Environment

WATER

Water well, but do it wisely bearing in mind that there may be temporary restrictions in your area. For lawns, trees & shrubs, and landscape borders, long, slow and infrequent soakings are better. Soaker hoses and drip irrigation systems can direct water to targeted areas and specific plants. Drip systems are especially useful for plants grown in containers, pots and under glass. Do keep an eye on what your plants optimum watering requirements are so as not to waste any.

Rainy day by the river

Tip: For larger established plants, close to the root ball bury one or several empty 3.5 inch (8cm) or larger plastic plant pots or cut down inverted plastic drinks bottles leaving about 1 inch (2.5cm) above ground. Fill them with water whenever your plants need a drink.

Be aware of local water bye-laws. Store your own FREE water by purchasing a water butt and fitting a water butt diverter to your house or greenhouse rainwater guttering downpipe. (using rainwater is highly beneficial for some plants that dislike tap water)

Mulch goes a long way to help conserve soil moisture, keep weeds at bay and moderate soil temperatures. It's a good thing to do but don't get heavy-handed, 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.5cm) of mulch is usually all you need. Keep mulch away from the trunk of trees and shrubs. NO volcanoes of mulch piled up around tree trunks! Organic mulches also improve soil fertility and build good tilth. Some examples are tree leaves, garden compost, grass clippings, chipped wood or bark, pine needles, seed or nut hulls, aged manure, and even seaweed.

COMPOSTING
General Composting
The best material for composting consists of waste organic matter, predominantly of plant origin. This includes uncooked vegetable and fruit trimmings, grass cuttings (free of long lasting chemicals), garden plant material (woody plants may need shredding), coffee grounds, pasta, bread, cereal, tea bags, straw, wood shavings, seaweed (also a natural compost activator), shredded paper products and also cow and horse manure. Leafmold does make a good compost (low in nutrients but an excellent soil conditioner). However, it should really be treated as a separate compost material as it is often much slower to decompose and the primary agent for breaking it down is fungi which is different from kitchen waste and other plant material which is broken down by bacteria.

Among those things you should NOT use are weeds with seeds (including nuisance seeding garden flowers), roots of weeds, potatoes, cooked food, meat, fish, infected and contaminated plant material and rose prunings.

Compost bin construction is very easy but a few simple rules need to be applied. The bin size should be no smaller than a large dustbin, but preferably 2 to 4 cubic yards (2 to 4 cubic meters) or more in capacity. Airflow through the container is very important as it is aerobic bacteria that does most of the work in breaking down the solid material. A basic container can consist of a simple four walled wire mesh construction with an upright post at each corner driven into the ground. The heap ought to be lightly covered with a piece of old carpet or similar to keep off excessive rain. The base of the heap should idealy consist of some twiggy type material about 6 inches (15cm) deep to assist airflow. The compost heap must always be kept damp but not wet, and should be regularly turned to increase aeration and thus bacterial activity. Additives called activators can be used to help speed up decomposition, although a well constucted and maintained heap wil not gain much benefit. A sprinkling of lime can be added to encourage worms, but NEVER ADD LIME if you have included any animal manure in your heap as the resulting amonia released could kill off useful micro-organisms and halt or retard the process of decomposition.

Composting at Kew Gardens Photo: Keith Littlejohns

Composting with Worms
Vermicomposting is the process of using worms to produce rich compost from waste organic material. Vermicomposting is an excellent and speedy method of composting. One pound (0.5kg) of worms can turn 65 pounds (30kg) of garden and kitchen waste into lush garden compost in about 100 days.

The best diet for your worms is soft garden and kitchen waste that is exclusively of plant origin except citrus fruits as worms dislike acid conditions, and grass cuttings which when decomposing get too hot for the worms liking.

A cheap and simple worm composter can be made from an old plastic dustbin. Worms like a large surface area, so a stout wider bin is better than a tall thin one. Drainage holes must be drilled all around the side close to the bin's base. The bin should be kept covered at at all times to conserve moisture which worms need in moderation but also to keep out rain which could drown them. Another reason for the cover is that worms have to have darkness.

One of the best types of worm for composting is brandling Eisenia fetida, they can readily be obtained from fishing tackle shops at very reasonable cost.

Worms need a kick start before they can begin making their own compost. Basically, they need some home comforts. This can consist of a mature compost, manure, leafmold or used seed compost mixed with shredded newspaper. Whatever you use should be damp but not soggy or saturated. Once they have a 'home' to nest in and warmth their activity will increase rapidly.

After the worm bin has been set up, you should introduce a minimum of about fifty to one hundred worms. The more you add the quicker the composting process will get going.

Lay vegetable material for composting in a small pile or piles on top of the starter material and observe how the worms are progressing through the piles. Once they seem to have exhausted this material introduce a new pile or piles of vegetable waste. Cover the compost with a couple of sheets of newspaper as this helps preserve moisture near the surface.

During warm weather keep the bin in a shelterd spot as at temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) worm activity slows down. During colder weather, move the bin into a warm spot as at temperatures below about 10 degrees celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit) activity slows dramatically. During the winter time you must store an active worm bin somewhere frost free or the worms will die. You could of course release the beneficial worms into your garden during the autumn where, as surface worms, they will find shelter under leaves and rotting vegitation. Dispersing the worms in this way helps improve the condition of your soil and provides extra food for birds over the winter period.

To harvest the compost and retain some worms for the next batch. Wait for a dry, overcast and not too cold day. Tip the compost out onto a large plastic sheet and spread it evenly. Soak several sheets of newspaper and place a one tabloid page size piece in the centre of the compost. Wait a while for the worms to migrate to find shelter under the damp newspaper. Look out for the tiny lemon-shaped worm cocoons which contain between two and twenty baby worms. Carefully remove the surrounding compost for use in the garden. You should have retained a good supply of worms under the newspaper which can then be used, along with the compost they are now in, to start the process over again.

Photos: Keith Littlejohns