Introduction: Cultivating Nutrient-Rich Soil with Homemade Compost

As a gardener, you'll understand the significance of healthy soil in nurturing thriving plants. One of the most effective and eco-friendly ways to enrich your garden soil is by creating your own compost. Composting not only gives you somewhere effective to put all your waste (prunings, deadheading, finished plants, grass clippings, leaves etc) but also provides your garden with nutrient-rich organic matter that fosters vigorous plant growth.

For the first time this year, I have only purchased two bags of compost and those were for greenhouse potting up only. Usually, I have had several deliveries throughout the season of a pallet stacked with bags of compost for mulching and potting up.  I have even started to produce enough now to share some with younger members of the family with their first homes, just starting their own small first garden beds.

Believe me, you won’t regret starting a proper composting system in your garden.  All you need is to get organised properly at the start, then let nature do all the major work.  Yes, you will need to turn it over and shovel it in a wheelbarrow, but it's no harder work than lugging compost bags about the garden and is a lot more satisfying.

In this guide, we'll take you through easy steps of how to make compost and maintain the process for a flourishing garden paradise.

Getting Started: The Basics of Composting

Step 1: Choose the Right Location

Select a suitable spot in your garden for your compost pile or bins. This should be well-drained and accessible, allowing you to easily add materials and turn the compost. Make sure you can get a wheelbarrow or trailer up close, so the pathway should be wide enough. Obviously, you probably don’t want your composting area on show, so tucked away in your ‘working’ part of the garden is fine.   I have mine in a dark corner of the garden, three quarters under trees, which seems to aid the speed of decomposition.

Step 2: Build Your Compost Pile

There are many clips and instructions online showing how to physically build the structure of compost bins, so it doesn’t really matter how you coral the compost, use pallets, wire or even just have individual piles with no boundaries. The most important thing is that you will need more than one, so that you can turn each year’s clippings until you get the perfect compost.

I will explain my layout as an example:  I have three penned-off compost piles, mine are penned off with posts on the corners holding up wire stock fencing as the sides. The front of each pen is open.  The size of these pens depends on the size of your garden.

So, the basics are:

Pen 1: put all of one season’s clippings into one pen.

Pen 2. Then in the spring of the next year start turning this compost into the next pen.  So, you have now turned your compost and left the first pen ready for this season's clippings.

Pen 3.  Then finally, at the end of that season, I turn the compost in Pen 2 once more into the third bin. So now I have turned the compost twice and this pen is now full of compost ready to use.

Step 3: Gather Composting Materials

Collect a balanced mix of "green" and "brown" materials. "Green" materials include kitchen scraps like fruit and vegetable peels, grass clippings and green prunings.   "Brown" materials consist of dry leaves, ie. Plants that have finished, straw, paper, and cardboard (if you put cardboard on your compost, cut it up into strips first). Aim for a 50/50 ratio of green to brown materials. Layer the materials in your chosen composting area, starting with a layer of brown materials followed by a layer of green materials. Repeat this layering process until your pile is about three feet high. Turning the pile occasionally will help aerate it and speed up the decomposition process.

Step 4: Maintain the Right Conditions

Moisture: Keep your compost pile moist, resembling a damp sponge.

Water the pile occasionally to ensure decomposition occurs efficiently.

Aeration: Turn the pile regularly using a pitchfork or compost aerator

to introduce air. This encourages beneficial microorganisms to break

down the materials faster.

Balance: Maintain a balance between green and brown materials. If your pile starts to smell, it might be too wet or have too much green material. Adjust accordingly.

Step 5: Patience and Monitoring Composting is a gradual process. Over time, the materials will break down into dark, crumbly compost. Monitor the pile's temperature (it should feel warm), texture, and smell. When the compost looks and smells like rich, earthy soil, it's ready to use.

Using Your Homemade Compost 

Once your compost is ready, it's time to reap the rewards in your garden:

Soil Enrichment: Mix the compost into your garden soil to enhance its structure, water-holding capacity, and nutrient content.

Mulching: Spread a layer of compost around your plants to act as a protective mulch, conserving moisture, and deterring weeds.

Planting Mix: Create a planting mix by blending compost with potting soil to provide your plants with an excellent start.  I use two parts my compost (sieved) and one part peat-free purchased compost.

Creating and maintaining a compost pile is a rewarding journey that transforms your kitchen and garden waste into "black gold" for your plants. As a gardener, you have the opportunity to make a significant impact on your landscape's health and vitality. By following these easy steps and staying attuned to your compost's needs, you'll be well on your way to cultivating a thriving and sustainable garden paradise. Happy composting!

Other Posts you may like:

Planting Bulbs is Always a Good Idea