God I love growing our own

[alancooper]

I've been thinking about compost over the last few days. I've not really made sufficient this year, perhaps in part down to the dry weather in spring meaning that some plants weren't growing as fast. I know we barely cut the grass for two months or more because it just wasn't growing. Normally my father-in-law gets twitchy if he's not out there every two weeks on the mower. I may have to buy in more council green waste compost, but rather than use it "neat" this time I'll mix it with my own as I turn the heaps in the next month or so.

Finding enough "browns" is always a bit tricky, so I've decided to add another box to go with the ones for our recycling collection. Into that I'm going to put cardboard, card and paper that hasn't been coated with other materials or printed with shiny inks. Those will go into the compost and what's left will go out with the recycling.

My daughter has decided to defer going to university this year as planned and in fact may end up re-applying elsewhere. In the meantime she's been making items like this bag, using recycled material.

I think this one is made from some old pairs of jeans that were beyond repair and lined with material from an unwanted curtain. I know on some she's sown a pocket inside using one of the back pockets from the jeans and until she ran out even the waistbands were made into straps. I think the idea is to try to sell them on Etsy or even in a local shop. It struck me that being a natural fibre her offcuts ought to compost as well, so she now has another bin in which to put all the unusable scraps of natural fibres and they'll eventually find their way out onto the heap too.

James

I used municipal compost last year and kept finding fragments of plastics and ceramics in it. It was composted (cooked?) and sterile. However, I query whether there is a pesticide etc content from materials of uncertain origin. I will not use it again.

 

[pargyle]

First time in the garden for a couple of weeks as I've been really rough with a flu bug that left me totally lacking in energy. Did a lot of tidying, emptied out the majority of tomato pots and got them and the canes ready for a good clean after the blight. The three 'unknowns' that have survived without blight are absolutely laden with green tomatoes. Goodness knows what type they are - medium sized fruits with a pointed flower end .. almost heart shaped - not a patch of blight on them but not one of them has ripened yet so no idea of taste !

Planted my autumn onion sets, garlic, elephant garlic and shallots. Also my first planting of Broad beans (Super Acquadulce) . I usually sow Acquadulce Claudia but they were out of stock so this is a departure.

I planted a load of Autumn Champion onion seeds (not sets) in spring. They were intended to be my pickling onions, they all germinated but they have never made any decent growth - the biggest are only 1 cm in diameter. They either didn't like the bed, the soil quality or the weather, they were scattered seeds and were close together and I never got round to thinnning them out - who knows ? So, a few were starting to sprout again so I pulled them all up and replanted them in another bed wtth plenty of compost dug in and a good smattering of fish, blood & bone. On a really tight grid - 120 or so in just over a square metre .. I hope they might grow next year into a size where they are worth pickling - an experiment but its cost nothing.

My butternut squash are starting to ripen and fruit that was thumb sized a couple of weeks ago are now fist sized .. still a bit of growth left before it gets too cold perhaps ?

And STILL picking runners and climbing french beans and they are still flowering !! Oh .. and two red chillies at last in the greenhouse (and a lot of green ones still ....)

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The three 'unknowns' that have survived without blight are absolutely laden with green tomatoes. Goodness knows what type they are - medium sized fruits with a pointed flower end .. almost heart shaped - not a patch of blight on them but not one of them has ripened yet so no idea of taste !

have one vine of the same ones here I think (a lucky dip purchase) heart shape but marked the same as tigerella, some are turning from green to yellow/orange but none are ripe yet

 

[Aneebe]

I used municipal compost last year and kept finding fragments of plastics and ceramics in it. It was composted (cooked?) and sterile. However, I query whether there is a pesticide etc content from materials of uncertain origin. I will not use it again.

I've had several disasters in that vein some time ago. I remember Charles Dowding warning about it. It's just not worth the risk to me. I'm on a much smaller scale but have found a hot bin excellent for making compost quickly. I decant the finished batches into more conventional compost bins. It IS hard to make enough - I really have to be consciously gathering materials all the time. Shredded paper is excellent to balance things up. I had a bumper supply when I retired from teaching. It felt strangely appropriate to consign my written pearls of wisdom to compost!

