Garden Pet Shop Florist [Audio] Isabelle MORAND – Garden. Making a success of your compost [Audio] Isabelle MORAND – Garden.
Compost is a gardener's black gold, transforming kitchen scraps and garden prunings into nutrient-rich organic matter for year-round soil enrichment. To get started, install a composter—choose from various market models or build your own using four recycled pallets.
Place it in a shaded, discreet garden spot, close enough to the house for regular visits.
Once set up, the key questions are: What goes in, and how? Daniel Lys, author of My Garden in the Service of Balanced Biodiversity (published by Jouvence), explains: "There are two main groups of materials. The first includes grass-like items such as vegetable peelings and fresh garden herbs. The second comprises brown materials like straw, wood chips, and autumn leaves. Successful composting blends greens and browns in roughly equal parts, mixing, aerating, and watering them."
Quality compost matures in about one year and can be spread on soil surfaces or mixed in during planting. Maintain it by regular turning, aeration, and watering if dry. If it smells off, you've likely overwatered. Daniel advises: "This indicates fermentation, not composting, producing foul gases. Aerate thoroughly and add brown materials. If needed, incorporate shredded cardboard. Balance restores quickly."
Neither Meat nor Fish: Treat your composter like a recycler, not a bin. Skip plastic, metal, diapers, meat, and fish scraps—they attract pests. Welcome coffee grounds and tea leaves, though.
Insights courtesy of Daniel Lys, experienced gardener, author of My Garden in the Service of Balanced Biodiversity (Ed. Jouvence, €16.90), and creator of the 'Gardener Mood' blog.
