Clearing our plot wasn't actually the first thing we did to our allotment. Creating a compost area was. Allotment folk are keen to give advice and all of it is happily received by us, we were advised to make a compost heap so this is just what we did.
It was a very sensible decision, because of course we had to have somewhere to put all the weeds once we had pulled them.
There are plenty of pallets on site and an old corrugated iron roof came in very handy, and in no time we had it built, and in next to no time we had it filled.
I know compost is not an exact science but there should be the right balance, and a very rough guide is to use 50/50 greens to brown.
Young tender green weeds will decompose quickly and are good activators getting the compost off to a fast start, but without older tougher cuttings they will rot to a smelly mess.
Older and tough plant material does not decay as fast and will add body to the compost.
The slowest matter to decay are the woody items so you should chop or shred them first if you can.
This will be a slight problem for us as for the most part our compost comprises of young tender weeds, with no brown matter, so I am actually contemplating bringing some compost from my garden, which consists of woody cuttings, dry leaves and chicken manure and is decomposing nicely. This may give our allotment heap the body and structure it needs.
I'm working on our compost here in the garden and will be at the plot. Apparently old ripped up newspapers and brown cardboard strips work well too.
ReplyDeleteWhen we kept guinea pigs and also a rabbit, we used the used straw and droppings to mix in with all the other green stuff to make compost- it worked a treat.
ReplyDeleteCottage Smalllholder I will try the newspaper shreds. S is going to expand compost heap.
ReplyDeleteThe Liquineer We have a Rabbit so I will use that too, last night on the allotment I noticed people brought their vegetable waste from home to add.
Chicken poo is the magic ingredient!
ReplyDeleteThere are also some weeds that are good for the mix - Comfrey is excellent for adding nutrients and Yarrow is a good compost activator, just a few leaves is enough to get the mix going!
Lots of useful info here: http://tinyurl.com/3prxrel
Celia