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Composting

joneastjoneast Posts: 2
in Tools and techniques
Hi.
I am after some advice over composting verses cutting up garden waste and leaving on flower beds? I ask as I have raised beds that are long but narrow so planting is tight but I do not have the room to compost so I have been cutting up the waste and leaving it to rot down around the beds but I am trying to establish the pro and cons of this, if anyone can help please.
Thanks
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Posts

  • CeresCeres Posts: 2,698
    Hi @joneast. Welcome to the forum.
    If you have rotting vegetation around your raised beds you are liable to get a slug problem. Composting the waste will give you a wonderful mulch for the beds and for soil improvement. Not all compost bins are huge.
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    May be worth having a look at @MikeOxgreen's thread on composting for a few ideas :)
  • plant pauperplant pauper Posts: 6,904
    Darn it! That account is private so the link goes to nowhere and we have to trawl through acres of dross to find it! 
  • clematisdorsetclematisdorset Posts: 1,348
    I have been adding my smaller cuttings to the base of plants and agree slugs and snails gravitate to them. I have made some 'decoy' piles on their routes to my plants and have found they stop off there and often don't reach my plants. This works well if alot of them live in certain areas, only to move at night towards said rotting vegetation! :dizzy:
    Sorry to witness the demise of the forum. 😥😥😥😡😡😡I am Spartacus 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I agree with @Ceres. A small compost bin is far more useful @joneast  :)  
    It also depends on the plants you're growing, and what you then cut up and put around them. It could be a very slow way of breaking it down.
    People used to do that, but they'd generally make a trench and add the waste to that, cover it back over and then plant into it. More useful for veg or annuals etc. 

    I keep an old,  standard sized bucket by the back door, which has holes in the base. Any deadheading of plants, the odd banana skin or tangerine peel gets chucked in, and it's surprising how quickly that fills. It then gets transferred into the proper compost bin, which is a small dustbin. As that fills, I move the contents into the more permanent bins, which also means it gets turned, but each one doesn't have to be very big. It's also surprising how quickly it breaks down more, and doesn't take up lots of space.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1068227/the-make-your-own-compost-thread/p57
    - is this the one you were looking for, @plant pauper?  It's very useful.
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • plant pauperplant pauper Posts: 6,904
    Brilliant @Liriodendron thank you. I went back ten pages and gave up! 😒 I've bookmarked it.
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    If you've not got a lot , maybe a worm bin?
  • plant pauperplant pauper Posts: 6,904
    A worm bin is an excellent option. Mellors has one and all his scraps and peelings go in. It's so successful that he's putting on an extension! Some people have too much time on their hands!  :D
  • joneastjoneast Posts: 2
    Hi all. A Huge thank you for taking the time to read my question and also for helping our with advice. I truly appreciate the help and advice.
    I understand what you mean about slugs, never thought of that, especially as its been so hot for lately I have seen many but I will bear that in mind when the rain comes. I must admit I do walk around with a bin and try and cut everything up as much as I can and mix it up so it can rot down a little.
    I am worried that putting rotting compost that is still quite green might affect my plants. I think I will try digging it in a bit too as an option. My days of adding veg to my bin has gone as I was worried about rats and I don't have the space for a large bin, shame really.
    Again a huge thank you all for your response and good luck gardening.
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