Composting is such a useful way to convert the “once living” material that we have used back into soils.
There are so many ways to compost, so much to learn about and to set up here.
In recent years”life” has meant that I am mostly just doing the inefficient Cold composting – just a pile without any extra management.
Processes I want to set up in the future :
Hen powered composting : setting up the few layers now kept in a more structured environment that will enable their activity to be more focused and useful.
– add a composting area (NOT FOOD FROM KITCHEN WHICH IS ILLEGAL IN THE UK) that they work through to further range area
– create Bird flu safe areas that are also actively doing something useful like pest control and or fertilizing a crop area / plant
– still give them range area that are cleaning up or fertilizing more ground. they are too valuable help to waste.
Cold composting boxes – always wanted to set up similar to Charles Dowdings inspiring compost bins as in the image above – they are structures of sheer beauty
Hot box composting in old de-gassed freezers to process faster, to explore the results, and dispose of more hazardous weeds etc.
Wormeries .. a selection of old baths to create wormeries to provide the beautiful worm soils and the valuable wormery liquids
Compost Teas – bins of water and soaked plant materials
– Nettles
– Docks
– Comfrey
– other species of nutrient rich contributions.
Activated compost teas
– aerated microbial compost teas to spread around the farm pastures
GLOOPS – soil microbes – there are some fascinating things happening with the Soil Ecology Lab folk
Biochar –
Rockdust – 100% freshly crushed ancient rock containing the full range of minerals & trace elements to help produce fertile soil
Collection and storage – so many materials to collect for creating more compost,
- Bracken in the early winter after the spores are gone and before it starts to fall over
- Seaweed – from plastic free areas after high winds and high tides. Have to take care as our lochs have old fish farm waste contaminating the shorelines
- Cardboard – mostly for mulching – a valuable weed suppressent.
- Natural fabrics – if they really cannot be darned, frogged, remade, reused
- Leaves – such a wonderful resource, can be left in place, just collect from where they are surplus, causing a hazard, or smothering more fragile species – remembering to put beech ones seperate, collect early so harvesting the most of the nutrients of the years growth
- Woodchip – whether from arboculturlists or home made
- Brash – branches and twigs : create dry hedge habitats, leave to decay, then they become kindling and burn for woodash
- Muck – bedding and manure from pigs, sheep, poultry etc
- Grass clippings – always without any chemical treatments, this ensiles and is very useful
- Fleece – especially the daggy stuff (no chemical treatments)
- Newspapers – a valuable light weed suppressent on veggie beds.
- Coffee and tea leaves – so much that could avoid the landfill
- Weeds and old harvest : whether crop and drop or added to heaps or poultry areas these convert the summer sunshine into soils
- Kitchen waste : taking care not to include meat products, all the trimmings not used in stocks etc will convert quickly.
- Shredded paper : offices shredded paper should be made into soils, not landfill.
