1. Prevent slimy compost

Slimy compost may be caused by too little air, too much water or the wrong mix of ingredients. Your compost heap should contain around a 50/50 mix of high nitrogen green materials and carbon rich browns. Too many greens can cause slimy compost. Turn the compost heap regularly to aerate the heap. Failure to turn the heap is the main reason for poor results. Keep the heap covered if possible.

2. Make worm compost if you have a small garden

Worm compost is no substitute for regular compost from a compost heap. However, if you have a very small garden you may not have room for a compost heap and probably don’t have enough organic matter to put on it. Worm compost is produced from a wormery. Worms live in the wormery and waste is regularly added then broken down by the worms and can be used on the garden. Particular species of worms (eg Eisenia foetida, E. andreii andDendrabaena veneta) are used and the wormery should be kept warm to be active.

3. Wee on your compost

The urine in your wee is high in nitrogen. That makes it a good activator for your compost heap, particularly if you have a high content of carbon rich brown materials. Another nitrogen rich activator is Garotta. If your heap contains a lot of nitrogen for example grass cuttings you may need a carbon activator.

4. Use a sieve

Sieving gets rid of any chunky pieces of material before you put it on the garden. Materials that are removed can be put back on the compost heap.

5. Heat kills seeds and diseases

Compost heaps can either be ‘cold’ or ‘hot’. Hot compost heaps compost materials more quickly and also kill seeds and diseases. Some diseases will be killed by the microbial action alone, however heat kills more diseases. If you do a little planning you can increase the chances of having a hot compost heap. Getting the conditions right, adding the right mix of materials and adding sufficient materials at the outset can make it more likely you will get compost that is hot to the touch after a few days. The heap will then cool down and any seeds and diseases will have been killed.

Also known as mushroom soil, spent mushroom substrate or similar, mushroom compost is the spent growing medium from mushroom farming. Often available cheaply, mushroom compost can be used as soil conditioner or mulch.

Mushroom compost contains straw or manure, Nitrogen additives such as dried blood and chalk is added. It is high in organic matter and many nutrients such as Phosphorous and Potassium. Before use, large pieces of chalk should be removed to avoid build-up in the soil.

Uses

Because of the chalk content mushroom compost makes the soil more alkaline. It should not be overused and should not be used on acid loving species.

• Mushroom compost makes a great mulch. It will improve the soil structure and make existing nutrients more readily available to plants. It is also weed free. A few inches should be used for mulching.
• Mushroom compost is a useful soil conditioner, particularly if you have clay soil. It should be spread on the surface then worked in to the soil.
• Mushroom compost is ideal for the vegetable garden or allotment. Brassicas such as cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower particularly benefit from mushroom compost.
• It is great for dressing lawns. Ideally the compost should be cured and used with compost tea for this purpose.

Mushroom compost should not be used for pot plants. Avoid using mushroom compost near acid loving species such as rhododendrons and azaleas. It should also not be used on fruits.

Advantages

• Readily available
• Inexpensive
• No weeds
• Recycled
• High in organic matter

Disadvantages

• Chalk needs removing
• May contain pesticides
• High in salts

Summary

There are a great many uses for mushroom compost. If you can source some locally from a mushroom farm it could come in very handy as a soil conditioner or mulch. Mushroom compost usually refers to the spent growing medium however sometime unused mushroom compost is available.

Peat has been used in compost for 40-50 years. Its properties make it an ideal growing medium for all types of plants. However, harvesting peat causes extensive damage to peat bogs and releases significant amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere.

The UK government set a target to reduce the use of peat compost to 10% of all compost by 2010. However, in 2013 peat compost still accounts for 50% of all compost used in the UK. With the increased popularity of gardening the actual reduction has only been from 3.3 to 3 million cubic metres per year. The target is now to completely phase out peat in compost by 2020.

Peatland

Peatlands occur where waterlogging prevents plants from breaking down fully. Largely composed of sphagnum moss, peatland accumulates very slowly at a rate of 1mm/ yr. Because peat accumulates so slowly it is classed as a fossil fuel. Peatland occurs all around the world with the oldest peatlands being 360 million years old!

