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There are a few things you can do to make your garden more eco friendly.
Can make use of the United Kingdom’s abundant rainfall collect and store it for future use for your garden or washing your car, patio, bike etc which is ideal if you currently have the hose pipe from the mains and pay per litre.
Reducing our waste is an important step of having a greener lifestyle, by composting we let nature recycle our kitchen waste and give us valuable nutritious compost for improving our garden.
PLACEMENT > Place your bin on a level well drained spot ideally on soil in a partially sunny spot which will help speed up the composting process. Access for insects and microbes to the rotting material will only be beneficial.
WHAT GOES IN > For the best compost recipe only use choice ingredients such as, vegetable peelings, fruit waste, tea bags, plant pruning’s and grass cuttings. These are considered “Greens.” Greens are quick to rot and they provide important nitrogen and moisture. You can compost cardboard egg boxes, scrunched up paper and fallen leaves. These are considered “Browns” and are slower to rot. They provide fibre and carbon and also allow important air pockets to form in the mixture. Crushed eggshells can be included to add useful minerals. A general rule of thumb is that if it rots, it can be composted. Vacuum dust, pet bedding, wood ash, and shredded newspapers are all suitable items for your bin. Compost activators can be purchased in liquid form or home made to give your bin a kick start.
WHAT STAYS OUT > Some of the following things should not be added to your compost bins, meat, dairy products, cooked vegetables, dog poo, cat litter, nappies. Also avoid composting perennial weeds like dandelions or thistles or any weeds with seed heads. Remember plastics and metals and glass should be a recycled separately.
GET THE BALANCE RIGHT > The key to good compost is getting a good balance of greens and browns. If your compost is too wet, add more Browns. If it’s too dry, add some Greens. Making sure there is enough air in the mixture is also important. Adding scrunched up bits of cardboard or mixing the contents is a simple way to create air pockets that will help keep your compost healthy. In approximately 6-9 months the compost should be ready.
USING YOUR COMPOST > A good finished compost should be a dark brown mixture with a spongy texture, full of nutrients and found at the bottom of the bin. Mixed into your flower beds it improves soil quality by adding nutrients and suppressing weeds. For potting plants a mixture of 1 part sand with 2 parts sterilized soil or loam, and 2 parts finished compost will give you the best results.
Have you ever thought about growing some tasty organic veg? Seeds are very cheap, and there are a good number of vegetables that are very easy to grow, even for complete beginners. If space is limited, there is always something you could grow in a window box or in an herb planter on your windowsill. Fresh herbs taste better than dried and you can just take what you need and then let it grow back. Kids have great fun growing herbs, veg, and salads and Ecogo stocks a good range of these and some beautiful handmade planters and troughs all made from FSC certified wood and built to last for many years. Don’t forget other cool eco friendly garden products like, Solar powered garden lights,
