Famous gardener reveals FREE way to get compost – and your plants will love it

HE’S got pallet bins, daleks, a giant worm bin and the biggest composting site I’ve ever seen for one garden – so it’s safe to say Charles Dowding knows a lot about compost.

Famous all over the world because of him No Dig theoryin which comes the end of double digging, he urges gardeners to simply spread a one-inch layer of compost on the surface of undisturbed soil and grow on it.

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Now he’s turned his attention to the compost itself – explaining to Sun Gardening exactly how he turns garden waste into black gold – in just a few weeks.

“There’s a lot of mythology around compost,” he told me.

“It’s actually a lot easier than you might think, and it can be fun.”

First of all, it’s important to think about what you put into it.

“Adding three parts green waste to one part brown is not a hard and fast rule, but a useful guideline to follow,” he said.

“Brown is the carbon, such as dry fallen leaves, wood chips, cardboard or straw. It creates air bubbles – which are essential for a good composition.

“And green is the nitrogen, such as clippings, vegetable peels and leaves.

“The right combination can create really dark, velvety compost that your garden will love – and is essentially free.”

He said that once you have your chosen compost bin in place: “Spread any new additions in a flat layer every few days – don’t throw them all in the middle of the pile. For each 2-inch layer of green, add 1/2 inch of brown.

MUD SLINGING

The most important thing for your compost is the right mix of green and brown. Charles recommends about 75 percent green and 25 percent brown.

If you look at this list – remember he’s tearing up the brown one – throwing big sticks will only slow things down.

VEGETABLES

• Green leaves and tender stems of ornamental and vegetable plants
• Grass clippings (warning: not too much)
• Weed leaves
• Kitchen vegetable peels and garnishes
• Citrus peels
• Coffee grounds
• Fresh manure from herbivorous animals without litter
• Urine
• Hair and animal fur.

BROWN

• Dry fallen leaves
• Woody prunings
• Paper and cardboard in small pieces
• Wood chip
• Straw
• Eggshells
• Wood ash
• Soil
• Old compost/purchased compost of poor quality.

“The best results are achieved with pieces between 5 and 10 cm or less, which allow green and brown materials to come into contact with each other.

“If you are serious about compost, I recommend a compost thermometer. It just tells you how busy the pile is. Between 60-70oC is ideal,” he added.

And despite many believing there are certain things that shouldn’t go on the compost heap: Dowding has used bindweed, couchgrass, elderberry, dandelion, nettles and perennial weed roots.

He has even taken on rotting flesh, rhubarb leaves and citrus peels, and diseased plant material – and thinks he has won.

“You need a lot of material; it sinks as it disintegrates. Just add as much as you can. Coffee grounds are really good.

“I know that many people have slatted bases, but I notice that it cools down, which is what we don’t want, or that it loses moisture. Sturdy sides do the job. And align the slatted frames with cardboard.

‘Also add a roof when you’re done adding it. This could be something as basic as a piece of corrugated iron. In the UK we get a lot of rain, so it doesn’t get soggy and smelly.

“Our challenge is to maintain a balance of green and brown all year round, so try to save brown for summer use.

COMPOST MIXTURES

Choose compost carefully depending on what you need it for

• SOWING SEEDS Combine one part homemade compost with one part multi-purpose. For small seeds, add one part sifted composted wood chips, sand, vermiculite or perlite.
• BIGGER POTS One part homemade, one part multifunctional, 10 percent finely sieved composted wood chips, sand, vermiculite or perlite. If you have a worm bin: a maximum of 10 percent worm compost.
• RAISED BEDS Some homemade, some multifunctional, but tamp well so that the roots are well anchored. It is an advantage that the level drops, so you can add new compost every year.

“And if, for example, you have just pruned the hedge and the grass is still standing. Go out with a lawn mower; this will help the lawn mower cut precisely and use it on the compost.

“I rely on compost because it is not a fertilizer in the ‘modern’ sense of the word. Instead, it is a biological stimulant, which nourishes soil life and allows soil organisms to help plant roots find food and moisture. See it as an enabling factor, more than a primary food source.

“Hopefully you can improve the health of your soil, your plants, yourself and the wider environment.”

‘Compost’ by Charles Dowdingpublished by DK Books, priced at £14.99 and available now.

THIS WEEK IN VERONICA’S COLUMN

TOP TIPS, NEWS, COMPETITIONS AND MORE

NEWS! IN February I reported how the RHS had launched a national initiative to determine which plants are most visited by bumblebees in spring. This week, the results of Bumbles on Bloom were revealed, showing that flowers with white petals received more visits than any other from the vital pollinators. Close behind were purple and pink – consistent with the fact that the top five reported plants that butterflies visit in the project included comfrey, crocuses, chives and heather.

WIN! Online one-stop garden store Crocus is giving one winner the chance to win these three beautiful gray planters of different sizes worth £159 and a hand trowel and fork. The sophisticated set of 3 planters is handmade from light and weather-resistant fiber clay with a diamond-etched design. Fill in to enter THIS FORM. For more information visit www.thesun.co.uk/Crocuspots, or write to Sun Crocus Planters Comp, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP. Please include your name, age, email address or telephone number. UK residents 18+ only. Ends 23.59 GMT. 12.10.24 General terms and conditions apply.

TO RESCUE! Time to aerate your lawn. Spread out about this £39.99 hollow tine aerator from Screwfix – or the £22 Magnusson version from B&Q

TOP TIP!– Squeeze the compost by hand. If drops come out, it is too wet. Then add cardboard or paper to balance the compost and absorb the excess water.

JOB OF THE WEEK! Prune walking and climbing roses as soon as they have finished blooming. Make a net in your pond to prevent all the leaves from falling into it. Rake your lawn well. If possible, lift your pumpkins off the ground so they don’t rot.

Follow me @Biros_and_Bloom