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Making a good working compost

Building a good working compost is straight forward and quite easy to do.

First of all check out your garden and choose a patch of ground. Choose an
area that is more or less flat and gets part shade and part sun. The compost being straight on the ground allows worms free access to work on it, worms make the compost. The amount of sun and shade needed can vary depending on heat and dryness of the weather. The main thing here is  to remember that the compost needs to be warm and moist to work properly.

The chosen area for the compost pile does not need to be dug over but you
can dig it if you wish. Bring a few shovel fulls of soil from another part of your garden and put on this area.

Now you can begin building your compost.

Been weeding in the flower and vegetable patch? Weeds go on the compost.
This is a layer. When the layer  is roughly six to eight inches deep (15.24 to 20.32 cms) check: are the weeds dry? Yes, then hose them untill they are wet. Now put on a layer of soil, enough to roughly cover the layer of weeds. I use the word roughly because you do not have to be exact.

Here is a list of materials that can go on your compost:

• Vegetable peelings such as potato, carrot, cabbage

• Tea leaves

• Coffee grinds

• Dead house plants

• Unwanted plant trimmings

• Trimmings from garden plants

• Dead plants

• Leaves from trees

• Grass clippings

• Weeds

Anything that goes on the compost does not have to go in a strict layer of it’s
own. Anything and all can be mixed together and added in layers with soil between. Just make sure everything is moist. Last layer should always be soil.

Keep building up in layers and checking the moisture content. You will notice
that the compost level goes up with added materials and down and as the compost is
settling and working.

If there is hot dry day and you notice that the outer soil layer of the compost is dry grab a garden fork and pull a patch of compost apart to make a hole to put your hand in. If it is warm and moist close it back up and water the outside until the soil is wet through, if it is dry give it a good wetting.

Don’t worry when it rains. Rain will soak through in to the compost helping to
keep it moist. If you happen to get a torrential down pour and the compost is washed out just pile it back up again; you do not have to sort it  just rake it back up into a pile and cover with soil – there, all’s back to normal.

During the winter months you can keep throwing vegetable peelings and
any trimmings from indoor plants onto your compost. If you garden year round just keep following the above notes and if you are in cold, snowy areas throw the trimmings on and the snow will keep covering them up.

When the weather has warmed up and plants are growing again check out your compost. All frost gone? Then pull it apart and add the soil to your flower and vegetable gardens. Anything that has not yet broken down throw back on the compost.