London Allotments Network
Connecting all allotment communities in Greater London
If it will rot, it will compost!
The process of composting plant-remains is something that happens naturally all the time. As a gardener we can recycle materials, taking resources back into the system rather than wasting them. We refine the process making it quicker and more productive. The resulting garden compost looks and smells like crumbly, dark soil.
Composting is an excellent way of recycling. It avoids adding further to landfill sites which cost rate payers money and it significantly helps to reduce air, land and water pollution. Furthermore it is an excellent substitute for peat in potting mixtures, thus saving the threatened peat bogs.
Compost is an excellent material for feeding and conditioning the soil. Though soil may look lifeless there are millions of microscopic creatures that manage a fertile soil for us. These thrive on manures, composts and other organic materials. As they feed they release the plant foods that are used by growing plants.
Compost is also good for the structure of the soil. A good structure will encourage vigorous root growth. Compost will help to keep the soil healthy by supporting a diverse soil community that will keep pests or diseases under control. All this will result in healthier and more productive plants.
Virtually any organic waste can be put on a compost heap. From the kitchen we can include vegetable and fruit peelings, tea leaves and bags, coffee grounds, eggshells and food leftovers. Shredded paper bags, envelopes and torn cardboard are ideal for making a bulkier and crumblier compost. From the garden we can add grass cuttings, leaves, small or shredded prunings and hedge cuttings, weeds as well as flower and crop residues. To encourage faster, hotter composting it is possible to grow and add comfrey leaves and nettles. These are high in nitrogen which speeds up the decomposing. They contain many plant minerals too.
It is strongly recommended to avoid meat scraps as it may attract unwanted guests. Manure from dogs and cats can contain organisms harmful to humans, but bedding from chickens, rabbits, gerbils etc can all go on the compost heap. Paper with coloured inks is best put in a recycling bank.
Compost bins can be bought or be home-made out of recycled materials. They can be square or round, large or small but with a minimum size of 1 cu m (9 cu ft).
Check out the Ealing Council website for their special offer on composters.
