Composting is the natural process of breaking down organic matter into a rich dark soil like material. Composting is quick easy and takes up little space. It has the benefits of reducing the amount of household rubbish you produce as well as improving your soil and plants.
Special offer compost bins for Southampton residents
With autumn once again upon us, it’s time to think about tidying up the garden and preparing the soil for the spring.
If you have sufficient space, a compost heap is a good idea but a compost bin is better if you only have a small garden or if you want to keep things looking neat and tidy. We offer our residents a reduced price compost bin, from little as £15 (plus £5.49 delivery).
Autumn is an excellent time to start composting as there’s plenty of garden waste available. Spent bedding plants, grass cuttings, autumn leaves and pruning can all be recycled over the coming months to produce compost which is ideal for spring planting.
It’s important to have a good mixture of materials (you don’t want too much of any one thing) if you want to make a good quality compost. As well as green garden waste, you can compost fruit and vegetable peelings, egg shells, tea bags, pet hair, and even shredded paper. Try to aim for a 50/50 mix of ‘greens’ (vegetable peelings, old flowers, grass cuttings, spent bedding plants) and ‘browns’ (garden pruning’s, coffee grounds, tissues and paper napkins, cardboard, vacuum cleaner dust).
If you have too many leaves for your compost bin, just put the excess into a bin bag, make a few holes in it, and leave in a secluded spot to rot down. It will be a great soil conditioner in a few months' time. Another good tip is to use your lawnmower to collect up leaves: this shreds the leaves and helps to speed the composting process.
If you get it right, this autumn’s compost will provide a free supply of nutritious soil conditioner that will enrich your spring planting, producing an abundance of flowers, fruit and vegetables next year.
To order your compost bin call 0844 571 4444 quoting reference SMT02L or visit online atwww.getcomposting.com
Green
(activators) | Medium | Brown
(slow to rot) | Avoid |
Grass cuttings | Tea leaves | Autumn leaves | Meat, chicken and fish leftovers |
Kitchen scraps | Coffee grounds | Small quantities of paper (torn of shredded) | Manure from meat eating animals such as dogs or cats |
Vegetable peelings | Fruit peelings | Straw or hay | Certain weeds such as docks, bindweed and dandelions |
Young weeds | Animal manure from non carnivores (sheep, cattle, horses, rabbits) | Small hedge clippings | Coal and peat ashes |
| | Small amounts of soil | Glossy magazines |
| | Egg shells | Chemically treated garden waste |
| | Wood ash | Diseased plants |
| | | Animal carcasses |
If you haven`t got a compost bin you can take your green garden waste to your local household waste recycling centre, or you can use the kerbside collection for green garden rubbish.
Southampton City Council
