There’s nothing like homemade compost to make plants glow and grow!
It’s the foundation for nutrient rich fruit and vegetables.
An inch or so spread on all the beds once a year is like waving a magic wand.
Hey presto!
Sweet orange carrots; deep vibrant green, purple and white cabbage, kale and broccoli; pink passion ruby chard; vigorous herbs and delicate lime green lettuces.
The veggies really do glow like jewels in the low winter light.
The compost making is less glamorous but just as satisfying!
Every year at about this time I empty and remake the main heap nearest the house.
Last year, Fynn came over from northern Germany to visit and helped me.
This year Alex dug out the “black gold”.

Then when the bay was empty she helped me combine and consolidate material from the other heaps nearby.
We layered brown woody stuff like spent bean vines and half rotted woodchip with nitrogen rich greens like grass cuttings, chopped up comfrey leaves and vegetable peelings.

This time I remembered to sprinkle each layer with QR activator – a biodynamic powder made of dried plants/herbs mixed vigorously with water.

The last time I used this it really did seem to speed up the composting process.
Unfortunately you can’t buy it from Chase Organics anymore as the company was taken over by a bigger concern so I’ve sent off to France for some biodynamic compost preparations which I’ll try out next time.

The new heap is already warm and toasty.
It’s shrunk somewhat as the billions of organisms get to work decomposing and transforming the material into the rich dark compost that we’ll dig out and use in a year’s time.



