Posts Tagged ‘compost’

Container gardening is fantastic. On its own, a terracotta pot is just a container and summer bedding is just some plants. However, selectively plant the summer bedding in the container, add a few sprinkles of green-fingered expertise and you have created a miniature garden-scape. You are effectively planting a garden in miniature. This is known to some people as container design planting. The constructive planting of containers allows people who may just have a balcony to enjoy a taste of horticulture; containerised planting also brings the garden within the reach of a disabled persons fork and trowel.

* Cleaning containers

To help you create thriving container plantings for the summer, please consider the following… If you intend replanting any containers you should get rid of all traces of compost from the previous year. Be scrupulous in your washing as particles of previous year’s compost can harbour pests, diseases and mould spores. To ensure a clean environment for growing, wash the heavier covering of old compost off with a hose. Follow this by plunging the containers into water containing a garden disinfectant such as ‘Jeyes fluid’. Scrub off any stubborn compost with a scrubbing brush, do this whilst in the disinfectant. Rinse the containers well under running water and leave them to dry. Use this method on window boxes as well, particularly if you have a build up of old compost and your planting tends to finish flowering far too early.

* Container drainage

Check your container for adequate drainage holes, If you have too few or no drainage holes at all then your plants may suffer from oxygen starvation due to excess water. To prevent drainage points becoming blocked with compost, I suggest placing a layer of broken terracotta or polystyrene bedding plant trays over the drainage holes. In fact broken polystyrene bedding plant trays can also be used to fill the main body of larger containers; this will reduce the amount of potting compost needed.

* Compost level

Fill your container with a quality peat or loam-based compost and firm lightly. Ensure this compost stops at least 1 inch below the lip of the container; this will be your watering space.

* Planting

Hours before planting, plunge these plants in a bucket of water and thoroughly soak them. Watering like this will prevent shock upon replanting and will also help merge the plants existing compost to its new container compost. Position the plants on top of the container to get an impression of what the final planting could look like, it is better to alter positions at this stage rather than at the mucky post planting stage.
Read the rest of this entry »

It is becoming more and more obvious these days that we need to recycle as much as we can, and anyone with a garden has a head start and can make a great contribution. To many novice gardeners, including myself, this subject can be somewhat difficult to grasp; but in fact it is really straightforward – there are just a few very simple rules:

You need a compost bin, and the type you decide on rather depends on the size of your garden, but there are a couple of options:

A purpose built plastic bin purchased from a garden centre, not too expensive; and you just fill up from the top and a few months later, you can take compost from a small hatch at the base.

Alternatively, if you can wield a saw and some nails, you can make a wooden slatted enclosure, one metre square – or you can buy them ready made – and cover it with a piece of old carpet to keep the worst of the weather off.

What you can compost:

- all uncooked vegetable and fruit peelings
- teabags, tea leaves and coffee grounds
- egg shells
- dead flowers from the house
- and from the garden, soft prunings
- spent bedding plants, dead leaves, lawn mowings
- spent compost from hanging baskets or containers
- some dryer materials such as shredded pape
- rabbit and guinea pig bedding.
Read the rest of this entry »

Having an ample supply of good rich compost is the gardeners dream.
It has many uses, and all of those uses will result in nicer plants. However, composting can be time consuming and hard work. I place a reasonable value on my time, so spending hours and hours turning compost piles doesn’t qualify as a worthwhile exercise, at least in my book. Nonetheless, I do compost, but I do so on my terms.

I built two composting bins. Each bin is five feet wide, five feet deep, and four feet high. I built the bins by sinking 4” by 4” posts in the ground for the corners, and then nailed 2 by 4’s and 1 by 4’s, alternating on the sides.

I left 2” gaps between the boards for air circulation. The 2 by 4’s are rigid enough to keep the sides from bowing out, and in between each 2 by 4 I used 1 by 4’s to save a little money. The bins are only 3 sided, I left the front of the bins open so they can be filled and emptied easily. Photos of my compost bins are on this page: http://www.freeplants.com\composting.htm

I started by filling just one of the bins. I put grass clippings, dried leaves, and shrub clippings in the bins. I try not to put more than 6” of each material on a layer. You don’t want 24” of grass clippings in the bin and you should alternate layers of green and brown material. If necessary, keep a few bags of dry leaves around so you can alternate layers of brown waste and green waste.

When we root cuttings we use coarse sand in the flats, so when it’s time to pull the rooted cuttings out of the flats, the old sand goes on the compost pile. In our little backyard nursery we also have some plants in containers that do not survive. Rather than pulling the dead plant and the weeds out of the container, and then dumping the potting soil back on the soil pile, we just dump the whole container in the compost bin. This adds more brown material to the mix, and is a lot easier than separating the soil and the weeds.
Read the rest of this entry »

Chooks (chickens) have been domesticated for many centuries. They originate from the Malaysian rainforests so they love to free-range. Chooks are such easy animals to care for, can make great pets for children and are a valuable resource for the organic gardener.
You’ll need to check with your local council to find out their regulations. Some councils won’t allow you to keep any poultry, whereas others will—some even allow roosters.

Some of the benefits of keeping chooks:
- they supply you with beautiful, fresh eggs – daily
- your left overs will never go in the bin again (reduces waste)
- provide you with an excellent fertilizer base
- they dig over the soil (so you don’t have to)
- they reduce insect numbers; great for around your orchard
- provide you with live entertainment

Basic requirements
* Dry, fox proof shelter
* A safe place to lay eggs and hatch chicks (if you have a rooster)
* A roosting perch off the ground (allow about 20cm per bird)
* Layer pellets (or crumble for chicks) should make up the majority of their diet.
* Kitchen scraps are great for variety
* Wheat, corn or other grains should be offered occasionally, but not form the majority of their diet
* Birds have no teeth; they swallow small pebbles or grit to grind down their food in their gizzard. They must have access to a supply of grit for this purpose.
* Never feed chocolate, coffee, avocado or rhubarb, as they are toxic to chooks
* They must always have access to clean, fresh water.
Read the rest of this entry »

Composting your kitchen and garden waste is a great way to reduce the amount of waste you dispose of in your rubbish bin. By composting your waste you can generate a free source of rich compost to help improve your garden, and also help to reduce global warming in the process.

How does home composting help to reduce global warming?

When sent to landfill organic waste is compressed under tonnes and tonnes of other waste types. The organic waste therefore does not have enough access to air, which restricts the waste from being able to decompose properly. Instead of decomposing, methane gas is produced which contributes to global warming.

The Compost Bin

The first step to start composting at home is to get a compost bin. You can either purchase a compost bin or you can make your own. Compost bins can be bought from the majority of garden centres. The government funded Recycle Now Home Composting Campaign also sells discounted compost bins.

The next important step is to decide where to position the compost bin, which can affect the overall quality of the compost that is produced. For best results place the bin in a well drained area which has good access to sunlight. The drainage will enable excess water to drain out of the compost and placing the bin in a sunny spot helps to speed up the composting process.

What waste items can I put in my compost bin?

There are lots of everyday waste items from your garden and kitchen that can go into your compost bin. These are broken down into ?Greens? and ?Browns?. Greens are the type of items that provide moisture and nitrogen and are quick to rot. Items classed as Greens includes:

Read the rest of this entry »