I don't have many plants - two potted palms, some curry leaf ( gives added flavor to my curries!) and "snake leaf" (good for sore throats). It's better to have a few good looking greenery rather than many half dead ones. Don't you agree?
Well lately my mini garden has bloomed out beautifully. This was despite my husband's suggestion to throw out the palms as they were scrawny, brown and unsightly. My secret was home-made compost! No amount of artificial fertilizer that I had been using seemed to improve their condition. Adding fresh compost has given new life to my dying plants.
How to make a simple compost heap
1. Use a big container / gardening pot. Make sure it has holes for drainage.
2. Ingredients for the compost - freshly cut grass, dead leaves, vegetable peelings, tea leaves. If adding twigs and other woody materials, the decaying process will take much longer.
3. If possible, have a balance of green and brown ingredients. List below.
4. Keep compost bin in a sunny or semi-shaded area.
5. Cover with a lid. Don't worry if you don't have one.
6. Turn the heap regularly to mix up the ingredients.
7. Once the materials have decomposed you can use the rich, dark crumbly compost for your plants.
8. I use two bins - one for the already decomposing plant materials and the other for new ingredients.
Green (nitrogen rich) ingredients
Raw vegetable peelings
Tea bags, tea leaves, coffee grounds
Grass cuttings
Brown (carbon rich) ingredients
Cardboard - cereal boxes
Newspaper
Wood shavings
Woody prunings
More on How To Make Compost
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