Page 22 - Fourways Gardens October 2020

Gardening

HOW TO MAKE YOUR

OWN COMPOST

B Y ANN ARNO TT

t’s wonderful to see that as the days special bin, bucket or large bowl that off shrubs. These have a higher content of
get longer, the plants are starting to can be closed with a lid, where you nitrogen, as does manure, which is why
produce new shoots. Getting outdoors can throw all your wilted and leftover it’s also classified as a ‘green’.
Iinto the sunlight is a blessing and many veggies, rotten fruit, peels and egg
of us will be busy preparing our gardens shells. If you have coffee grounds and As plant material dries out and becomes
during this time to be ready for summer. tea leaves, these need to be thrown brown, the nitrogen content diminishes.
However, for a lot of people a ected by the into a separate container. That’s one of the factors that determines

lockdown, cash ow has become a huge 2. You need either a dedicated space whether the ingredient is ‘green’ or

problem and so we can’t just rush out and in the garden or one of those fancy ‘brown’. Dead leaves, dried grass, wood
stock up on compost and fertilisers to give compost bins where the main event products, newspaper and straw are
the plants the boost that they need. will take place. all classified as ‘browns’. There is less
3. You need a mixture of ‘greens’ and nitrogen and a higher carbon content in
The answer to improving the soil quality, ‘browns’. ‘browns’.
of course, is to maintain your own 4. You need moisture.
compost heap when cashflow is tight. 5. And you need the compost to generate There is a big debate around what the
heat. correct ratio of ‘greens’ to ‘browns’ should
You may ask: what’s the secret to making be but you could start by mixing a ratio of
good compost? There are a number of WHAT ARE ‘GREENS’ AND ‘BROWNS’? 4 parts ‘browns’: 1 part ‘greens’. If you find
factors that have to be considered when ‘Greens’ are your kitchen scraps, green that your compost heap is not heating up,
embarking on this exercise. grass cuttings, annuals recently pulled add more ‘green’ material. If it’s starting to
1. Firstly, in your kitchen, you need a out of your flower beds, and new cuttings smell, add more ‘browns’.

Fourways Gardens • 20 • October 2020