The composting bins

Arguably the most important structure in a vegetable growing operation is the composting bin, and what better way to make one than from recycled materials.

With the tool shed mellowing nicely on its sloping site, and my tools finally stored away, I can turn my attention to an even more important structure – the compost bin. I intend to build at least four large bins, and these will become the beating heart of the vegetable growing operation. I have never had a proper compost heap before, unless you include a large ugly plastic Dalek full of slimy grass and nesting bumble bees, so I am excited to get started. After loads of research, I am still a little baffled as to the best design, but what I am certain of is that the heap will need to:

• be large enough to get up to temperature

• allow a degree of moisture to penetrate (but not too much)

• have good drainage away

• be in a slightly shady spot

• have an earth base to allow free movement of earthworms and microorganisms.

These are minimum requirements, and there are of course many variations on this, but I am happy to proceed on this basis and see what happens.

As well as the design, the other vital consideration is the waste material used, which will essentially consist of nitrogen and carbon. We will need to get into the habit of putting aside green kitchen waste, tea bags, coffee and mix this with as much garden waste as possible, such as grass and cuttings. To keep things balanced, the green (nitrogen) and brown (carbon) components need to be roughly equal, and paper, cardboard and dried up leaves can also assist in regulating the moisture levels. Although scientists have determined a carbon/nitrogen ratio of around 30:1 is the ultimate composting mix, my understanding is, that once water, mass, density and other factors are considered this approximately equates to a bucket full of each, which seems the simplest way to go about things and hence the "equal" mix. The compost bins are a crucial element of the plan and will supply the “no-dig” beds (much more on this to come) with mulch on a yearly basis. The perfect accompaniment to this process would be manure and I had set myself the task of befriending a local farmer who may have access to this, with chicken, horse and cow being the target crap types, in that order. So, I was over the moon to meet a chap called Kev the other day who had a free-range chicken farm down the road. I remember his name by thinking “chicken Kiev”. Kev sells his eggs (which he also supplies in bulk to the local Spar) to locals via an honesty box, and we were really excited at the thought of walking down the road, chucking a quid in a box, and walking away with 6 fresh eggs, although hopefully we will be rearing our own in due course. Kev was happy to supply me with some chicken manure when the time was right. In keeping with my philosophy here at the Smithy, the compost bins were made out of recycled materials, and utilised an old door from Rob and Sue, the friendly couple to the rear of the Smithy, some old barn doors cut in two, and various bits of wood scavenged from the floor of our woodland. The plastic Dalek cost me £30, this one was free, and looks so much better. Let's see if it works.