Composting at home - Using your compost

Your compost is ready to use when it is dark brown and most of the original materials cannot be identified. The process can take from two months to two years.

Things like pieces of eggshell will still be present. Leave for a few weeks to mature before using. Don’t worry if it is lumpy, sticky or stringy – it will be quite usable. If you want a finer compost, allow it to dry and put it through a coarse garden sieve. 

Apply compost in the spring or summer onto vegetable gardens or dig into the top few inches. Light soils are improved by adding compost and heavy clay can be made easier to work by digging in compost.

Use compost to mulch around shrubs, fruit bushes, fruit trees and herbaceous perennials every three years or so. Sieved compost is ideal for potting, window boxes, hanging baskets, houseplants and as a topdressing for lawns. Use it to top up tubs and planters.

How can compost benefit your soil?

Spreading compost on your garden can have a number of positive effects on your soil, helping to improve the health of your plants. Listed below are a number of ways that compost can improve the soil in your garden:

• Increases organic matter

• Builds sound root structure

• Improves drainage in clay soils

• Improves moisture retention in sandy soils

• Attracts and feeds earthworms

• Balances soil pH

• Helps reduce soil erosion

• Reduces plant stress from drought and freezing

• Increases vitamin and mineral content in food crops.