Breaking Tradition with Composting

Ask any gardener and they will likely tell you the best three ingredients for a garden patch is Compost, Compost and more Compost.

Anything that was once alive is often what we are told should be added to a compost heap – with the exception of meat scraps, citrus and onions.

I like to break with tradition when making compost. A typical compost heap in my backyard would include shredded leaves, lawn clippings, hay (or straw) and seedless weeds. I would also add animal manure from rabbits, chooks or sheep, depending on what was available.

I never (or make that rarely) add household scraps to a compost heap.

Worm farms are increasing in popularity. Worms will eat their own body weight in food every day so in theory 1kg of worms will consume 1 kg of waste each day, though this doesn’t always happen in practice.

Household scraps are the ideal food source for worms. The average family would produce enough household waste to feed 2000 – 10,000 worms on a daily basis.

I therefore prefer to use a 2 step composting method.

  • 1. A Green / Brown compost heap using yard and garden waste.
  • 2. A Worm farm fed from Household waste and scraps.

Not putting household waste in a traditional compost heap also helps prevent vermon and reduces the typical smell most compost heaps have.

May 16, 2010  Tags: ,   Posted in: Composting

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.