Because it now costs not to compost, everyone's at it. Happiness is a heap of hummus, writes Jane Powers
Last time I wrote about my favourite subject, I was probably preaching to the converted. But now, a new era is upon us, and the time for my message has finally come. Compost, my friends. The answer is compost. Fair enough, you say, but what was the question?
Ah, but there are many questions! For instance: what's a person to do with bone-dry, thin soil? Add compost, to retain water and add bulk. What about wet and heavy soil? Add compost, to open up the texture and help drainage. Soil just plain dog-tired? Add compost, and its micro-organisms will colonise and enliven the soil, and earthworms - nature's digging and mixing machines - will be attracted by its organic tidbits.
How about getting garden plants off to a good start in life? Add compost, when planting shrubs, perennials and climbers. And the lawn that is lacklustre and weary? Add compost, brush it over the surface, and the worms will tunnel it into the soil within a week, aerating and feeding the lawn in the process. Just pruned the roses and fruit bushes, and don't know what to do next? Add compost, in the form of a nice, nutritious blanket of mulch.
Yes, that's all very well, but if you're a non-gardener, and you've just happened to wander onto this page, you may be thinking: "what's in it for me?"
Well, my soon-to-be fellow composter, what's in it for you is saving money (for a start). In order to add compost to anything, you first have to make it. And by making compost from your garden and kitchen waste you are reducing the amount of stuff you put in the bin - by up to a third. And (this is the good bit) you are cutting back on what you pay for refuse collection.
Since last month we've all been paying bin charges which are calculated by use, so the idea of composting has suddenly become widely appealing. For those of us who are ardent composters, that is a highly-desirable state of affairs. Because, quite simply, we believe that if more people convert to Compostism, the world will be a better place.
Not only is everyone saving money, but together we're reducing the need for landfill sites, and the fuel that is required to haul the stuff to them. By using our homemade compost to feed our soil, we're helping to slow the rate at which peat is mined from our bogs for commercial bagged compost.
But there is another benefit to the activity of turning unwanted waste into useful humus. When we pile up this year's egg shells, melon rinds, hedge clippings and old flower stems, and help them transform into next year's compost, we're briefly hitching a lift on the great wheel of nature. And that is an exhilarating place to be.
Overseeing and contributing to the processes of growth, decay and regeneration - which is a fancy way of describing having a garden with a compost heap - affirms our place on this planet. We composters know that contentment is to be found in a healthy heap of humus - which is why we hate to see a bag of garden debris going into the wheelie bin. Because that is a bag of potential happiness heading for the dump.
RESOURCES
A Guide to Home Composting (€4.50, including postage) is published by The Organic Centre, Rossinver, Co Leitrim (071-9854338), www.theorganiccentre.ie. A one-day course run by the Organic Centre, "Home Composting and Waste Reduction", takes place at Airfield House, Dundrum, Dublin 14 on June 18th. Fee: €85, booking through Organic Centre, details above.
The Jora JK 270 is an enclosed, insulated, vermin-proof composting unit that rots down all organic household waste (including meat, cooked food and biodegradable nappies) within eight weeks. €665 including delivery and wall-mounting. Grow Green Solutions, Killiskey Cross, Ashford, Co Wicklow (0404-49893), www.growgreensolutions.com
Irish Peatland Conservation Council information on composting and wormeries: www.ipcc.ie/informationsheets.html
HDRA (the Organic Organisation) instructions for building a moveable compost box: www.hdra.org.uk/factsheets/gg24.htm
Master Composter, American organisation with detailed information on composting: www.mastercomposter.com
MAKE IT ANYWHERE
Everybody has their own recipe for making compost, but the ingredients are the same: organic matter, air and water. And patience. It can easily take a year for garden and kitchen waste to break down into crumbly, brown compost.
Bacteria are the first organisms to get to work in the heap. Given the correct amounts of air, water and a congenial mix of compostables, they generate great heat (up to 60 or more degrees), eating, excreting and reproducing. After a few days, the heap cools, and the second lot of consumers - fungi and small invertebrates - take over. Much later, woodlice, beetles, centipedes and red brandling worms arrive to complete the process.
Materials for composting are generally described as being either "green" (rich in nitrogen, and fast to decay) or "brown" (carbon-rich, slow to rot). "Greens" include grass clippings, soft weeds and herbaceous material, and kitchen scraps (no cooked food please, as this attracts vermin), while "browns" are usually dry or dead stuff that might burn well: autumn leaves, withered plants, hay, straw, paper.
You can build a free-standing pile, but a containerised heap is more efficient. In my experience, a cubic metre is about the optimum size for rapid heat build-up and decay, but not all gardens can accommodate such a structure. If possible, stockpile your compostables until you have enough to build a layer of at least 30 centimetres, as more heat is generated when there is a greater volume of material added in one session.
Ideally, the bottom layer should be of twigs and other open material, to allow air to circulate. Then add roughly equal quantities of "browns" (chopped or shredded) and "greens" and mix them together. Water the heap well (unless the material is very wet) and cover with a piece of old carpet for insulation. If you're the energetic type, dismantle and rebuild the heap in about a fortnight to incorporate more air, which will promote more microbial activity, and a faster decomposition. If the heap is too dry, add more water and/or "greens"; if too slimy, add more "browns". Nettles, grass clippings and poultry manure are good accelerators for a heap, as is comfrey, which also adds potassium.
DO COMPOST
DON'T COMPOST
DIARY DATE Wednesday, March 9th: Tree Council of Ireland and Institute of Horticulture seminar, "Tree Cover and Climate Change" at National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin. The six speakers include Dr John Feehan, Dr Roy Anderson and Irish Times columnist Brendan McWilliams. Fee: €80 including lunch and refreshments; student rate: €15 (does not include lunch). Booking enquiries: Isabelle Lemarié, Tree Council of Ireland, Cabinteely House, The Park, Dublin 18 (01-2849211), www.treecouncil.ie