of over 60% on the RRP of £39.

Once put to use, household organic waste can be recycled into fantastic peat free compost, that will not only improve the quality of home-grown fruit and vegetables but increase yield, providing an abundance of produce to share between family and friends. Home composting has the added benefit of producing a free supply of top quality compost.

During Compost Awareness Week 2014, volunteers will be promoting home composting at the following venues: -

• Tuesday 6 May – Shrewsbury, The Square from 10 am – 3 pm
• Wednesday 7 May – Oswestry, The Outdoor Market (Bailey Head) from 10am – 2pm
• Thursday 8 May – Ludlow, adjacent to the Outdoor Market in Castle Square from 10am – 2 pm
• Friday 9 May – Bridgnorth, adjacent to the market under the old market hall from 10am – 2 pm

There are a range of compost bins and accessories available to suit new recruits and seasoned gardeners.  For full details or to order visit www.getcomposting.com or call 0844 571 4444. The ‘buy one get one half price’ offer is available on selected products.

Volunteers wanted to help reduce waste in Shropshire

Volunteers wanted to help reduce waste

Local volunteer group Shropshire Master Composters on are on the look out for volunteers from Shropshire & Telford & Wrekin who want to help work to reduce waste in their area.  Volunteers work closely with the local authorities in their local communities to promote home composting, waste prevention and recycling - http://www.shropshirecomposters.co.uk/

Volunteers are offered high quality training and support and in return they give their time without payment to do a variety of community events, talks, demonstrations, school visits, public outreach programmes and publicity work all aimed at helping us getting people to raise awareness and ultimately to waste less.

As a volunteer you will receive free training in home composting and related environmental issues provided by Garden Organic (formerly HDRA). The initial foundation training course will be held on Saturday 29^th March 2014 at the Shropshire Wildlife Trust in Shrewsbury.   

The course has been arranged by Shropshire Council, Telford & Wrekin Council and local waste management firm Veolia Environmental Services.  The training is delivered by composting experts from the national horticultural charity Garden Organic. 

Since its inception in 2006, we have trained over 100 volunteers who have gone on to give more than 10,000 hours of their time promoting home composting to tens of thousands of people around the county.

Who can become a Master Composter?

·         Anyone over the age of 18 can become a Master Composter; you don’t need to be an expert composter already or have any volunteer or community group experience.

·         All trainees get a Master Composter resource pack and will be offered a follow up visit to a local composting site and further visits to Garden Organic Gardens in Coventry as well as local study tours and workshops to develop their expertise following the course.

·         Once the training has been completed, you will be expected to spend at least 30 hours (around 4 days work) over the following year promoting home composting as a volunteer (i.e. not as part of a paid position).

·         As a Master Composter you will receive free training, free resources and travel expenses to help you do your work sponsored by Veolia.

·         Becoming a Master Composter is a great way to meet new people, learn valuable skills, and benefit from being part of a team that makes a difference.

If you are interested in becoming a Master Composter please email james.thompson@shropshire.gov.uk or call us on 01743 255989.

Can I add worms to my compost heap?

Worms are worms - right? They're all the same - right? WRONG!  Although many people assume that worms are all the same there are actually around 28 species of worm in the UK alone!


So collecting up earth worms from around your garden and adding them to your compost heap is not really helping - they are the wrong type of worm.  The worms you want in your compost heap are not earth worms but specialist red worms and tiger worms which have huge appetites and specialise on eating rotting food and organic material. 

You see all worms live in different depths of soil, and are grouped into three main categories. Deep, Shallow and leaf litter.  The most common one you find in the garden are the deep burrowers known as Lob worms - these guys do not want to be in a hot sweating rotting compost heap and if you put them in they will (if they even survive the ordeal) try to get out, they like to live in cool deep dark soil.

The ones you want are the one who specialise in living in rotting leaves, manure heaps and compost heaps. These worms are often red in colour and much thinner than Lob / Earth worms.  The 3 main species of worms you want for composting are :-

•Red Worm (Eisenia andrei) also known as red wrigglers

•Tiger Worm (Eisenia fetida) also known as brandlings / Manure Worms

•Dendrobaena (Eisenia hortensis) also known as Dendras / European Nightcrawler

Red worms as their name suggests are red and the same size as the Tiger Worm (around 5 cm's) Tiger worms and Dendrobaena are very similar to look at as they are both stripy, however Dendras are twice the size and fatter (around 10 cm's long).