 

[pargyle]

I used municipal compost last year and kept finding fragments of plastics and ceramics in it. It was composted (cooked?) and sterile. However, I query whether there is a pesticide etc content from materials of uncertain origin. I will not use it again.

I bought some a couple of years ago from my council.. as well as the bits of plastic, wire plant ties and pieces of stick in it, when I used it for potting on, the seedlings wilted and died and a nasty white mould formed on the surface of the compost. It's still sold at my local recycling centre but now called 'soil improver' ... if it's anything like I previously bought I think they could be infringeing the Trade Descriptions Act.

I now buy the additional compost I need from my Allotment Asscoiation shop ... it's labelled 'Organic' and it's a lovely black crumbly compost - I've never seen a single foreign body in it, or anything that won't go through a medium seive and at £4 a 50 litre bag it's good value. I mix it 50/25/25 with my own compost and leaf mould and use it for both top mulch on my raised beds and for potting on seedlings. Things grow in it .. I add fish, blood and bone as a top dressing and liquid feed with my own Comfrey/nettle/seaweed liquid fertiliser when plants are established.

 

[JamezF]

I've had several disasters in that vein some time ago. I remember Charles Dowding warning about it. It's just not worth the risk to me. I'm on a much smaller scale but have found a hot bin excellent for making compost quickly. I decant the finished batches into more conventional compost bins. It IS hard to make enough - I really have to be consciously gathering materials all the time. Shredded paper is excellent to balance things up. I had a bumper supply when I retired from teaching. It felt strangely appropriate to consign my written pearls of wisdom to compost!

I suspect things may have improved since Charles Dowding last discussed it. Around here at least, I believe a fair bit of the green waste compost goes to farmers and there'd be no market for it if it still contained active compounds that restrict plant growth. There's no denying that it often contains bits of plastic waste though. Unfortunately the same stuff is now finding its way into bags of potting compost and suchlike as the manufacturers try to find alternatives to peat and coir.

As you say, it is really hard to make enough. I reckon I need somewhere around six tonnes per year for the 200m² of actual growing area that I have (paths are covered separately in woodchip so I've not counted those). This Winter I plan to increase the area by about 10% and because it will be new beds I could easily see as much as a tonne just going onto that. The fact that we're now composting absolutely all of our kitchen waste will help a bit, as will the compost toilet, but even so it won't be a huge amount more. Perhaps I should sneak out early each bin day and collect the contents of everyone else's food waste container

James

 

[JamezF]

bought some a couple of years ago from my council.. as well as the bits of plastic, wire plant ties and pieces of stick in it, when I used it for potting on, the seedlings wilted and died and a nasty white mould formed on the surface of the compost. It's still sold at my local recycling centre but now called 'soil improver' ... if it's anything like I previously bought I think they could be infringeing the Trade Descriptions Act.

I tried to use it for sowing and potting on, but it just wasn't good enough. For the time being I've resigned myself to buying in at least some of what I need for that. I only spread the green waste compost on the vegetable beds now. I've never had mould growing on it though. I do get quite a few mushrooms, but that actually suggests the soil is healthy so I don't mind.

James

 

[Erichalfbee]

When Stan tops the field a good deal of the "grass" gets heaped up in one corner and by the spring has flattened down considerably. We grow our squashes there and they do very well. Might put courgettes there too next year

 

[Aneebe]

I suspect things may have improved since Charles Dowding last discussed it. Around here at least, I believe a fair bit of the green waste compost goes to farmers and there'd be no market for it if it still contained active compounds that restrict plant growth. There's no denying that it often contains bits of plastic waste though. Unfortunately the same stuff is now finding its way into bags of potting compost and suchlike as the manufacturers try to find alternatives to peat and coir.

