Outdoors

How To Make a Compost Heap

Composting is a great way to turn waste into a nutrient-rich food for your garden – plus it’s inexpensive and environmentally friendly! So, to save the world one compost heap at a time, read on.

2 minute read

You can compost:

Grass cuttings, vegetable peelings, fruit scraps, old flowers, coffee grounds and filter paper, garden clippings, straw and hay, egg shells, egg boxes, newspaper, cardboard and wool.

You can’t compost:

Meat, cooked vegetables, dairy products, diseased plants, dog waste, cat litter, nappies, perennial weeds or weeds with seed heads.

For the perfect compost heap, you need:

50/50 ‘greens’ e.g. veg peelings and fruit scraps, and ‘browns’ e.g. cardboard and paper. Too much of either will mean your compost is too wet or dry and the latter will encourage ants.

Your heap needs lots of air, so every few weeks lift areas and turn the warm inside to the outside, using a garden fork.

The compost heap needs moisture and should be kept about as damp as a wrung-out sponge.

Keep a piece of cardboard or old carpet on top of the pile – this will keep in the warmth produced by organisms.

Your compost will be ready to use in around three months.  Use it to enrich your soil, feed your plants and even top-dress your lawn.