Autumn is the time to tidy up and prepare for next years growing...

Time to make the most of autumn in the garden. In the depth of winter some days the only gardening you can do is to look at seed catalogues and plan next year's crops and planting plans. However at the moment time and weather permitting, the vegetable plot can be cleared of plant debris and the areas that need compost can be treated to a layer of your' finest' home-made compost, courtesy of - waste from the kitchen, the garden,  plus a bit of time and effort. It really is like some rustic version of alchemy the way that products we would normally discard and send to land-fill can be converted into such a useful substance as compost. 


The purpose of compost on the vegetable plot is to replenish it ( a way of putting back) after the 'effort' the soil has put into producing crops for you. It also makes the soil easier to work be it sandy or clay soil and helps add nutrients to the soil and humus. The quantities of these that compost adds or is composed of depends on the quality of the compost. 


When you first start to make compost I believe the import thing is to learn the process; which is relatively simple.
The art in producing compost comes as you get more experienced at making it and you learn how to make better compost, and possibly quicker.


Composting Tip: 
If you have comfrey plants growing on your allotment/vegetable plot adding the leaves to the compost heap is a good idea.


You can also add green manure plants from the plot to the compost such as Phacelia - if you do not want to dig it into the soil.

Kitchen Waste That Can be Made into compost..

Here is a list of foods that are easy to turn into compost if you add them to a compost heap and follow the simple guide lines for successful composting -
List of things that  you can put on a compost heap:

• Banana skins.
• Peelings of vegetables and fruits such as apples.
• Tea bags (when the bag is made of paper.)
• Kitchen towel (that is clean and not tainted e.g. by chemicals or meat.)

Other household waste that can be composted:

• Brown paper bags.
• Brown cardboard.
• Bedding from rabbits and guinea pigs.
• organic cotton e.g.old clothes
• grass cuttings where the grass has not been treated e.g. with weed or moss killer.
• Prunings and clippings from the garden.  

If you turn these into compost you will get a useful mulch for your garden from items that would have ended up in your household rubbish bin.

= You gain compost and save on what is sent to landfill sites.