By: Nadia Osman

When you’re outside puttering around in your garden, you probably feel tranquil, serene, at one with Mother Nature. It’s just you and your plants, getting along fantastically together. The last thing you want is for that peaceful silence to be obliterated by an intimidating gardening contraption like the chipper shredder. But fear not, those scared easily by loud noises and heavy machinery: chippers are not like their predecessors, and they’re only getting better.

The chipper shredder is interesting in that it’s one of the most versatile gardening tools around. Sure, you may scoff at the idea of having a machine assist with something that’s so essentially natural. Yet after weeks of turning over that compost heap or letting those bags of leaves pile up, it’s best to turn to a little extra help. For those that compost with gusto, a chipper shredder may already be sitting in your backyard somewhere, happily assisting with converting leaves into mulch and spitting out wood chips for ground cover. For the lazy composter, it may not even have occurred to you to enlist a hunk of metal to help make mulch. For those that don’t even compost, the chipper shredder is still handy; with its chopping and dicing abilities (like an oversized piece of kitchenware seen on late night infomercials) will speed up the process of eliminating dead brush and tree limbs from the yard.

Old chippers were often clunky, deafening, and dangerous. New chippers tend to be lightweight, safer, and much quieter. The newer electric models are also less likely to emit strange, toxic odors like the older gas powered models, and they’re healthier for the environment. They work well for long periods of time, given that you don’t shove copious amounts of tree excess in all at once. The more powerful the shredder, the more it can handle; for backyard home work, smaller chippers are your best bet. Furthermore, larger chippers are great for clearing acres of dead tree brush and trunks. For those with compost piles or ordinary yard debris, the smaller chippers work very well for creating mulch. Distribute your chipper’s finished product over your flower bed, and you can be witness to a worm colony growing rapidly in your compost pile. The best part is feeling proud knowing that you didn’t really have to do much—your chipper shredder did all the work for you.

Leftover plant stalks? Stick ‘em in the shredder. Trimming from your shrubs? Throw ‘em in the chipper. Brittle, dry leaves? Why, just chuck those suckers on in. Get all the mulch you need for composting while saving yourself time and effort by using a chipper shredder. Now all you have to do is putter in your garden and enjoy the silence of happy, healthy plants.

By: chris j meagher

Compost is the end result of the decomposition of organic material, or waste. This occurs naturally in the bush , or a forest, by the accumulation of debris from plant and animal material; and provided there is moisture present, either from rain, in the soil, or from the material itself, decomposition will occur.

With the assistance of microbes, bacteria, fungus, insects and worms – the organic matter is consumed, or broken-down, gently mixed, with the assistance of the worms and insects; and ultimately, transformed into an organically rich substance – readily assimilable by plants : the perfect fertiliser. In this natural setting, the actual transformation from raw material to compost, can take quite some time – as the process is reliant on the vaguaries of the climate and the availability of material.

Compost in urban environs, uses the same principles, with the added bonus of things being managed; and therefore a quicker process.

The Urban Composter.

How do I Make Compost?

Composting at home, is basically a means of Recycling the organic waste that a household produces. Kitchen and garden waste, makes up about 30% of all land-fill; this is where the smell from rubbish dumps comes from – organic material rotting. Unlike a compost, which is, organic material decomposing, with the help of microbial and worm action breaking it down.

A well balanced compost heap – does not smell!

If you could pile up all the discarded kitchen and garden waste, coming out of an average suburban home in a year – you would not be able to see over it. Does it not make more sense to return all of this back into your garden, rather than adding to the urban over-abundance of garbage tragedy? Some local councils are now supplying garden-waste-bins, collected just the same way as ordinary garbage, but then dumped at enormous compost-farms; and ultimately sold off as bagged compost and potting-mix.

When you add in the environmental costs, of adding new landfill sites, road transport emissions from ferrying all this waste around; and potential incineration, with the fumes that release into the environment – advantages of composting are clear, whether done on an individual basis, or commercially.

So! All your garden-waste, this is : lawn-clippings, any soft prunings (nothing too woody, nothing diseased); all leaves- from the roof-gutters, raked up leaves, swept up leaves; most weeds; and all spent annuals from last season.

Household waste : from the kitchen; all vegetable scraps; left-over meals (no meat, fish or dairy products – this will only stink and attract unwanted pests and vermin);egg-shells, egg-cartons; coffee-grounds and tea-bags; hair – from the brush, from the dog, from cutting hair; all floor sweepings; ash from the fire-place; whatever is in the vaccum bag; shopping dockets and paper-bags – pretty much, anything organic. Any large cardboard boxes, or large quantities of news-papers, worn out sheets and blankets – do not burn them, use them as mulch.

