COMPOSTING


DEFINITION

Composting

A mixture of decaying vegetation and manure; used as a fertilizer

This topic may seem too easy to be true. All you do is take your vegetable or fruit peelings, and some leaves if you have any; add some water to keep it moist, and mix regularly in a compost bin (which allows you to take the excellent compost from the bottom) or just create an area in your garden and build it yourself. There you go. Easy!

“I can’t be bothered”.

“I’m too tired.”

“Why should I do it? My neighbours don’t.”

“It’s pointless.”

“I’m too busy.”

I can see the enthusiasm already!

Ok, so composting may not seem like much fun to you, but when you get your first harvest in a few months, you will see, and smell (it smells good) all that natural rich fertiliser ready to put around your plants to help them grow; and the best thing is, it’s free! It cost you nothing! Not a penny (excluding the small cost of buying a bin, if you don’t make your own).

So there it is. Save money, save the peat bogs, which are thousands of years old, and are being dug up to provide you with nicely packaged compost, in your local garden centre, and save all the peelings just being wasted by going into landfill.

In some countries, the local councils are separating this from other waste; doing composting on a large scale. So if you have this option in your local area, and can’t be bothered having nice fresh compost you created, go for it. Of course, I recognise that a lot of people live in apartment buildings and having a compost bin in your living room, or on the balcony, may not be entirely practical. So use whatever composting services that are available to you, and if your local council doesn’t have one, why not suggest it? It’s just another excellent way to re-use natural materials. You can see that it’s easy, but why do so few people do it?

I started composting recently, and was amazed how much vegetable waste I was creating. Every day I was generating at least one potful! At first it was a bit of a pain, keeping my peelings separate, but soon I got into the habit of taking it to the bin, and giving it a bit of a stir. It became exciting, as I waited until I got my first batch of compost from the bin; and do you know what, it felt good! I had taken some fruit vegetable peelings, and somehow with a bit of water, a few leaves, and a bit of love and attention, they had changed into something that not only looked different from its original state, but was also rich in nutrients, that I could spread on my new tomato plants.

Of course, I could have gone down to the local garden centre, and for a few pounds picked up a bag, and spread it on my tomatoes, with little effort; but I chose to do something different. I chose to do something which not only was good for my plants and the general environment, but allowed me to get my hands dirty, to feel the rich earth in my hands, get soil under my fingernails, and reconnect in a small way with nature; away from the sterile man-made environment that most of us live in today, where everything comes packaged – even the soil!

Try it. You might enjoy getting your hands dirty, and I guarantee your plants and vegetables will love it.

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