Sunday 18 November 2007

COMPOSTING WEEKEND


COMPOSTING MADE EASY
Buncrana lost their paper recycling facility a while back. I am not really sure why but it now means that we should be taking it to Carndonagh to the recycling centre if you don’t put it in a blue bin. I have a better idea. To save on the petrol and time needed to get to the council site why not just rip the newspapers up and put the pieces in the compost bin. I have been doing just that for months now and it rots down really quickly and dries out the composted fruit and vegetables, which in turn keeps the pesky fruit fly population to a minimum.

There are some basics to learn when it comes to composting in the garden, such as don’t compost cooked food and meat, but grass clippings are fine. If you are new to composting or would like more information, why not pop over to the Courtyard Lifestyle Centre in Newtowncunnigham this Saturday (24th) from 1pm to 4pm. Ms. Nuala Madigan from the Irish Peatland Conservation Council will be the “Compost Doctor” for the day and will be on hand to answer all your questions. Don’t be put off by the fact that you don’t have a garden either! You can still compost kitchen refuse using a wormery. This relies on brandling worms to digest the waste.
The bin can be kept inside or on a patio and organic debris added in small quantities as it arises. A rich liquid is drawn off which makes an excellent houseplant feed, leaving a small amount of fine compost. Nuala will be able to explain about this in more detail on the day. If you have a lot of trees in your garden and collect a large amount of dead leaves in autumn, then it is best to compost these separately as they rot down more slowly. Round them up in a wire mesh cage, chicken wire is ideal, water in dry weather and two years later you will have leaf mould, suitable for conditioning soil and for enriching potting composts.

Suzanne Tinney, from the County Council will also be at the Courtyard Lifestyle Centre. She is the Waste Awareness officer and will be able to answer other waste management or recycling queries. There will also be an expert to help if you are interested in setting up a wildlife garden.

Horticultural.

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