Peat free compost

For Peat's sake

Gardeners up and down the country improve their garden soil by buying and adding peat. Some argue that there is no alternative to this as a potting medium or for improving moisture retention and soil structure. It's ph is low as is the nutrients that it contains and so is suited to a wide range of plants.

Peat is made from the decaying remains of sphagnum mosses that grow in bogs.

Peat extraction and use: The effects of extraction are irreparable as peatlands take thousands of years to form. Reclamation schemes at previously worked sites have succeeded in creating attractive wetland areas, but they have not recreated peatlands. Peat forms at a rate of only 1mm per year, whilst peat extractors remove up to 22cm a year. A 10m deep peat reserve, which took around 10,000 years to form, will be cleared in less than 50 years. Bearing these timescales in mind, it is impossible to illustrate rehabilitated and restored peatlands. Even if peatlands could be restored, it is important to remember that preservation is cheaper than restoration.

It is estimated that Britain has lost 94% of it's peat bogs since the 19th century with only 6000 hectares remaining. This is a good reason not to use peat in the garden and I am going to look at why we should all be concerned about our peat bogs disappearing and how we can avoid it's use.

Peat bogs in Britain are beautiful, delicate ecosystems that support a wide range of plant and animal species. Sundew is an example of a plant that can only be found in bogs. There are also many dragonfly species that won't be found anywhere else and they are a natural haven for a a vast array of birds. They rely on the landscape to remain in it's natural state to survive. Extraction of peat results in the water being drained from the lowland bogs which dries the mosses out, allowing them to die, and other species of plants take the opportunity to invade, which changes the landscape forever. Dried out peat is also a fire risk and devastating if it does catch fire.

Our peat bogs are also a Carbon sink. This means that they lock up the harmful greenhouse gas, Carbon Dioxide, and stores it. At present it is estimated that they can absorb 20 years of industrial Carbon Dioxide emissions. They can potentially store this forever so long as they continue to be active and growing. Only when they dry out will they release the carbon. Because peat bogs are a natural water purifier they also provide a large amount of Britain's drinking water.

Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) estimate that 2.69 million m3 of peat is used in the UK annually, of which 99% is used as growing media and 63% of which is used by gardeners. Sixty two percent of all peat used in the United Kingdom is imported from other countries, including the Republic of Ireland and the Baltic states (Defra, 2008). This further adds to the environmental impact that gardening with peat has.

The alternatives:

• There are commercially available composts that don't contain peat. Make sure that the bag states "Peat -Free";
• Green compost from civic amenity sites, such as the county council's soil improver.
• Garden compost. A good, free option which has lots of positive environmental benefits.
• Leaf mould. Another free and beneficial matter that can be blended with your home grown compost to make a great growing media.
• Worm compost
• Manures
• Organic fertilisers: Bone meal, hoof and horn, seaweed meal and other organic fertilisers can be added to a mix to provide necessary plant nutrients. These are slow release materials so large amounts are not needed.

They are our rainforest equivalent that need to be protected. They are a vulnerable but essential link in our natural resources. The phrase: " Once they've gone, they've gone!" feels particularly relevant. So get composting and avoid buying peat. Kew Gardens and National trust gardens have been "peat free" for more than a decade now and are thriving.

Bokashi

Having covered the basics of home composting and how to use a wormery, you may be wondering what to do with the remaining food waste that you seemingly have to throw in the bin.

One answer is "Bokashi". It is a system developed in japan in 1982 and uses an anaerobic process to breakdown waste. It is made up of fermented plant material including wheat bran, sawdust and molasses together with the Effective Microorganisms.

 Bokashi means "fermented matter" and allows foods such as meat, fish and dairy to be treated and then either added to the compost heap or dug straight into the garden soil.

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It can be used to either complement your existing compost heaps or can be used as an alternative method of composting all kitchen scraps for gardens that may not be big enough for the conventional bins.

Bokashi is the biochemical breakdown of organic matter in an anaerobic environment. The "good" microbes out compete the "bad" microbes essentially killing them. The end result is "pickled" organic matter that may look the same but has been altered drastically.

Since it is the "bad " microbes that develop the compounds that emit the foul smell of decaying organic matter and are not present in a properly processed bokashi bucket, there is no foul odour connected with bokashi.

When you purchase a Bokashi system you will receive 2 bins and a quantity of the treated bran to sprinkle on the food waste. It also comes with a paddle to squash everything down with as anaerobic systems require the absence of air to work. Fill one of the bins over a couple of weeks, sprinkling bran as you go, and once full leave to ferment for 2 weeks. Start using the other bin whilst waiting for the magic to happen. A white mould will form over the waste indicating that the process is working and after the 2 weeks empty the contents into the compost bin.

Wormeries and Vermiculture

As promised, I would like to have a quick look at the composters friend and workforce, the worm.

Many composters and gardeners will know that worms will naturally find a compost heap and through their activities, greatly assist the breaking down of the material in the bin. We can manipulate this ability of the worms and create a separate system called a “Wormery”. This can also be known as Vermiculture or vermicomosting.

A wormery is ideal for small gardens where you get very little, or no, garden clippings, yet want to compost vegetable and fruit peelings from the kitchen. They are also a great addition to the larger gardens or established composter, as they produce a very rich type of compost as well as a liquid fertiliser beneficial as a plant feed.

