House & Home

– the idealid l mixturei i is 2// 3 carbonb to 1/ 3 nitrogen. Carbon is brown waste – the stuff that turns black when burned, such as paper, old leaves, twigs, cardboard, eggshells. Nitrogen is the green stuff – fresh lawn clippings, kitchen fruit and veg waste and fresh leaves.

Once you get the balance right, nature and worms will do the rest for you. If your mix is slimy, add more brown waste. If too dry, add more green waste. What shouldn’t go in? I wouldn’t recommend meat or fish scraps that can attract pests. Fruit can attract flies, so if you are composting that, cover it with a layer of grass clippings or leaves.

Definitely don’t put in anything diseased such as rose leaves with black spot – this is fungi that will flourish in a compost heap.

I’d also avoid putting in perennial weeds with fleshy roots such as bindweed and scutch TRT TRYR Y IF YOUR GARDEN grass as only a bit of the root has to survive for the plant to keep growing. Turning the compost will speed up the process but if you’re not in a hurry it will decompose without your intervention. How do I use the compost? You can dig it into borders to condition the soil – worms will digest and break it up, improving soil structure and aeration.

It will help break up heavy soils and make them lighter and it will improve the nutrient holding capacity and substance of light soil.

It also makes a great mulch, ideal for spreading now to suppress weed development and in summer to retain moisture in the soil.

You can mix it with potting compost for plant propagation, although you might need to sieve some of the chunky bits out.

With a compost heap, not only can you reduce your waste levels but you can harvest the perfect plant and soil food for free.

Plus, you can take enormous pride in the fact that you are contributing to a much greener, healthier planet.