Composting
Making compost is the perfect way to recycle organic garden and kitchen waste into a highly nutritious soil conditioner – and it’s so easy to do!
How it works
Compost is made when micro-organisms feed on organic matter - any plant, animal tissue or residues - and break it down into smaller and smaller pieces. When the waste is fully decomposed it forms humus - or compost – a dark, soil-like material with a pleasant earthy smell.
While natural decomposition takes a long time, you can produce mulch in four weeks or rich compost in 6-8 weeks by creating the perfect environment and providing the air, water and food that micro-organisms need to rapidly multiply and quickly break down organic waste.
Once you’ve made your mulch or compost, place it around your plants, keeping it away from the stems, to feed important nutrients into the soil and to hold moisture in.
Five easy steps to fast composting
- Position your Tumbleweed compost bin or tumbler in a convenient well-drained sunny spot TIP: Make sure it’s easy to get to so that ‘feeding it’ doesn’t become a chore!
- Prepare a 10-15cm thick base layer in your compost bin to create an air pocket using dried leaves and/or small twigs from your backyard and garden waste.
- Cover the first layer with newspaper and water it in well to achieve the moisture content of a squeezed out sponge.
- Now create a 10cm layer with your kitchen and food scraps like egg shells, fruit and veggie peelings, followed by a 10cm layer of backyard or garden waste such as dry leaves, chopped up small sticks and twigs, grass clippings, herbs and weeds. Repeat the process until your bin is full. TIP: Don’t add meat, bread or dairy products.
- Aerate your compost bin weekly with a Tumbleweed Compost Mate or Aerator to speed up decomposition and evenly distribute oxygen and water. TIP: Always keep your compost heap moist by covering it with a hessian bag. Keep the lid on your compost bin too!
Soon you’ll need two bins!
Your compost will take six to eight weeks to fully mature so chances are you’ll fill your first Tumbleweed Compost Bin and then need another. For best results, keep your first Tumbleweed Compost Bin moist and stir it weekly while you’re filling your second bin. Sprinkle a teaspoon full of TUMBLEWEED Worm Farm & Compost Conditioner over your compost each week for extra protein.
Available at Bunnings and Palmers Garden Centres nationwide.
Visit www.tumbleweed.com.au for more information