HOME EDITION
ANNA TAYLOR, OWNER OF ANNA’S FLOWER FARM IN AUDLEY END, SHARES WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE GARDEN THIS MONTH GARDEN GROW? How does your OCTOBER
here are three things I love about October: the changing colours of leaves in the trees and kicking the fallen ones; chrysanthemums
flowering along with dahlias, the seed heads, scrambling annuals and grasses sparkling in dew; and the fact it’s finally cool enough to turn the compost heap without overheating. Compost heaps have an almost mythical nature in how important they are to gardeners. They understand the composition and, somehow, they have reached the zenith of gardening, creating soft, crumbly, rich, dark and sweet-smelling material to covet. It is a kind of alchemy giving magical life to the soil – but there is no secret. Composting is one of those brilliant facets of gardening – where weeds, woody branches, spent plants and grass clippings all combine to create something glorious that is much more than the sum of its parts. Compost returns nutrients and minerals to the soil, improving structure and water-retaining capacity. So, if you do have a little space in your garden or allotment that you can dedicate to composting, all the better. This year, I took down the pallets that made up the six bays we had here and I now compost in the open ground. It was hard work turning a heap, difficult to move barrows around
© ANNA TAYLOR
GROUNDING Composting is a brilliant facet of gardening, rewarding both the gardener and the soil they are tending
or paper will do. I add these to the heaps with some old, rich compost from last year. After it’s layered, alternating between green, carbon, then compost, and adding a watering can of water to soak the pile helps the decomposition process and gets the heat up. I do this in an open patch on one side of the garden, then, if I can manage it, I will turn it several times over the next few days. This means literally turning the heap from top to bottom, fluffing it up and getting air in, watering again if dry. This way of composting creates beautiful material quickly, and I have been using it in my compost mixes all summer. Now, I have several piles built this year and intend to spread them as mulch over the next few weeks while the plants in the garden shrink back a little, exposing the soil beneath. Don’t worry about materials or mix rations too much. Returning plants to the soil in this way is, to my mind, the essence of gardening, completing the cycle and creating magical gardens, too. annasflowerfarm.com
and get into the compost – but most of all, it was ugly. The bays did eventually make good compost, but the process required patience. I was inspired by the formidable ‘Land Gardeners’ earlier this year to make compost faster and more efficiently. When we cut the grass in the walled garden, usually every couple of weeks, I do a thorough, quick weed, so that we have a huge pile of ‘green’ nitrogen-rich materials. I also cut down the comfrey and nettles, teeming with nitrogen, which act as great accelerators. Tallied up, I think I must have cut these compost-friendly plants down at least three times this year – literally growing my own material for the heap, to feed the soil with. Then earlier this year, we did a lot of fruit tree and hedge pruning, which provides the ideal ‘brown’ carbon-rich materials. We shredded all the stems and branches, resulting in a couple of bins of these. There is a lot of lovely white fungi growing – which must be good thing! If you don’t have many prunings, shredded card
98 OCTOBER 2022 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
Powered by FlippingBook