How to Make First Class Compost
Presenter: Phil Dudman
Episode: 26 (3rd November 2007)
Do you want to know the top secret for being a master gardener?
Well it all comes down to compost and the more you’ve got the better the gardener you’ll be.
So how does it work? For starters it improves the health of your soil and a healthy soil means healthy plants. It also helps to open up your soil allowing air and water to penetrate much deeper. It then acts as a sponge to hold the water in the soil for much longer and that’s very water wise.
With benefits like that it makes a lot of sense to be making your own compost at home but we hear a lot from viewers who are having trouble with their home composting systems. Many are having trouble because it is not breaking down properly because it is too dry or too wet and smelly.
Thankfully it is really easy to fix these problems it’s just a simple matter of creating the right blend of ingredients. These ingredients fit into two main categories.
The first is the greens; they are the items that break down really quickly, things like grass clippings, animal manures, veggie scraps and weeds.
The second ingredients are referred to as brown items; they are drier items and include newspaper and dry foliage like twigs and leaves that have fallen from the plant to the ground.
The secret blend is as follows; three parts greens to one part brown. It doesn’t have to be exact but as long as you are close you will make pretty good compost.
If your compost is dry and not breaking down, add some green items to the compost to help activate it. If it is too wet and smelly, you must have too many green items, so therefore add some brown items.
Composting is so easy when you know how. If you want to make a start it gets even easier because right now when you buy yourself a compost bin you can claim up to $50 back from the State government through the State Government Rebate Scheme.
You can also claim back on a whole range of waterwise products and plants. You will have to fill out one of the rebate forms which you can access from the Queensland Government Home Garden Waterwise Rebate Scheme website or click here.
For more information about the Home Garden Waterwise Rebate Scheme call 1800 243 585.
Episode: 26 (3rd November 2007)
Do you want to know the top secret for being a master gardener?
Well it all comes down to compost and the more you’ve got the better the gardener you’ll be.
So how does it work? For starters it improves the health of your soil and a healthy soil means healthy plants. It also helps to open up your soil allowing air and water to penetrate much deeper. It then acts as a sponge to hold the water in the soil for much longer and that’s very water wise.
With benefits like that it makes a lot of sense to be making your own compost at home but we hear a lot from viewers who are having trouble with their home composting systems. Many are having trouble because it is not breaking down properly because it is too dry or too wet and smelly.
Thankfully it is really easy to fix these problems it’s just a simple matter of creating the right blend of ingredients. These ingredients fit into two main categories.
The first is the greens; they are the items that break down really quickly, things like grass clippings, animal manures, veggie scraps and weeds.
The second ingredients are referred to as brown items; they are drier items and include newspaper and dry foliage like twigs and leaves that have fallen from the plant to the ground.
The secret blend is as follows; three parts greens to one part brown. It doesn’t have to be exact but as long as you are close you will make pretty good compost.
If your compost is dry and not breaking down, add some green items to the compost to help activate it. If it is too wet and smelly, you must have too many green items, so therefore add some brown items.
Composting is so easy when you know how. If you want to make a start it gets even easier because right now when you buy yourself a compost bin you can claim up to $50 back from the State government through the State Government Rebate Scheme.
You can also claim back on a whole range of waterwise products and plants. You will have to fill out one of the rebate forms which you can access from the Queensland Government Home Garden Waterwise Rebate Scheme website or click here.
For more information about the Home Garden Waterwise Rebate Scheme call 1800 243 585.
AS SEEN ON 