So the official advice from our Master Composters is no - do not add worms to your heap - simply place your compost heap on bare soil and you will attract all the (appropriate) worms that you need - once the heap is mature and cool enough for them. 

Wiggly Wigglers

We’re really fortunate to have 'green' businesses based in our area such as Wiggly Wigglers who are based out of the lovely Lower Blakemere Farm in rural Herefordshire. They started out as a small farm enterprise and used to operate from the farmhouse itself but such is their success and the increased interest in green gardening products that, as Wiggly Wigglers expanded (thanks to you all), they’ve outgrown the house and now they work in several of the farm’s outbuildings, which have been converted for life in the twenty-first century. 

They’ve also transformed the old walled garden into a wildlife haven where we are able to showcase many of the products that we sell, so that visitors can see their philosophy in action.  The company takes its name from the worm breeding side of the business and the fact that you can buy specialist worms and wormeries for home composting your food waste.  However they can mail order a much wider range of products that just wormeries these days - including everything you need for a green garden from British wildflower seeds, to bird food, water butts, compost bins, and much more besides.

To see their product range and support this local business visit www.wigglywigglers.co.uk

DON’T HAVE A ‘RUBBISH’ CHRISTMAS, GET COMPOSTING!

DON’T HAVE A ‘RUBBISH’ CHRISTMAS, GET COMPOSTING!

Christmas is almost upon us and as always it’s a great excuse to over indulge ourselves with great food, the joys of present giving and partying into the night!

However, the morning after can leave you with more than a headache when you look around you at the debris and waste that the festivities have created. Rather than overfill the dustbin and pile it up for the post Christmas collection, why not take the environmentally friendly option and compost it. On average over 30% of domestic waste is compostable and this percentage rises over the Christmas period.

Home composting reduces the amount of waste sent to landfill, so to encourage households to give it a go the councils of Shropshire are offering cut-price compost bins from only £16.98 (RRP £39) plus £5.49 delivery.  For more details call 0844 571 4444 or look online at www.shropshire.getcomposting.com   

CHRISTMAS  COMPOSTING TIPS

If you already compost your organic waste here are some great tips to help you keep a good thing going over the Christmas period. You’ll be surprised how many Christmas items can be composted.

*        Make your compost mixture more a-peel-ing! At Christmas we always eat much more and produce more food waste than at any other time of the year. Your compost bin will really appreciate the peelings from your tasty winter vegetables and festive fruits such as Satsuma’s and Clementine’s

*        Warm up your worms! Wood ash from open fires can be put into your compost bin; Let it cool right down first though, you don’t want to cook the worms and other little critters working hard to produce compost for your spring veg.

*        Give your mix a Christmas present! Plain wrapping paper (non metallic/glossy/plastic/waxy) and gift tags can be scrunched up and added to the mix, but if you do, make sure you add it gradually and mix with your fruit and veg peelings to get the right balance. Cardboard packaging from Christmas toys and gifts will add fibre and structure to your bin, as well as paper napkins, Christmas crackers, inners and party hats! (But again, be careful not to include anything metallic/glittery or made from plastic film).

*        Wish your Compost bin a Happy New Year! The remnants of your New Years Eve party will also be a welcome addition to your compost bin. Nut shells, wooden cocktail sticks, paper plates and some party food packaging. Natural corks can also be added but will take longer to break down.

*        Twelfth Night! When the festivities have drawn to a close for another year, if there is any room left in your compost bin you can add those natural home made decorations, the holly and the ivy, mistletoe, paper chains and other compostable decorations.

For more information visit www.getcomposting.com 

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Dont let your pumpkin go to waste this Haloween! Scoop out the insides to make a delicious soup and then why not make a tasty snack from the seeds as well!  Here is our simple recipe for making salted roasted pumpkin seeds.

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius.

