Bloomin' Beautiful: Get the dirt on composting

Composting really is quite simple to do, despite the impression you might get from some people.

Pretty much anything that has been living can be included. Of course, to do it "perfectly", the various ingredients should all be balanced so the whole lot is in the right proportions for optimal performance.

However, I do get excellent results from just tossing in a variety of different things, depending on what I have in hand. The secret is not to include too much of any one thing.

I have a worm farm in a semi-shaded area because worms don't like heat.

This is how I operate it.

A small plastic bin sits on my kitchen sink and I put the following scraps into it: tea bags and leaves, coffee grains, vegetable peelings, old stuff from the fridge I forgot to use, used paper and tissues, food scrapings from plates, cut hair, etc.

Each day I empty this into my worm farm. Into the worm farm also go a small amount of lawn clippings and some old potting mix - providing the plants haven't had any disease.

I also add torn-up newspaper and paper I would normally have shredded. If the crooks want to find my details it won't be pleasant for them delving through the worms!

An occasional spray of water should be added as well.

I buy my worms from a nursery and they eat all of this stuff and make the best compost that money can't buy.

My unit is two side-by-side wooden "boxes" (with gaps for air) and when one side is filled I use the other side. It normally takes about four months for the compost to break down. The worms turn the compost.

Ideally, a compost bin or heap should be situated in a sunny spot in the garden because compost needs heat to break down.

Once you have set it up you can fill it with the same things as a worm farm. It will need water put on it regularly; the amount will depend on how much rain has been received.

Then you need to turn it with a fork from time to time to aerate it and Bob's your uncle.

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