Compost Tales
People like to talk about their compost and if you too like to talk about yours - then you have come to the right place! And what is more, you’ll be able to get involved with this episode.
How To Get Involved
Take a picture of your compost - be it the caddy in your kitchen, or the heap, bin or wormery in your garden.
Upload it to your instagram account sharing your compost story
Tag or Collaborate with @compost_tales
Tell your other compost friends to join us in sharing ‘Our Compost Stories’!
If you don’t use instagram but want to get involved you can email your photograph to me sally@ourplantstories.com
The Heat of the Sun by Liz Elton
This is a photograph taken by artist Liz Elton of the compost caddy in her kitchen. It is one of a series of photographs she has taken, finding pictures in the bin. In her work, she considers issues of waste, compost and the recycling of matter. In this one you can see a mouldy orange and a sweet potato and she has named it: The Heat of the Sun. If you listen to the episode she explains how she came to take the photographs and how they remind her of some other very famous pictures.
She also explains how she uses the different vegetables and fruits in her compost bin to dye her bigger works, which are made on the compostable cornstarch bags made for food waste. And you might be surprised to find out which colours come from which foods. Photographs below courtesy of the artist.
We were joined in Liz’s studio by Helen Hutchings-Cox, gardener and writer. Helen is on a mission to get us all composting and gardening and you’ll hear a wonderful conversation as they discussed with each other their passion for compost and how it has changed the way they think both about where things come from and where they go.
Helen’s top 5 tips for composting
Listen to the episode to get the full run-down of Helen’s advice on composting but these are her top 5 tips:
Don’t over think-it! Just give it a go, nothing bad can happen…
You need a balance of green and brown, wet and dry…start with a 50/50 mix of green and brown and over time you can adjust it.
If you are short on space consider a worm farm
Her most asked question is will a compost heap attract rats. Short answer: No. They will only be attracted to it, if it is out of balance and things begin to smell. You’ll know it’s working when it’s full of life - worms, centipedes, woodlice.
The best way to make compost is to make sure it is moist, keep turning it and feel it, it’s a tactile process, you want to get your hands in there and check you are getting a lovely crumbly compost.
And above all - Don’t Panic - remember you can make adjustments.