2. Wash and pat-dry the seeds.

3. In a bowl or lunchbox, cover them with a generous glug of oil and a generous pinch of salt.

4. Spread the seeds evenly across a baking tray.

5. Keep them in the oven until they start to turn a crispy brown colour (about 30 minutes).

6. Leave on the side to cool.

And remember of course to home compost the pumpkin shell afterwards! www.shropshire.getcomposting.com

Bubble House Wormeries

Whether you are a single person living alone, a family with children, vegetarian or meat eater, or a business producing food or green waste, there is a better way of dealing with your organic waste than throwing it in the bin. Garden owner, allotment holder, flat dweller, business or educational establishment, this is the one component of rubbish that you can recycle yourselves, at source, with no need for it to be transported else where to be dealt with.

Earthworms have worked tirelessly for millenia aerating, tilling and fertilising the soil. The practise of vermiculture is at least a century old but fell out of fashion when the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides became commonplace last century. Their use led to the destruction of earthworms on a colossal scale. Vermiculture is now being revived worldwide with diverse ecological objectives such as waste management, soil detoxification, soil regeneration and sustainable agriculture.
 

We are lucky in our area to have a local 'green' business (based just over the south Shropshire border in Worcestershire) called Bubblehouse Worms who breed our own worms as they don’t like the idea of them being imported, and they are hand harvested so that they reach the customers in peak condition. These wonderful creatures will gobble up your food waste and turn it into nature’s finest fertiliser, worm casts.

Bubblehouse sell a wide range of products for managing your waste and improving your garden but perhaps the most iconic is the stacked wormery which incorperates a pretty plant pot on the top.  This way you can keep worms, process food waste and grow your own whilst you're at it! They are ideal for places without access to a garden or for anyone who wants to be more sustainable.  For more information visit www.bubblehouseworms.com

 

Get Composting this Autumn

Make the most of those falling leaves - Get Composting this autumn...


The nights are drawing in and there is a distinct chill in the air, all signs that autumn is now upon us. Met Office figures show that 2013 has been the hottest summer since 2006 and the higher than average temperatures along with the occasional heavy downpour, has encouraged plant growth, creating an abundance of garden waste.

The traditional picture of the autumn clear up are mountains of leaves blowing about and smoky bonfires, polluting the atmosphere. A much more environmentally-friendly way to dispose of this waste is to compost it at home. Simply throw it into a compost bin and over the winter months it will rot down to produce a nutrient-rich, free supply of compost.

Fallen leaves, pruning’s, dead plants and flowers are great material to feed the compost bin and nature makes sure they are in plentiful supply. A good tip is to use a lawnmower to collect up leaves: this shreds the leaves and helps to speed up the composting process.

The secret of great compost is a good mix of materials (you don’t want too much of any one material). If you have too many leaves for your compost bin, put the excess into a bin bag, make a few holes in it, and leave it in a secluded spot to rot down. It takes a little longer but the end result is leaf mould, a fine product that could be used in place of peat as potting compost for container plants.

Shropshires local authorities are offering discounted compost bins in partnership with www.getcomposting.com. Prices start at £16.98 plus delivery – less than half the recommended retail price of £39.

A Buy One Get One Half Price offer is also available on selected items for residents in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin - call 0844 571 4444 or visit www.shropshire.getcomposting.com 

Can I compost cork?

Sometimes when we are out promoting composting with Shropshire Master Composters we get asked can I compost the cork from a wine bottle?



To clarify by this we mean you know a proper old fashioned natural cork, not the plastic ones obviously.  Well the answer is yes because cork is just a type of bark from a tree and so it will ultimately rot down too.  Although we would caution composting alot of them because they will take an incredibly long time to break down, corks are used because they are naturally impermeable - which makes it perfect for plugging a bottle of vino but makes composting a bit tricky.  Chopping the cork up a bit (tricky as this may be) will speed up the decomposition a little but overall in small amounts you can add them in and they do rot eventually and are (eventually) a valuable addition to the finished compost.

Improving soil with compost

Many of us have inherited gardens that are inherently poor for growing plants, whether this is down to the underlying geology of the area or historic management there is a simple way to overcome the challenges of low fertility and poor soil, its simply to add compost.  

Compost improves your soil in a number of ways.  Crucially compost returns nutrients to the soil such as phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen, and many trace minerals, all to be released slowly over 1-2 years for optimal plant growth & health.