As you say, it is really hard to make enough. I reckon I need somewhere around six tonnes per year for the 200m² of actual growing area that I have (paths are covered separately in woodchip so I've not counted those). This Winter I plan to increase the area by about 10% and because it will be new beds I could easily see as much as a tonne just going onto that. The fact that we're now composting absolutely all of our kitchen waste will help a bit, as will the compost toilet, but even so it won't be a huge amount more. Perhaps I should sneak out early each bin day and collect the contents of everyone else's food waste container

James

That's a mad amount of compost. Whew. I DID consider asking neighbours for their food waste but I think they are already of the opinion that I have very strange hobbies/ life style! It's very much decking and tarmac round here with the occasional designer pot at a door. Depressing to realise no-one is "gardening" especially not food growing and the only visible greenhouse in the area is being used for storage. There is much spraying of weedkiller too. Just seems sad compared to how I remember colourful gardens as a child but I suppose it's down to busy lifestyles plus better TV and the tinternet.

 

[Amari]

As you say, it is really hard to make enough. I reckon I need somewhere around six tonnes per year for the 200m² of actual growing area that I have (paths are covered separately in woodchip so I've not counted those).

James

Cor blimey! Our allotment is 250m2 so I would need 7.5 tonnes!!
I get irritated by Gardening Which, esp Charles Dowding, advising 10cm layers of compost all over. Who has access to that much?

 

[alancooper]

My garden waste (green and fibrous/semi-woody) is piled into large heaps, covered with black damp proof membrane, weighted down with stones and left for a year. The process is simple and gives a biodiverse, weedy bug-rich, compost In which veg do well. And of course my two brownie hens just love it. In the Autumn and early Spring I strim any crop free raised beds and leave the debris as a green manure.
Context is a large garden and vegetable area with a clay soil and mild wet climate. Oct to March I do very little except harvest carrots, leeks, brussels sprouts, kale and purple sprouting. The process and timing of activity is similar to the traditional Irish lazy bed potato cultivation (which I prefer to think of as an an efficient method of cultivation in a temperate rain forest climate).

 

[JamezF]

Cor blimey! Our allotment is 250m2 so I would need 7.5 tonnes!!
I get irritated by Gardening Which, esp Charles Dowding, advising 10cm layers of compost all over. Who has access to that much?

The 10cm figure is only for the first year, when the bed has just been created. He suggests half that for subsequent years and I believe is experimenting with reducing the amount he uses year on year. When I look at how much manure is used on the (organic farm) fields behind my house, that really doesn't seem anywhere near as much. I guess the advantage is that a thicker layer of compost tends to smother quite a few of the weeds.

It is an awful lot, even so.

I was astonished to find out recently that in the local town people need to pay an annual subscription of something like £60 per household to have a green waste collection. I assume that goes into the same waste stream that produces the compost I buy at just under £300 for six tonnes (including delivery) that involves a forty mile round trip with a lorry. I feel sure there ought to be a better way to manage that process to everyone's advantage. (Meanwhile our neighbouring farmer just builds a big bonfire with all his green waste, directly under the 11kV power lines. I kid you not.)

James

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Cor blimey! Our allotment is 250m2 so I would need 7.5 tonnes!!
I get irritated by Gardening Which, esp Charles Dowding, advising 10cm layers of compost all over. Who has access to that much?

looks like 'no dig' is actually harder work than just getting the fork out and digging the garden properly

 

[JamezF]

Cor blimey! Our allotment is 250m2 so I would need 7.5 tonnes!!

Forgot to answer this bit...

The total area I have "in use" is about 300m². The difference is the paths. In the main I have 1.2m wide beds and 0.6m wide paths, meaning I can comfortably reach the middle of each bed from either side. The paths I cover with woodchip rather than compost because it gives the blackbirds something to make a mess with and provides my in-laws with a less slippery surface to walk on when they want to get vegetables.

James

 

[roche]

The 10cm figure is only for the first year, when the bed has just been created. He suggests half that for subsequent years and I believe is experimenting with reducing the amount he uses year on year. When I look at how much manure is used on the (organic farm) fields behind my house, that really doesn't seem anywhere near as much. I guess the advantage is that a thicker layer of compost tends to smother quite a few of the weeds.

