Compost

Compost is one of nature’s best mulches and soil improvers. Best of all compost is cheap and you can make it without spending money. Using compost improves soil structure, texture, aeration and increases the soil’s water-holding capacity.

Compost also improves the quality of clay soils and helps sandy soils retain water. Adding homemade compost to your beds and borders improves soil fertility, stimulates development in plants and reduces leaching of nutrients in the soil. The organic matter provided in compost provides food for micro-organisms that are living in your soil, which keeps the soil in a healthy, balanced condition.

How to make compost

To make good compost you need to get the balance right other wise the bacteria and micro organisms that produce the compost won’t work at optimum level.

1 Choose your compost bin. Bins comes in various shapes and sizes
2 Select a sunny corner of your garden ideally on situated level soil to encourage worms and micro organisms to speed up the process
3 Starting adding compost material to your bins adding equal parts greens to woody material, aim to have a 5cm layer of each parts.
4 To help speed the process up you will need to lift and turn the compost to aerate it and mix the outer material to the inside. Cover the compost to help retain heat and keep the rain out.
5 Compost can take anything from 16 weeks to a year plus to be ready for garden use. When the compost is ready it will look dark brown in colour, a crumbly texture, slight damp with a earthy orderless smell.

What to compost

* Animal manure * Cardboard rolls * Clean paper * Coffee grounds and filters * Cotton rags * Dryer and vacuum cleaner lint * Eggshells * Fruits and vegetables * Grass clippings * Hay and straw * Houseplants * Leaves * Sawdust * Shredded newspaper * Tea bags * Wood chips

What NOT to compost

*Coal or charcoal ash *Dairy products *Diseased or insect-ridden plants *Gloss and colour paper *Fats, grease, lard, or oils *Meat or fish bones and scraps *Pet wastes *grass clippings treated with chemical pesticides

If you need help creating a composting area in your garden contact the Greenspace team.We can help with sourcing/ building the right size of composting bins for your gardens needs and starting the process off for you.

Extensive research over the last 10 years has led to the development of natural and sustainable products which are now recognised and used for the maintenance and management of professional sports surfaces such as golf greens, premier league football pitches, tennis courts and now residential lawns throughout the UK.

Using these products, our maintenance strategy actively supports and promotes the natural biota of soil biology nature intended to achieve high quality lawns.

Some of the pitfalls of using a synthetic nitrogenous fertiliser are:-
Causes harm to the soil-friendly microbes, upsetting the natural balance needing more applications as the deterioration accelerates.
Creates thatch problems which can harbour pests, disease and hinder drainage.
Limits ‘deep rooting’ as the grass becomes lazy since it isn’t searching for a food source or moisture.
Weakens the grass by forcing rapid growth.

Our natural products work by feeding the billions of friendly microbes, the bacteria and fungi that depend on and support each other to enhance soil and plant health. The benefits of using these products are:-
Stronger, more resilient grass sward.
All year round natural even colour.
Reduced growth rates therefore, less mowing.
Pet friendly, all products are non-hazardous.

To book a FREE lawn care health check please contact the Greenspace team.

May

Now in May we will be heading into the warmer weather and getting ready for summer. Gardens should start to look at their best with trees and shrubs in full leaf. This is also the time to get inspiration from the main flower shows around.

• Summer bedding should now be put in to replace the spring. Be careful of any late frosts.
• Starting mowing lawns on a regular basis. Feed established lawns and treat any weeds.
• Hoe bare ground to keep the weeds at bay.
• Trim evergreen hedges such as Buxus Sempervirens.
• Prune Clematis montania after it has flowered.
• Tie in climbers like clematis and roses. Continue to stake tall stemmed perennials.
• Prune pryracanthus and early flowering shrubs like Spiraea ‘arguta’.
• Lift and divide spring flowering perennials such as primula and pulmonarias.
• Dead head daffodils.
• continue to sow vegetables indoors and outside.
• check all plants for pests and diseases.
• Keep new plants well water untill they are established .

This is some of the main tasks that you could be getting on with. If you would like help of advice about sowing seeds, propagation, pruning or any other related gardening tasks please contact the Greenspace team and we would be happy to help out.