Part 2: Where do I put all this ’stuff’? : http://start-a-garden.com/index/gardening/how-to-make-a-garden-compost-part-2-2

By: Vera Pappas

 

What To Do With Your Doggie Doo

 

 

We’ve always had a dog and for as long as I can remember I have been cleaning up dog poop. Everyday I get my plastic shopping bag and a shovel and patrol the yard. I had never given it much thought until recently. That’s a lot of plastic bags filled with poop that is going to the landfill never to decompose.

Composting has also always been a part of our lifestyle, but poop was the one thing we couldn’t put in our regular composter. Now Vermi-composting has come along. What a great way to recycle nature’s waste. Tumbleweed Pet Poo Compost Maker is a mini worm farm composter. The Tumbleweed Pet Poo Compost Maker consists of two sturdy nesting boxes with a lid, which form a neat, compact portable unit. The worms eat and breed in the top box. This has a perforated base to allow any liquid waste to drain through to the bottom (collector) box. The “worm poo” or worm castings remain in the top box and can be harvested as desired. The bottom or catcher box collects the valuable liquid waste, which can be diluted and used as a fertilizer on your garden.

The Tumbleweed Pet Poo Converter will handle, on average, the droppings of two medium dogs. However, this will vary with age, diet, exercise and breed of dog. (Think Chihuahua vs. St Bernard). The greater the amount of droppings recycled through the Pet Poo Converter, the quicker the level of castings will build up. The castings can then be easily harvested, as per the instructions, and used around the flower garden or in potting mixes.

There is no difficulty in getting the worms to eat dog droppings. Commercial worm farmers rear their worms on manure. However it is not possible to mix diets. They must be fed exclusively on pet poo. If you want to recycle vegetable scraps you must set up a separate farm.

This is the best thing going. Farmers have been using manure for hundreds of years to amend the soil. It is super rich in nutrients. The worm castings and the tea that is made from your dog’s poop is a great return on your investment. Think of all the money you spend on dog food, and all the money you will save on fertilizer!

 

 

By: Owen Chubb

So let us start with Composting and all you need to know.

 

Why should I compost?

 



Organic matter improves soil structure and gives life. It opens up heavy soils, aids drainage and provides good growing conditions. Light or sandy soils benefit from its moisture retentive properties.

It provides nutrients for plants. The nutrients in your compost depend on what has been put in your bin, but will always contain a wide range of trace elements and plant foods.

It is a completely natural product. In nature, all living things eventually decay; composting simply speeds up the process.

It is free and environmentally friendly. Up to 30% of household waste is organic and can be converted into compost for use in the garden. Composting is good for plants, good for the environment and good for us.



 

Where should I locate my Composter?

 



 Preferably in a warm or sheltered position, but this is not essential.

 place on bare soil. This will aid drainage and allow worms and bacteria to enter and aid   breakdown of the raw material.



 

What can I put in it?

 



Garden Waste: All types of garden waste including annual weeds, grass cuttings, fallen fruit and old vegetable plants, bedding plants, chopped prunings, hedge clippings, horse and poultry manure and urine, straw, feathers, dried fallen leaves, sawdust and wood shavings, shredded wood and twigs, seaweed, spent compost.

Household Waste: Teabags/leaves, egg shells, coffee grounds, fruit and vegetable waste, human and animal hair, feathers, shredded and soaked cardboard, paper, wood ash.

Avoid: Cooked food and meat (attracts rodents).



 

How to Make the Best Compost?

 

The composting process requires raw material, water and air. Good compost comprises a balance of as many ingredients as possible. Too much grass will create a slimy mess; too much woody material will create a dry heap, which decomposes very slowly. Chopping and cutting ingredients into small pieces before adding to the composter will facilitate faster decomposition.

 

The most important balance to achieve is the proportion of woody, high carbon material (e.g. dried leaves, straw, paper, twigs, hedge clippings) to sappy, high nitrogen material (e.g. plants, weeds, vegetables & fruit, grass, manure). The woody material keeps the compost open and aerated, preventing the soggy mass that results from composting too much nitrogen-rich material (such as grass cuttings). However, it provides little or no nutrients for the bacteria in the heap, which creates the heat required for good composition. Soft material contains the nitrogen needed by bacteria, plus water. During colder months a piece of polystyrene or old carpet placed in the bin on top of the compost will prevent heat loss.

 

An essential ingredient for composting is air. The best way to introduce air into the composter is to fork up the contents and turn it over. It is a good idea to do this on a regular (monthly) basis.

 

When will the compost be ready to use?

 

Shredded material that has been kept moist and turned several times can be ready for use in the garden in just a few months but six months is more typical. The length of time really depends on the mixture of ingredients, air temperature, size of coarser material and how quickly the composter unit was filled. Compost at the bottom will always be ready first, so always remove from the bottom first.

 

If a finer texture is preferred, sieve out the coarse material; this can be used as mulch around the garden or in the base of planters/garden pots to provide drainage and nutrients, or simply replace in the bin for further breakdown. Do not use garden compost for delicate seedlings because it is not sterile.

 

Happy Gardening.