Miscalculation leads to compost mountain
AGREEN-FINGERED gardening grandmother is going to need some bigger flower beds, after a miscalculation resulted in 12 tonnes of compost being delivered to her doorstep.
Jo Edwards, a full-time support worker, decided to fill her extra free time during the first lockdown last year by sprucing up a plot next to her house. As she sought to dig in on the allotment spot, she realised she needed some compost in order to fill some rose beds she had made for her grandchildren.
After trying to work out how much she would need and factoring in the fact that the unit cost was lower for a bigger load, she ordered three dumpy bags of compost, expecting to have enough to fill the 3.9m by 1.3m rose beds she had built.
However, when the delivery arrived, she was in for a soily surprise – as twelve tonnes of compost were dumped in front of her house.
Jo, of Liskeard, said the amount was certainly a shock and more than she thought she would receive. “During the first lockdown I kept myself busy by starting an allotment right next to my house which was overgrown and it became a project,” said the granny.
“I had some time on my hands – some me-time – and took up the allotment. As part of this, I decided to make some rose beds for the grandchildren and decided to order some compost for them.
“I tried to work out how much I’d need for six rose beds and worked it out at about three large dumpy bags. It took a while. I tried to work out what the mass would be like and it’s quite a lot. I then noticed it would work out cheaper to get the biggest load I could get.
“It was quite dramatic when it turned up and a surprise when I saw 12 tonnes of soil at the front of my property.”
Rather than let her new consignment go to waste, Jo said that she would put the compost to good use by making more rose beds than she originally envisioned. “I’m going to have to make some more rose-beds to use the extra compost,” she added. “I think I’ve got enough for another three large rose beds plus six halfsized ones and possibly will have to make some more after that.”
The new addition of the compost mountain to the Liskeard estate’s landscape has been turning heads, with Jo saying that her neighbours and friends found the sight entertaining.
She added: “The compost heap has kept the kids entertained and the neighbours have enjoyed seeing it too.
“Quite a few who have seen the pictures on Facebook have come over to have a look. I’m just doing my allotments, but everyone is finding it entertaining. People think I’m crazy.”
“It might take me a couple of weeks to get it over to the allotment. I’ve only got a wheelbarrow to move it all, so by doing the loads barrow by barrow it’s definitely going to take some time.”
‘The compost heap has kept the kids entertained and the neighbours have enjoyed seeing it too’