https://dailyfix.co.za/subscribe-to-home/ https://dailyfix.co.za/subscribe/ Click to Subscribe

DAILYFIX

Search
  • All
  • Festive
  • Lifestyle
    • Food & Drink
    • Arts & Entertainment
    • Work & Money
    • Caring & Giving
  • Recipes
    • Banting
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Desserts & Baking
    • Main Dishes
    • Pantry
    • Soups & Salads
    • Starters and Sides
    • Vegetarian
  • Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Wellness
    • Style Guru
  • Home
    • Décor
    • DIY
    • Fix it with Flair
    • Promotion
  • Garden
    • Garden
    • Pets
  • Travel
    • Destinations
    • Travel News
    • Share your journey
  • Crafts
    • Templates
  • Win
    • Winners
  • Wedding
  • Test House
  • Shop
    • Fairlady Shop
    • Home Shop
    • Ideas Shop
    • Spree Beauty Shop
  • Garden

    Make your own compost

    18 September 2014

    Many gardeners are happy to make their own compost, but for some this sounds like too much effort. ‘But that doesn’t need to be the case,’ says Pieter Kotzé of Reliance Compost. ‘Spring, when it starts getting warmer, is the perfect time to start! If you make your own compost, you’ll be doing your garden and the environment a favour. You’ll recycle garden and kitchen waste that would’ve ended up on a landfill, save fuel by not having to drive to the dump, and your garden will benefit from the homemade product,’ he explains. But with the right method, you can have compost in your garden within four to six months.

    Heap or container?
    It doesn’t matter if you make compost in a container or on a heap. For smaller gardens, a compost bin is tidier; make one out of wooden planks or buy a plastic compost bin at your local garden centre or hardware store. You can also use an old drum; simply remove the top and bottom – remember to drill a few holes in the walls of the drum. Your compost bin must stand firm and not have a base so that the waste inside can make contact with the soil underneath and insects that help to decompose the material can have free access to the contents.

    How much space?
    The size of your garden will determine how big your compost bin or heap will be. A compost bin of about 1.5 x 1.5m and 1m high is large enough for a small- to medium-sized garden. If you have a big garden and you have lots of garden waste, you can make a bigger heap, which of course requires more effort and time.

    What can be added?
    Although all organic material is suitable for composting, meat and other animal products are not ideal for home composting. Therefore, use only green waste that is rich in nitrogen and brown waste that is rich in carbon.

    • Green waste is fresh lawn clippings, green garden material and dead flowers, as well as kitchen waste such as peels, crushed eggshells, coffee grounds, used tea bags, weeds that haven’t set seed and green leaves. Comfrey, elder and yarrow make excellent green waste because they decompose easily and add nutritious minerals to the compost.
    • Brown waste is any dead plant material such as autumn leaves, dry branches, sticks and straw, as well as cardboard, newspaper and egg boxes; the latter three must be torn into smaller pieces before you add them to the heap.

    What must be avoided?
    If you’re not a compost expert, rather avoid raw and cooked meat, fish, dairy products and processed products (such as food scraps and products containing sugar), as these can attract rats and mice – and smell bad. Wood that has been treated with chemicals and pet droppings are also taboo. Wood ash should only be added in very small quantities.

    Don’t throw away!
    All of the following kitchen and garden waste is suitable for a compost heap or bin:

    • vegetable and fruit peelings
    • crushed eggshells
    • used tea bags
    • lawn clippings
    • coffee grounds
    • plant material
    • green leaves
    • flowers

    Words: Marié Esterhuyse, Home magazine
    Images: Francois Oberholster

    email print

    To have more Dailyfix content delivered directly to your inbox, subscribe to our free newsletters here, or get your Dailyfix by following us on and .

    Email this link to a friend

    • FREE NEWSLETTERS

      Choose from our menu of newsletters to receive the latest from Dailyfix in your inbox:
    • SPREE SPECIALS
      MORE VIDEOS

Other Posts in Garden

  • Garden

    Summer Gardening Tips

    Give your garden a little extra attention this summer

  • Garden

    Colourful Containers

    Concentrate on perking up entrances, patios and outdoor entertainment areas to provide a warm welcome for guests

  • Garden

    Keep Plants Cool This Summer

    Garden experts share their top mulching tips so you can protect your garden during the hot months ahead

Other Posts in Garden

  • Promotion

    Fashion Rescue Of The Week: Connor

    Meet Canine Cuisine’s Connor, who spent the first few years of his life living on the street.

  • Pets

    Christmas Cheer!

    Tis the season for really cute pets

  • Promotion

    Fashion Rescue Of The Week: Max

    Abandoned at a doggie hotel, Canine Cuisine’s Max got a second chance at a happy home

More Posts on DAILYFIX

  • Beauty

    Here’s A Quick Beauty Blitz!

    Face off the new year looking fresh with these simple tips

  • Fashion

    The New Jewels To Covet

    2015 sees dreams making a welcomed return…

  • Recipes

    Grilled Nectarine And Couscous Salad

    This deliciously zesty salad is perfect for summer dining

Shop with DAILYFIX

  • Fairlady Shop

    Two-Tone Heels

    Nude metallic heel

    Heels with ankle straps two-tone, Wild Alice (R399)

  • Fairlady Shop

    Assymetrical Skirt

    Asymmetrical midi skirt pale blue, Edit ( R299)

  • Fairlady Shop

    Fit And Flare Dress

    Light blue floral dress

    Floral fit and flare dress multi-colour, Style Republic (R450)

  • Newsletters
  • Advertise
  • Terms & Conditions
  • DAILYFIX

    Dailyfix copyright Media24.
    Dailyfix is the new online home of Fairlady, Home and Ideas magazines.
    Read more about us here.
    Made by OnNet.
    Sitemap

join us for daily inspiration

gorgeous décor, easy recipes, diy & fashion, beauty, wellness & more