It is an awful lot, even so.

I was astonished to find out recently that in the local town people need to pay an annual subscription of something like £60 per household to have a green waste collection. I assume that goes into the same waste stream that produces the compost I buy at just under £300 for six tonnes (including delivery) that involves a forty mile round trip with a lorry. I feel sure there ought to be a better way to manage that process to everyone's advantage. (Meanwhile our neighbouring farmer just builds a big bonfire with all his green waste, directly under the 11kV power lines. I kid you not.)

James

It always amazes me that local authorities look at waste as a cost centre rather than a profit opportunity. Money in muck...

 

[JamezF]

looks like 'no dig' is actually harder work than just getting the fork out and digging the garden properly

Shifting tonnes of compost about is certainly pretty physical, but I'd rather that than digging. To view it as much less work than digging is wrong in my view however. The work is just different. You also don't need the ground to be "empty" to spread compost. Generally it is put down in the winter, but where brassica crops are in the ground for instance, it can just be spread around them whilst they're still growing. When the plants come out in the Spring I can have the next crop in the ground the following day which can give the opportunity to harvest more from the same space. There are other advantages. And other disadvantages. I'm finding that it takes more organisation for example.

He's not really doing "proper science" (and of course he is trying to promote "no dig" so he's hardly unbiased), but I think every year since he moved into his current home about twelve years ago Charles Dowding has had a couple of beds of mixed vegetables that he manages identically other than running one as a no dig bed and the other more traditionally, by digging compost in. As far as I recall the no dig bed has produced a larger crop (measured by total harvested weight) every single year.

I did some research before I switched from doing things the traditional way and the method does seem to be supported by research, to the point where some farmers are switching from ploughing to "minimal tillage".

There does seem to be a fair bit of resistance amongst the traditionalists on the grounds that "we've always done it this way", but you know, well... matchsticks...

James

 

[pargyle]

The 10cm figure is only for the first year, when the bed has just been created. He suggests half that for subsequent years and I believe is experimenting with reducing the amount he uses year on year. When I look at how much manure is used on the (organic farm) fields behind my house, that really doesn't seem anywhere near as much. I guess the advantage is that a thicker layer of compost tends to smother quite a few of the weeds.

It is an awful lot, even so.

I was astonished to find out recently that in the local town people need to pay an annual subscription of something like £60 per household to have a green waste collection. I assume that goes into the same waste stream that produces the compost I buy at just under £300 for six tonnes (including delivery) that involves a forty mile round trip with a lorry. I feel sure there ought to be a better way to manage that process to everyone's advantage. (Meanwhile our neighbouring farmer just builds a big bonfire with all his green waste, directly under the 11kV power lines. I kid you not.)

James

We pay £68 a year for a fortnightly green waste collection... its worth it to put the pyracantha clippings in as the thorns don't compost down and even the smallest skip in our area is £300. I also put the bindweed and nettle and dock roots in there as they seem to survive even nuclear events. I'm trying to train 'er indoors into composting anything else but the brown bin is outside the kitchen door and the compost bins are at the bottom of the garden... I need a different approach ! There's no hope of a composting toilet...at least she's come round to veg peelings and wilted fruit and salad going to my wormery !

 

[pargyle]

When Stan tops the field a good deal of the "grass" gets heaped up in one corner and by the spring has flattened down considerably. We grow our squashes there and they do very well. Might put courgettes there too next year

Half a dozen courgette plants on that compost pile and you can solve the world food crisis ... it could probably be solved with courgettes anyway but I have this vision of a starving person in Africa saying.... oh no not more courgettes...what can we do to make them edible !
...

 

[Erichalfbee]

Half a dozen courgette plants on that compost pile and you can solve the world food crisis ... it could probably be solved with courgettes anyway but I have this vision of a starving person in Africa saying.... oh no not more courgettes...what can we do to make them edible !
...

I’m avoiding a plague of courgettes by planting only one next year

 

[pargyle]

I’m avoiding a plague of courgettes by planting only one next year

Well you will only be able to feed most of Wales with one !