![]() JOSH: While grass clippings may seem like a great mulch for trees and shrubs, the opposite is actually true. If you’re growing these types of plants, it’s a great idea to test the pH before purchasing. Commercially available compost can be quite alkaline which isn’t suited to all acid loving plants like camellias, azaleas and blueberries. ![]() In well-drained, sandier soils material in a compost trench should break down completely over the course of 2-3 months but in heavier clay soils it could take up to a year.MILLIE: If you are planning on growing fussy plants, there is definitely value in testing the pH of your compost. Alternatively, you can also sow a cover crop to protect the soil from the elements and suppress weeds in the time it takes for the trenched materials to decompose. Cover the area of soil with a layer of organic mulch material (i.e. Cover the trench with the excavated soil, there needs to be at least 30- 45 cm (12-18”) of soil on top of them.ģ. Make sure the materials are moist before you bury them. Fill the bottom 15 cm (6”) of your trench with your food waste and organic materials (avoid woody material as this will take too long to break down). Pile the soil up beside your trench - you will need to use it later.Ģ. ![]() Dig a hole or trench in your garden 45-60 cm (18- 24”) deep and as wide and long as is practical - a shovel’s width is usually fine. You can trench compost at any time of the year - if you do it in autumn your soil is likely to be ready for spring planting.ġ. This approach has some great advantages, you don't need a bin or container or any tools other than a shovel! It also keeps out smells and shouldn't encourage unwelcome visitors if the materials are buried at least 45 cm (18”) deep and given a good covering with garden soil. Compost Trenching will help build up the soil’s nutrient and organic matter content. In the absence of a home compost bin you can literally dig a hole and bury organic uncooked kitchen waste and leafy garden waste. Vegetable peelings, fruit waste and other organic kitchen waste Suffolk Wildlife Trust have plenty of ideas on how to make your garden more wildlife friendly using every day household items and garden materials - check them out here.ĭead-hedging is a bit more involved but does make good use of the woodier material in your garden - ideal if you have a large garden with plenty of trees and larder shrubs. Ĭreate a simple deadwood pilewith woody garden material (& leaf fall) to encourage a diversity of wildlife into your garden. The newspaper or cardboard should be wet to keep it flat and in place until the top layers are added. This is then covered with a layer of compost and finally topped off with bark or a similar landscaping mulch. One No Dig method involves ' sheet mulching' where an area designated for planting is covered over to exclude light, with large sheets of cardboard or several thicknesses of spread out newspaper. It's also a really good way to use up your excess cardboard. No Dig Gardening is, as the name suggests a low-impact approach to gardening which uses natural mulches to suppress weeds and avoids breaking up the natural soil struture by over-cultivating. If your grass board pile isn't very large or if you are using a standard compost bin then this isn’t the quickest compost you’ll ever make, but it will produce quality weed free compost - great for using in pots or around the rest of the garden - so it’s worth the wait! ![]() Keep layering but do not mix the material as you might in small compost bin/heap.Don't press it down - you do not want the grass layers squashed as this will stop the air flow which will result in a smelly mess.If a compost bin is used the paper should be torn up and crumpled to assist with the aeration of the material but large sheets of cardboard can be used on open heaps.Corrugated cardboard is ideal but discarded paper towels from the home could be used, as can any of the usual paper materials normally added to the compost bin.Spread the grass layer about one to two inches deep and then place a layer of carboard on the grass.Alternate layers of cardboard (or paper) and grass.
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