How to Make Your Own Compost

Are you keen to swap shop-bought compost for your own home-made blend? Here’s how to turn your kitchen and garden waste into black gold, and bring new life to your flowers and vegetables!

Introduction

Maybe you have lofty ambitions for your garden, such as self-sufficiency or prize-winning roses. Or perhaps you are just starting out with the hope of growing a few different herbs in pots. Whatever your aim, you will need some good-quality organic matter to get there.

Compost is widely available commercially from supermarkets and garden centres. But purchasing compost this way gives you no control at all as to the composition of the soil “improvers” that you are adding to your garden. It is also costly and generates a lot of plastic waste in terms of packaging.

But good news! There is a better way.

It is pretty easy to make your own compost in your garden, from your own organic waste. You control what goes into it. No peat and no nasty chemicals. No packaging. And no transportation required.

Read on as I take you through the process, step by step.

What is compost?

Compost is not just soil. It is rich, well-rotted organic matter. Compost is full of essential nutrients, as well as a complex flora of microorganisms, including bacteria. fungi. nematodes and protozoa.

Compost can be thought of as a soil improver or a soil amendment. It enhances the properties of your existing soil, boosting its fertility to give your plants the best chance of flourishing. In addition, it boosts the population of microorganisms in the soil and promotes microbial biodiversity.

Why is compost important?

To understand why compost is so important, we first need to dig a little deeper (pun intended!) and look at the structure of soil and subsoil.

The top layer of the soil structure is humus, or organic matter. In undisturbed woodland areas, this layer is mainly formed from decomposed leaves and small branches which have fallen from trees. They rot down and provide nourishment for the trees and shrubs that continue to grow.

This layer serves several functions. Firstly, it improves the fertility of the top soil below by replenishing those essential nutrients. Secondly, it gives the soil a looser, more crumbly structure. This is important for water retention and oxygenation.

The layer below is topsoil. Plants send down their roots here, to tap into the nutrients and minerals. This layer is home to an extensive population of beneficial microbes, including a vast network of fungi that connect plant roots and facilitate the absorption of nutrients and water from the soil.

Thus, adding compost on top of your vegetable and flower beds, or around the base of your trees and shrubs, helps to replenish the humus layer of the soil and restores essential nutrients. It bolsters the population of important microbes and improves the texture and quality of the soil.

Below the topsoil is the subsoil layer, and beneath that is the parent rock. The lowest layer is the bedrock.

How to make your own compost

To really get the hang of making good quality compost, it is important to understand a bit more about the process.

Compost is produced from the aerobic decomposition of organic waste products.

Most of the decomposition process is carried out by the all-important micro-organisms mentioned earlier, primarily bacteria, with some assistance from fungi and protozoa.

Insects and grubs, such as ants and earthworms, also play a part in physically decomposing organic matter.

These microbes and soil-dwelling insects require four key ingredients to carry out decomposition: carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and water. These key ingredients need to be present in the correct ratio to activate your compost pile and achieve hot decomposition.

Compost Bays

So, to get started, you will first need a compost pile, heap or container. There are several options here: you can literally just start piling organic waste in an unused corner of your garden, you can purchase a commercial compost dalek, or you can build your own compost bays or areas.

I would strongly recommend that your build your own bespoke compost area to suit your garden and your own needs. Here are the reasons why:

1. Commercial daleks do not allow adequate oxygenation or layering of your organic matter (I will explain more about this in just a minute!). The end result is all too often a slimy mess rather than rich, dark, crumbly compost.
2. A loose pile can quickly become unmanageable. You really do not want your mound of organic waste slowly spreading and taking over your garden!
3. The ability to easily transfer organic waste into your compost bays, and then just as easily extract the finished product at the end, is so important. Building your own bays enables you to tailor their design to the layout of your land and the tools that you plan to use.
4. Realistically, you will need multiple bays so that you can rotate between them. As one bay is filled, capped off and left to rot (explained below) you can move on to filling the next bay with your organic waste.

We have a set of three compost bays in the centre of our property for animal bedding and kitchen waste. In addition, we have a circular mesh compost pen within the vegetable plot for any waste from the garden.

Managing Your Organic Waste

Composting is the best way to deal with your organic waste. You are literally turning waste products into a beneficial substance to boost the health of the soil in your garden. And in so doing, you are not sending that organic waste to landfill. Definitely a win-win!

Organic waste can broadly be divided into two categories: green and brown.

Green organic waste encompasses: peelings, trimmings and other uncooked food waste from your kitchen; grass cuttings; hedge trimmings; weeds and other fresh, green garden waste. Greens are the nitrogen source for your compost.

Brown organic waste includes: woodchip; animal bedding; drier garden waste such as woody branches and dried leaves; wood ash; paper and cardboard. It is a good idea to shred more woody brown waste before placing it on your heap, as it will decompose more quickly.

We have found that tea bags, hard stones from fruits such as nectarines and shells from nuts such as pistachios really do not break down. Even after a couple of years. These are best left out of your compost pile.

Getting Started

Once you have your compost area built and some organic waste to go in it, it’s time to get started! Begin by layering brown and green waste, as if you were making a giant compost bay lasagna! Use a rake to spread the organic waste out at each stage to create even layers through your bay.

Keep adding layer upon layer in this way until your bay is almost full. It is best to finish with a green layer, and we have found that a dense layer of grass cuttings work especially well to cap the bay off. If you place a hand on the top of the bay after a day or two, it should feel warm. This means that your compost pile is actively decomposing!

Ideally, you will need to leave your full, capped off bay for up to two years to allow it to thoroughly decompose. However, if you are running short of space, you can extract your partially-rotted compost early and allow it to continue to break down once you have dug it into your garden.

10 Top Tips

1. Build your own compost bays in an accessible location in your garden. Ensure it is well draining and well aerated.
2. You will need at least two or three bays so that you can leave a full bay to rot down, whilst you fill up the next one.
3. Layer green and brown waste in your compost bay like a lasagna.
4. Keep a rake by your compost bay so that you can spread the organic waste out into even layers.
5. When it’s almost full, top it with a generous layer of grass cuttings and leave it to rot for 12-24 months, or as long as you are able.
6. Use a garden shredder to shred woody garden waste before adding it to your compost pile.
7. Avoid putting cooked food on your compost pile, as this can attract vermin.
8. Collect all your grass cuttings and put them on your compost pile. They are excellent for getting your pile nice and hot!
9. If you’re still struggling to activate your compost pile, you can try taking a nature wee on it (if you’re brave enough!). The nitrogen in urine will get your compost pile hot and decomposing in no time!
10. It’s ok to put weeds on your compost heap. The hot decomposition will kill them off! But do avoid adding seed heads if your garden weeds have gone to seed. The seeds may survive the composting process, and you will unwittingly spread them all over your garden as you distribute your nutritious compost in a year or two’s time.