Environmental Issues

Habitat Damage

Peatlands are an important and rare ecosystem providing a habitat for numerous species of animals and plants. Ecologically, peatlands are considered to be as important as rain forests by many naturalists.

Peatlands are a type of wetland but the acidic conditions mean only certain species can thrive here. The RSPB are one of the main vocal opponents to peat harvesting because they are an important habitat for many birds.

Flood Prevention

Peat bogs absorb tons of water, their destruction increases the risk of flooding. The bogs also purify water and the  ditches for extraction interfere with the water table.

Climate Change

Peatlands are huge carbon sinks. The national trust estimates 20 yrs worth of UK emissions are contained in the UK’s peat bogs. Globally, 550 Gt of carbon is contained in peat bogs. The carbon is released as CO2 when the peat is dried out either naturally or when harvested. With rising temperatures peat bog fires have become a huge source of CO2.

Alternatives

Peat free compost had a bad name when it was first introduced. Gardeners got poor results and turned their backs on it. However, there has been significant developments in peat-free compost over the past few years. A peat free alternative won Which? best buy container compost in 2012. Excellent peat free composts are now available which use garden waste, bark, biochar and wool.

Poor Harvest 2012

The wet summer of 2012 in the UK lead to a poor peat harvest. Harvesting peat requires 4-5 days of dry weather. Peat is loosened then dries out for a few days before it is harvested. Britain’s biggest peat supplier only harvested 1/5 of the regular amount in 2012. That is good news for the peat bogs and the shortage is sure to lead to further innovations in peat-free composts.

Compostable bags are made from organic materials and break down like leaves or garden waste in the compost heap. They have become popular in recent years as more people are home composting and with so many Councils collecting organic waste.

Small compostable bags are used in the kitchen for collecting organic waste. That might be peelings to go on the compost heap or food waste for processing with the local Council. Larger bags can be used outdoors to hold garden waste or line wheelie bins.

Types of Compostable Bag

Paper

Paper bags can be used indoors to collect kitchen waste and outdoors to line the wheelie bins and free standing. Compostable paper bags need a high wet strength and for this reason recycled paper is not used in compostable paper bags, only virgin resources.

The wood used to make the bags has a longer fibre length which gives more strength to the bags that would be achieved from recycled paper. A high wet strength is required because of the moisture associated with organic waste.

Corn Starch

Corn starch bags are made from bioplastics. Instead of using petrochemicals, corn starch is used as a source of polymers for the product. In Europe, compostable corn starch bags come with a ‘seed’ logo. The seed logo ensures the bags have passed European Standard EN13432 which means they break down to compost in 3 months under test conditions. Other biodegradable corn starch bags are available so it is important to make sure they have the seed logo.

Corn starch bags can be used to line kitchen caddies and are commonly collected by Councils for processing with organic waste. They are available for dog waste and also as bin bags though they don’t break down in landfill.

Issues

Labeling

Biodegradable, oxo-biodegradeable, hydro-biodegradable, photo-biodegradable, water soluble… There are many labels given to different types of bags to try and big up their green credentials. However, it is only compostable bags with the seed logo that are suitable for home composting and as kitchen caddie liners.

Home Composting

There have been complaints that compostable bags don’t decompose as quickly as other compostables on the home compost heap. That may cause problems so gardeners should give them a try before committing to their use.

Council Collections

Some Councils have experienced problems with people using the wrong bags with their organic waste. Many will collect compostable bags but some won’t to avaiod contamination.

Environmental and Social

If the reason you are using compostable bags is because you want to be kind to the environment there are a few things to think about. The paper bags are used from virgin resources. Though the woodlands may be managed, there is an environmental impact to be considered.

Corn starch bags are made from bioplastics. They degrade much more quickly than conventional plastics, however only under the right conditions. Once in landfill they don’t break down as there is no oxygen available so are no better than conventional plastics.

Corn is the raw material for corn starch. With millions starving in the world there are moral issues about using potential food stuffs to produce plastics.

I hope you enjoyed this post, feel free to leave a comment.

Joe