Waste of money

Go to any decent garden centre and you will see pallet upon pallet of composts and soil improvements. When you see someone load up half a dozen bags into a car and then find that the customer has spent £40+ on compost in one go it's easy to see why organic matter is big business!

The contents of the different types of compost vary quite considerably. Most ordinary multipurpose composts still have peat as their main ingredient, although with the price of peat rising in recent times and with increasing environmental pressure on peat as a material other ingredients, such as bark or 'greenwaste' (essentially vegetable peelings etc.), to bulk out the compost and keep the price competitive. Some suppliers are able to provide good peat free composts too; SylvaGrow compost from Melcourt is essentially the same product that commercial nurseries are using, so you can be reasonably assured that the product will be consistent and of good quality- nurseries don't take kindly to deliveries of rubbish compost!

Melcourt SylvaGrow- use what the big boys use!

Understanding what you're looking at is key to choosing the right product, especially if you're buying lots of expensive bags full! 'Composts' are essentially split into two categories, growing media and soil conditioners. A growing medium is the product you need to use if you're planting in containers; typically it's a fairly fine mix with a lot of fibrous material (like peat or coir) with a few chunkier bits (usually bark) added for bulk, and often there is a short-lived fertliser content too. A soil conditioner is a lot bulkier, being made up mainly of graded partially composted bark. Soil conditioners are added to soil either as a mulch or by being dug in, and add additional bulk, drainage and organic matter to the natural soil. Knowing the difference between these two types of compost is vital- adding a growing medium to soil won't do any real damage, but trying to grow plants in soil conditioner is really not a good idea!

What I can't understand is why people take their garden rubbish to the tip and then swing round to the garden centre for some compost. Personally I would recommend most gardeners use bagged growing medium for their garden unless they're confident that they can produce a reliable and fine grade growing medium, but all the waste of free soil improver....

Traditional recycling of kitchen or garden waste revolves around the compost bin. There are hundreds of different compost bins out there to suit every garden (and budget), so if you have a garden then there is no excuse. I mean it! Composting is too important in a garden to avoid, so no matter how small your garden you should be able to at least compost something! If you have soil and plants then organic matter should be recycled into the soil; this is more important to the garden than a greenhouse or a water feature because composting is about adding goodness to the soil and improving the well-being of your plants, and no garden features are worth bothering with your plants aren't growing well!

How much space you dedicate to making organic matter is down to your space, your requirements and your ability to generate the right ingredients. Composting can take care of fallen leaves, cut stems, kitchen waste and grass clippings, although no one ingredient should dominate the bin or you will end up with an unbalanced (and often squidgy and smelly) compost goo. If you have excess of any ingredient then this is what can go to the tip, but give the compost bin the first priority!

Don't feel the need to rake borders clear of leaves for the winter. Aside from being a tedious job you are also taking away this much needed organic matter; leaves will break down over winter and be taken into the soil by the earthworms. Leaves must be raked from lawns or the grass will go bad, but all you have to do is spread them on the border (assuming you've got all the ones you need for the compost bin of course) and let nature take its course. Surely this is more straightforward than filling bags to take to the tip?!

The only things you probably shouldn't compost are weeds (particularly perennial weeds), diseased leaves and stems, or meat. Meat in compost attracts pests and is generally not a good idea- invest in a more upmarket composter that will take care of all food waste, or dispose of in the bin. Weeds and diseased material should be taken to the tip, or you can then burn them in an incinerator and add the ash to the compost (any ash from burning wood or organic matter- NOT COAL/PLASTIC/RUBBER/FUEL/OIL- can be added to the mix!). If you don't want to take diseased material to the tip it must be burnt or disposed of in the household rubbish to avoid reintroducing spores into the garden.

Ash from burning organic matter is useful too!

Think before you throw away what could be a valuable commodity; could your pile of 'garden waste' be more use to you if you kept it and used it?