Gleanr’s mission to enable local food growing includes sharing knowledge and building awareness of the different aspects of urban agriculture. As most food gardeners know, good compost can make a huge difference to the quality of produce.
With this in mind, Gleanr has joined a growing number of agencies officially supporting International Composting Awareness Week (ICAW) and sat down with its Australian Ambassador, Costa Georgiadis, during his recent visit to Brisbane’s Northey Street City Farm. We asked Costa to share his top 3 composting tips for people who are new to food growing.
For added flavour, we have also included a few additional gems from Costa’s recently published book, Costa’s World, which is fast becoming every gardener’s best friend.
Number 1: Make sure you have a container with a lid.
This is important, so that you don’t end up with vinegar flies that will offend people that may not share your newfound compost enlightenment. You don’t have to buy a specific container; you can get an old pot from a local op shop.
(Costa’s World Tip: Before you fill your benchtop tidy with scraps, line it with some newspaper.)
Number 2: Mix ingredients as you go
When filling your compost, add layers of paper and cardboard as you go. If you get something in a cardboard takeaway container, rip it up and put it in. That way you get the right balance of carbon and nitrogen as you go, and you don’t end up with a gluey, gelatinous, liquid mess in there. It’s a really simple way to do it. You can add bits of cardboard. For instance, when you get a book delivery wrapped in cardboard, you can put that in.
(Costa’s World Tip: As long as we’ve separated them, the food scraps in a kitchen compost bin are a resource or choice.)
Number 3: Think about worm farming
Think about the options you have for starting a worm farm. This can be practical even in residential high-rise apartments because worm farms take up very little space (about 40×40 centimetres). And you can keep the worm farm inside. When they are working properly, there is no smell. You can keep the worm farm on a balcony, or in a garage. When you create a little bit of humus, a little bit of quality organic matter, you can put it on your indoor plants.
Costa talks about his passion for composting and believes that it’s all about small steps. As he explains; “When you start to grow indoor plants you will get to a point where you want more space which will make you hungry and motivated to do more. Then you might start to look for a local community garden, or a space around your house, or a building block, and feel you can grow a few things in that corner. So, it’s the beginning. It’s the little beginnings. And that is what I think it’s all about. Just sowing little seeds and watching where it goes.”
(Costa’s World Tip: Collect old newspapers from recycling bins on your street or your office or a local café and leave them in a container near your compost bin. Accessibility to this material is vital.)
More composting and soil management tips are available in the Gleanr Toolshed within our member area. Its free to register.
