This May is the perfect time to start putting garden and kitchen waste to work, by turning it into ‘black gold’ compost that will help improve the health of your plants and blooms, according to expert Monty Don
This is one job well worth getting your hands a little dirty for.
Each Spring there is more than enough to be getting on with in your garden, to ensure that once the warm Summer weather rolls around you get as much enjoyment out of your green space as possible. From planting, pruning, and lawn care, experienced gardeners know that May will mean a long to-do list of jobs, but according to expert Monty Don, there is one crucial task that you should not miss out on doing at this time of year.
The TV presenter and author recommends that you take the opportunity to start turning “waste into black gold” that will help improve the overall health of your garden, enriching the soil and helping your plants and blooms absolutely thrive, giving you the best results. To top it all off? It’s eco-friendly and completely free.
Making compost is an important job to do this May, and with a little bit of time and effort will leave you with a nutrient-rich material to top your beds with, or fill up any pots you are keen to use. The expert explains on his website it is so crucial it is the “alchemy of a garden”.
“Compost is the alchemy of a garden, turning waste into black gold and we should compost every scrap of garden and kitchen waste. The secret of making it reasonable quickly is to have a good mix of matter high in nitrogen (green) like grass clippings and drier material (brown) that is high in carbon and then to aerate it often by turning it,” the expert says.
Some keen gardeners already know the benefits of making compost, but if you are more of a gardening novice it might seem hard to know just where to start to make your own “black gold”. However, it doesn’t need to be complicated to speed the process up Don explains.
“This does not have to be a major operation – just forking through it will help a lot. The point is to get oxygen into the heap which in turn feeds the bacteria that eat the decomposing material and convert it into compost which will then enrich your soil with essential bacteria, fungi, and nutrients better than any product known to man.”
If you don’t have the space to create a compost pile in an out-of-sight spot in your garden there are a range of compost bins available to buy to contain the material as it decomposes ready for use. They can be open-topped wooden composters, or sturdier plastic bins that may be suitable for those concerned about pests – which can cost as little as £25.99 on Amazon.
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