Compost Bin
Friday, October 23 by Hamish Dodd
G’day green fingers,
Hamish here. Thanks for all your blog comments. Last week I spent several nights meeting some of you at the Bunnings Warehouses in Mt Roskill and Botany Downs, Auckland. I was demonstrating how to create hanging baskets. It was a great turn out and thoroughly enjoyable. Thanks to those of you who turned up. Next time I’ll put my appearances on the blog so more of you can come along.
My vegies are growing great guns. I hope the same can be said for yours? Now that the weather is improving and Labour weekend is upon us it’s time to get stuck into the garden. Remember that not only do you have to look after the growing of your seedlings which should be growing into strong plants but you have to, every fortnight or so, be constantly sowing more seeds to ensure a constant supply of vegies. Some vegie seed varieties will regrow, and in some cases lettuce leaves can be picked young and regrow. Check the back of vegie seed packets for more information.
The Yates garden calendar is an easy and excellent reference guide to know what seeds to plant at what time of the year. The Yates Garden Guide has fantastic information on this too. It may all seem a bit daunting for a newbie but once you get the hang of feeding, weeding and watering already established plants and sowing and caring for new seedlings you’ll wonder what all the fuss was about. Now is the perfect time to spend your daylight summer evenings in the garden producing amazing tasting vegies for your BBQ.
I love nothing more than cutting fresh tomatoes from the plant, giving them a wash and cutting them in half. Sprinkle some olive oil, salt and pepper on the flesh and roast on the BBQ. The tomatoes are a perfect side dish to a fresh radish, lettuce, cucumber, carrot and tomato salad and a piece of barbecued steak, washed down with cooled water and fresh mint to taste. I forgot to mention that home-grown potatoes have an unbelievable taste, especially when wrapped in tinfoil and cooked on a BBQ. Split open the potato once cooked and add a dollop of butter or garlic butter. My mouth is watering at this thought but I have got sidetracked.
Now is as good a time as any to start a compost heap, if you don’t already have one. Scraps thrown into a compost heap decompose and make fertile soil for next season. There are many ways you can start a compost heap, including a specially built plastic bin from a hardware store, (I am putting in a 340 litre Perroplas Garden Mate this week) a timber slated bin or a chicken mesh structure. Some people love digging holes around their section, filling it with scraps and then recovering with soil. Next season you can plant stuff directly into the old hole and your plants will love the nutrient goodness.
Place any compost bins as far away from your home and entertaining area as possible. The initial cost of building or buying a compost bin is cheap in comparison to the dosh you will save over time, especially if you are growing in raised beds or a glasshouse, like my Arthurs greenhouse. If you haven’t noticed already soil in raised beds and pots reduces over time. It’s a good idea every season to dump a load of fresh new soil into your beds – compost is a cheap and effective way of doing it.
Food and garden waste can be thrown on the heap. Meat scraps are an open invitation for rodents, cats and dogs so never throw it in the mix. A compost accelerator such as Watkins Compost Maker is a big help to get the compost going nicely and getting it good and hot. Vegie scraps, egg shells, even torn newspaper will decompose.
Using a garden fork, turn over the compost mix every once in a while. In heavy rain cover it with a lid, layer of newspaper/cardboard or old carpet. A compost heap must reach a certain temperature to break down into soil. Although it likes being moist it can’t be saturated. For more detailed information check out Judy Horton’s gardening segment on composts for an interactive ‘how to’ demonstration.
If you have just stumbled upon this blog, and never grown a thing in your life, pick up a Yates Give it a Grow kit from your nearest Yates stockist. The pack comes with Black Magic Seed Raising mix, seed tray and tomato and lettuce seeds.
I’m feeling quietly proud that my tomato seedlings are starting to grow into tall bushy plants. I can’t wait to get my hands on the first juicy tomato of the season but first I will be weighing it and taking snaps for the great tomato growing competition . The winner will be in to win a prize pack of the value of $575. Send in a picture of your tomato plant, a photocopy of your Yates garden diary with harvest weights and records. Remember to watch out for unsightly tomato pests like mites, whitefly, Tomato fruit worm, virus, and slugs and snails. Using Blitzem will deter slugs and snails. Nature’s Way fungus spray and Yates Tomato Dust are also fabulous at treating pests and diseases. The Yates garden problem solver book has three pages dedicated to common tomato fruit pest, disease and problems and how to fix it. A good feed of Nature’s Way BioGold liquid will provide all the nutrients and goodies a growing tomato plant needs.
Next week I’ll talk about companion planting in a vegie garden and utilising what space you have in your plot to display some gorgeous flowers.
Catch ya,
Hamish
“Back to blog >”:/hamish-dodd/
Comments (4)
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This area is for general comments from the Yates Garden Club community. Questions posted here will not receive a reply from Yates. For specific product advice Contact Us
Jai
Yates site member
05:47, 25 October 2009
Such a great idea of composting ! We should be putting the majority of food scraps in composting to lessen landfills and lower carbon footprints. BTW all the the tomato seeds that i sow a 2weeks ago , there are only 2 survivors the rest didn't make it due to that harsh cold snap here in the North... survival of the fittest? lol
claire
Yates site member
09:45, 28 October 2009
hi this is my second go at growing cabbage and cauli they were good but not great. this time they have both formed big leaves and no heads. have added extra general fertilizer. cabbages should have been ready about 30 days ago and cauli's from now or within next 4 weeks. is it to late to salvage them (how?)or should i pull them out and start again any advice would be appriciated thanks.
Rosemary Joy(name used)
Yates site member
15:18, 04 November 2009
I have both compost bins(3) and a worm Farm. I haven't had the worm farm long two or three months I think but is coming along really well. The biggest problem I have with both types is ants and no matter what I do they are alive with them any suggestions on how to deal withis will be apriciated. I have been digging over a small vege garden that I haven't been near this year and found parsnips growing. I put the seeds in some time last year is it usual for them to take so long to grow?
Lee
Yates site member
06:49, 04 January 2010
Hi, can anyone tell me anything about putting horse manure on your vege garden. Can it be dug straight into the garden or does it need to compost first. Thanks
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