You may also like<\/strong><\/p>\n

How to reduce plastic in the garden<\/a><\/li>\n
How to make an apothecary garden<\/a><\/li>\n
Why gardeners can learn from new roadside verge cutting rules<\/a><\/li>\n
The best compost bins and how to choose<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
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$\""Wildflowers\"$ <\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section>
Composting also has a greater role to play by enabling us to reduce our landfill waste. Municipal waste has increased by three per cent every year since 1996. Sent to landfill, it releases methane, which contributes to global warming. Landfill is responsible for 22 per cent of the total methane released in the UK alone. Some landfill sites do have methods to catch methane and councils do compost food waste, but this all requires fuel, energy and transportation. As our population grows, it is more important than ever that we all start composting and as more of us live in cities with small or no garden, indoor systems are becoming more relevant. Below are three different ways of composting if you have limited space.<\/p>\n
And don\u2019t miss our guide to mulching<\/a> and foliar feeds and sprays.<\/a><\/p>\n
What is bokashi composting?<\/h2>\n
Bokashi<\/a> is an indoor fermentation process that allows the recycling of most kitchen waste including meat and dairy products. Originating from Asia (with ties to Korean Natural Farming), it uses organisms to break down the material quickly, negating concerns relating to \u2018brown to green\u2019 ratios, turning and moisture levels. It loses no nutrients and creates a powerful liquid fertilisers for plants. Bokashi is the ideal closed system that can easily be placed in your home.<\/p>\n
How to start Bokashi composting<\/h3>\n
\u2022 Buy a Bokashi bin and Bokashi starter to digest waste.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Add 7-8cm of chopped kitchen waste (even cooked food) followed by a scattering of Bokashi bran. Repeat until full.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Seal the lid and leave for two weeks. Drain off liquid every two days, dilute one teaspoon with 4.5l of water and apply to plants.<\/p>\n
\u2022 After two weeks the compost should smell sweet; if it smells \u2018off\u2019 add more bran or discard.<\/p>\n
\u2022 To use the compost, dig into garden soil two weeks prior to planting. You can also incorporate it into compost heaps or use it to feed a worm composter.<\/p>\n
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\u00a9 Getty\/ Construction Photography\/Avalon \/ Contributor<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Worm composting<\/h2>\n
Another great indoor method is worm composting, using a worm bin placed in a dark area in the house or shed. Worms break down certain kitchen waste, paper and compost to create worm castings, which boast 50 per cent water retention and contain important minerals and nutrients. This makes a rich fertiliser containing growth hormones and natural insect and disease repellents that help build topsoil and prevent damping off in seedlings. One plant requires just one teaspoon of worm compost per season.<\/p>\n
How to make a worm compost bin<\/h3>\n
\u2022 Place a 10cm layer of shredded newspaper or damp leaves in a worm composting bin. Place tiger worms on top and leave overnight.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The next day add kitchen scraps or compost to half or quarter the weight of worms.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Feed the worms with kitchen scraps (never meat, dairy products or acidic food) once or twice a week, adding a third by volume of paper or cardboard.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Store in a cool dark area, elevated off the ground or placed in a tray to catch excess moisture, and leave for six months.<\/p>\n
\u2022 To harvest, create small mounds in the castings under a bright light (to drive the worms down). Collect the top portion, wait and repeat until only worms are left.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Place castings directly on to plants or into planting holes, add to compost or use as a compost tea or insect repellent.<\/p>\n
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\u00a9 Andia\/ Universal Images Group via Getty<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\nHow to compost<\/h2>\n
\u2022 Create a circular bin on bare soil to allow a transfer of soil microbes.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Include greens, such as grass, eggshells and vegetable scraps, for nitrogen, and brown material (carbon), such as straw, plant material and paper. Remember a heap needs oxygen and water.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Placing a well-rotted log or woodland soil at the base with twigs or brash will introduce further beneficial microbes.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Stack alternate brown and green layers.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Water thoroughly if ever the heap gets dry.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Once full, leave for a year, then turn into another wire bin and leave for another year.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t miss our round up of the best compost bins to buy.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n
Compost communities<\/h3>\n
Compost communities, where neighbourhoods produce and share home-made compost locally, in gardens and allotments, empower individuals to make a difference on a small scale. In areas of New York, such as Brooklyn and Manhattan, local networks encourage people to learn and share ideas while making friends. Brooklyn Botanics, for example, takes your waste, composts it for you and gives it back. Battery Park in Manhattan helps teach communities to make compost that is then used for local projects. We can all take responsibility for our waste by composting, whether we have space for a compost heap or not.<\/p><\/body><\/html>\n
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By Joshua Sparkes Published: Wednesday, 22 June 2022 at 12:00 am Most of us know about traditional methods of composting using a mixture of leafy greens and woody browns, turned regularly. Composting builds habitats for worms and other beasties and feeds the microbes that live in our soil as well as introducing new ones that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":12224,"template":"","categories":[1,17],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"5"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/06\/bokashi-composting-and-the-worm-compost-method-scaled.jpg",1926,2560,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/06\/bokashi-composting-and-the-worm-compost-method-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/06\/bokashi-composting-and-the-worm-compost-method-226x300.jpg",226,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/06\/bokashi-composting-and-the-worm-compost-method-768x1021.jpg",768,1021,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/06\/bokashi-composting-and-the-worm-compost-method-771x1024.jpg",771,1024,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/06\/bokashi-composting-and-the-worm-compost-method-1156x1536.jpg",1156,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/06\/bokashi-composting-and-the-worm-compost-method-1541x2048.jpg",1541,2048,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Joshua Sparkes Published: Wednesday, 22 June 2022 at 12:00 am Most of us know about traditional methods of composting using a mixture of leafy greens and woody browns, turned regularly. Composting builds habitats for worms and other beasties and feeds the microbes that live in our soil as well as introducing new ones that…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/12223"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}