Simon Lock starts to tie up loose ends ready for autumn.
With any luck, most of you reading this will be doing so basking in the glory of a good year’s homegrown harvest. Having feasted on nibbled leaves and non-regulation shaped root veg all summer, it’s time to start tying up a few loose ends and getting things ship-shape for the autumn.
A garden can begin to look a bit sorry for itself in September, which is fine if you’ve got the room, and your potatoes are tucked away out of sight. But if you’re spuds are sat in a grow bag on your patio, the sooner you can get shot of the shabby foliage the better.
When you do start overhauling your overgrowns, it makes sustainable gardening sense to stick everything into a compost bin. You don’t have to take up masses of room with a plastic monstrosity, you can make your own out of something more suitable in size and aesthetically pleasing, like old pallets or plywood. Make sure you leave plenty of gaps for air, this will aid the process.
In previous years I’ve had a pretty laid back approach to my compost bin. Almost anything would gain access. But after some pretty putrid looking and foul smelling results I’ve since imposed some sanctions. I now try and aim for a split in compostables, with a nice mix of carbon and nitrogen. This sounds technical but can be easily dumbed down to a more user friendly brown and green.
Getting a mix of carbon (brown) and nitrogen (green) makes for great compost but can be hard in a small garden, where woodchip and dead leaves are few but weeds and old tomato plants are many. Up your carbon content by chucking in egg boxes and shredded newspaper, and watch this year’s unsightly waste become next year’s secret ingredient.