• Compost is a natural fertilizer that improves soil aeration, tilth & drainage.
• Compost, as a top-dressing, promotes weed control by suppressing growth. Furthermore, improved tilth makes it more difficult for weeds to anchor roots.
• Compost controls erosion by creating good tilth.
• Compost protects plant roots from sun and wind damage.
• Compost conserves water, when used as a mulch: the soil retains moisture beneath it.
• Compost increases water retention when absorbed into loose or sandy soils. It aids drainage in clay or other heavy soils.
• Compost reduces soil diseases because of its high nutrient content.

All in all if you want a healthy garden you need healthy soil and if you want healthy soil you need to compost.  With rising food prices and a crisis of biodiversity around the globe, we need to improve our soils health and so we all need to get more composting going on.  For more information on how to get started with composting visit getcomposting.com

Windfall fruit

As the nights draw in and we enter the season of 'mists and mellow fruitfulness' many of us will find our gardens and driveways carpeted in windfall fruit. 

We have had a few queries of late about this relating to this issue because whilst of course the best thing to do with windfall fruit is a) Eat it! and b) home compost it some folk seem to be unsure about if you can include this with your garden waste for the council collections.

Yes windfall fruit and vegetables from the garden are garden waste not food waste.  So it is perfectly OK to add this to the Councils garden waste collection service.

The confusion seems to have arisen because most garden waste in Shropshire goes for on-farm composting and following the BSE & Foot & Mouth strict Animal Byproduct Regulations were introduced which mean that food waste cannot be composted on farms.
Whilst of course fruit and vegetables are not an animal byproduct, the ban applies to anything from the kitchen so captures all food waste.  The distinction with material from your garden (whether edible or not) is clearly laid out in guidelines produced by the Department for the Environment.  The point at which this would change would be if you brought the items into your kitchen.  Anything which has been in the kitchen, could potentially be cross contaminated with pathogens from other foodstuffs and thus would then be deemed to be kitchen waste which cannot currently be composted on farms due to the Animal Byproduct Regulations.

Hopefully that clears up any confusion? Because looking around my area I can see tonnes of fruit all over the ground right now and I would hate to think that might end up in landfill when it is perfectly OK to compost it with your garden waste.

What to do with your old Argos catelogues

Residents in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin are being encouraged to help reduce waste to landfill by recycling their old Argos catalogues, when the new one is launched in July 2013.
It is estimated that there are over 30 million Argos catalogues in circulation across the country, each weighing 2kg each – a combined weight equivalent to more than 10,000 double decker buses!!!!
In Shropshire and Telford, people can recycle old and unwanted Argos catalogues in their kerbside collection box with their paper. They also compost down well eventually but you may need to tear them up a bit first.

Paper based catelogues are a carbon rich source of 'brown' fibrous material for your compost heap which help to mop up moist food waste and other 'green' materials.
All Argos catalogues collected in Shropshire will be sent to the UPM paper mill at Shotton, Deeside where they are turned into newsprint paper and used to make newspapers.

The Indore Composting Method

The Indore Composting method was based on ancient agricultural practices in India but was developed and written about by the late great, Sir Albert Howard in his 1940 epic 'An Agricultural Testament'.  At the time he was working as an agricultural advisor to the Indian government and so he studied alot of aspects of what was then a very low intensive system of farming in India.  But the thing that really fascinated him and to which he devoted most of the writing was the local composting method in Indore.  His scientific experiments showed quite clearly that the compost they made was special and resulted in higher plant productivity than either fertilizer or raw manure.




With the Indore method, a compost heap is built up in 6 inch layers, like a sandwich.  The first layer is made up of green plant matter such as grass clippings or crops. The next layer is a layer of manure, and then its capped off with a thin layer of topsoil. This layering system is  repeated until the pile reaches a height of about 1.5 meters (5 feet) and the heap is doused with water if neccessary to kept it moist.
This technique has been adapted and applied widely and much of the basics of home composting which will still preach today are based on the fundamental tenets of layering & mixing and using a combination of Nitrogen rich materials and Carbon based materials. 


On of the key things with the Indore Composting Method is that the pile needs to be turned over to fire up the microbes and ensure it heats up.  This is done atleast twice in the traditional method using a spade or fork.  Of course in India, the climatic conditions in particular speeds up the composting process, but this technique can still be applied in any country because the microbes themselves create heat anyway.