In these systems, small red tiger worms (or Brandlings) break down the kitchen scraps and recycle it into rich, dark compost. It is important to feed them little and often as they can suffer from overfeeding. Keeping the conditions right for them is important too as they need an ideal temperature of between 19-25°C for the microbes that start the decomposition of the vegetable matter to work. If the temperature starts to fall too low and the microbe’s activity slows, the worms will detect a lack of food, as the microbes make up part of their diet, and slow their own metabolism to conserve energy. After a while the food will pile up and start to putrefy and turn their home acidic. This could be avoided by housing the wormery in an area that has a more consistent temperature such as a shed or even under the sink.  They can live outside but would benefit from being insulated all year. This would keep them cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

There are many different wormeries on the market and your local council probably offers subsidised ones. You can also make a wormery fairly easily which would reduce the cost.

International Compost Awareness Week

Compost Awareness Week 1st -7th May 2011

Many people reading this will be doing so after the Compost awareness week dates, but what's in a date? We can celebrate composting any time and I will try and pass on my enthusiasm for compost all year round. The whole idea of International Compost Awareness week is to encourage people to either start composting or compost things they had never thought to put in their compost bins. If you are a composting veteran you could also consider assisting others to get started on their first compost heap.

You would think that someone like me had a family that would all be whole hearted compost makers, especially as all my relatives were heavily influenced by my Grandad. A gardener, allotmenteer and composting enthusiast who gently educated us all in the delights of Humus (Compost). Most of us are, so what happened with my sister?

I have just had a lovely 3 days with my Sister and her family visiting from Hampshire and as always I tried to encourage her to compost their kitchen and Garden waste. My Sister and Brother in Law are the very people I am trying to reach. The trouble is that they think that they are no good at gardening, that their garden has nowhere to put compost and they feel that there is nowhere to put compost when it's ready anyway. I realise that turning kitchen peelings and garden waste into lovely brown, crumbly compost isn't everyone’s idea of fun, but I have been to their house. I know that there are borders for plants that they have talked about letting my Niece and Nephew grow vegetables in pots and there is certainly room for a compost or small home made wormery.

So, what do I do? I've tried to talk about the benefits of recycling waste into compost as opposed to putting it into landfill, I've suggested the children would benefit from the whole making a compost to seeing the process and getting involved in the mini beasts that live in a heap and shown how the garden would benefit from having nutritious compost added to the borders. In the end she gave me a half hearted pledge to do something about compost by the time I next visit. I suspect it was said to shut me up. I won't give up trying.

From that conversation though, I found out that their local Council don't collect any garden or kitchen waste like we have in our Brown bins. To be frank, I'm disgusted! The waste going to landfill could be almost halved in one fell swoop by collecting resident’s compostable garden and kitchen waste. Why aren't they doing it? The costs of placing waste in landfill sites is prohibitive, and purposely so. There are fewer landfill sites to dump our waste and why should we dump it when it can be reused and made into something else? 

Find out what is going on in your area for compost awareness week. I bet there will be a master composter at an event near you.

How to start composting

Welcome to the Master Composter feature, where I will tell you about the joys of composting. I am a Master Composter Volunteer, which means that I have been trained by a charity called Garden Organics, in association with Suffolk County council. I devote my spare time to encouraging and assisting everyone to compost. From the complete novice to the veteran composter, if you have a question about composting, then I will use this page to answer them.

Making and using compost is the building block of successful gardening, especially if you are looking for low environmental impact, organic gardening. The dark, rich, crumbly and sweet smelling finished product is often referred to as “Gardener’s gold”. It is made by utilising nature to turn organic matter such as: recycled garden and kitchen waste; cardboard or straw and water, into an enriching agent for your garden soil. By adding it to your flower beds it breathes life into the soil by conditioning it with nutrients.

It is estimated that 40% of the average household bin is suitable for composting. There are several reasons to avoid this:

Firstly, this organic waste is compacted into landfill and a by-product of this is a greenhouse gas called Methane, 30 times stronger than Carbon Dioxide. Because composting uses air to help decompose organic matter it avoids the conditions that are responsible for the production of Methane.

Secondly, it costs local Councils more and more to send waste to landfill as we run out of space for this method of disposal. This cost is reflected in council tax.

Thirdly, by composting this resource, we are reducing the transportation of waste, getting free, good quality compost.

To start composting you will need:

A suitable, preferably sunny spot, easily accessible all year round.

Ideally bare soil on level ground

A bin. You can make your own from wood and wire mesh. Alternatively, you may know someone with a spare bin, or be able to get one second hand. The County council also offer a subsidised compost bin scheme available through http://www.suffolk.getcomposting.com/ or http://www.suffolkrecycling.org.uk/

or Tel: 0844 5714444

Finally, a steady supply of kitchen and garden waste.

A compost is a living thing and as such needs food (materials), water (Moisture) and Oxygen (air). The food can be divided into “Greens” (wet sappy material) and “Browns” (dry brown materials such as straw or cardboard) and it is important to get the mix of these ingredients right to avoid it being too wet or too dry.

The last thing to remember is that your compost heap is a Vegan. Do not feed it Meat, fish or dairy products and, following the method above, it should start producing Gardener’s gold within 12 to 18 months

If you have any questions about composting please email mastercomposter952@gmail.com

Next time I will look at using wormeries, also known as "Vermicompost".