Successful Upgrade to My Compost Bins

One of the big differences between now and the time before gardeners relied so much on peat-based composts is the rise in container growing. An army of modern amateur gardeners has to put up with small gardens, and possibly with no soil at all. Growing plants in containers allows us to garden wherever we like, and even to grow plants that would not thrive in our soil. Some plants are grown in containers to keep them under control; others so that they can be moved indoors in winter to ensure their survival.

Ericaceous compost

When the sun shone on Saturday morning, and the rain promised to delay until midday, we hatched a plan to build two more of the raised beds in the garden. One half of the garden – 6 beds – was completed last year, leaving 6 more to go. We don’t have space for them all until we take the old shed down, but we found room for two next to Ryan’s workshop.

A container garden can be a delight, but it can also be expensive – the pots themselves aren’t cheap. If you have a water meter then you have to factor in the cost of keeping your pots watered, and you need fertilizer as well. It is usually recommended that potting compost be replaced every year, and if you’re buying good quality peat-free compost then the cost starts to add up.

For two glorious years, this garden was cat-free. And then just at the point where the garden was mostly ‘finished’ and all I needed to think about was playing with plants, a feral cat moved into the neighbourhood. And started leaving ‘gifts’ in the raised beds.

I grew up understanding the phrase “a bit Heath Robinson” as meaning something that had been cobbled together, but I wasn’t really aware of the fact that Heath Robinson was a real person. Born in 1872, he was an English cartoonist and illustrator, and he became famous for drawings of convoluted contraptions – ridiculously complicated machines that achieved things you don’t need a machine for. It was in this capacity that ‘Heath Robinson’ entered the dictionary in 1912; he became more synonymous with cobbling things together during the ‘Make Do and Mend’ campaign of the Second World War. In fact, one of the automated analysis machines at Bletchley Park – a forerunner of the codebreaking Colossus – was named Heath Robinson in his honour.

Header image: IgorAleks/Shutterstock

My grandmother taught me that you cannot just take from a garden; you must always give back and care for the soil. This is a lesson I apply to any garden that I tend. No matter the soil type, adding organic matter will improve soil structure and make more nutrients available to plants.

Mushroom compost for the garden has been promoted as beneficial for some time now, but it’s important to note that not every plant reaps the benefits of mushroom compost. What plants don’t like mushroom compost? Acid loving plants, for one. Is mushroom compost good for a vegetable garden? The following contains information on plants that do and don’t like mushroom compost and how to use it in your garden.

The idea of growing our own vegetables and herbs is gaining popularity in the UK (possibly thanks to Felicity Kendal and ‘The Good Life’ circa 1975). However, not all of us have access to a garden, especially in large cities. So, what can you do if you would like to grow some veggies at home, but don’t have a garden or much space to work with? Don’t worry, you can still put those green fingers to good use!

Along with kitchens, bathrooms are one of the places that best sell homes—if you’re considering a renovation, they’re a great place to invest. Plus, they're spaces where small changes can make a huge impact. If you want to revamp a room, you can completely transform it with just a few tweaks. And, of course, unlike a formal dining room or a seasonal patio, your bathroom gets daily use—it needs to spark joy.

Another wet and rainy day and all I can think about is the compost heap (well may be not all). We all slip up, drop clangers and get it wrong so I thought I would list some of my own compost errors or lash-ups.