Home Composting: Seasonal tips

Summer Over the summer months it is important to ensure that gardens are well looked after to combat the effects of the heat.  Looking ahead, it is also important to ensure that you get nutrients into your plants to help keep them strong for when the season changes. Look after your Lawn In order to repair summer's dry grass effect and create that rich green grass in your garden, it's not only important to regularly cut it but also to feed it. Your home-grown compost is ideal as a light and organic top dressing. Simply sieve the compost and combine with a 50/50 mix of sharp sand, then scattered over the lawn and gently brush into the turf.  The compost will sift down into the soil, improving its structure and providing nutrients. Too many grass cuttings? A beautiful lawn is a great feature in a garden, but they can generate huge amounts of cuttings.  Grass cuttings can be composted however too many in a compost bin can play havoc with your compost. Grass cuttings heat up rapidly as they rot, so too many will make a slimy, smelly heap. When composting grass: Always mix grass cuttings with tougher more fibrous materials like scrunched up cardboard and shredded paper. This balances out the nitrogen levels and provides air pockets that also help. Tip: young hedge clippings and leaves are also good. Check the moisture levels inside the bin. Compost should be moist like a wrung out sponge. If you add a lot of grass cuttings there is a chance that it could become too wet. If this happens dry it out by adding more dry brown material.  If the moisture level becomes too dry, add water to the bin gradually using a watering can and mix with a broom handle to ensure there is plenty of air. Other uses for grass cuttings: Mix the cuttings with autumn leaves and put in a separate container with plenty of holes to make a rich leaf mould that can be used as a weed suppressing and moisture retaining mulch or a soil improver.  This can also be done by layering thin layers of grass with cardboard sheets between. Leave short cuttings on the lawn. They will soon break down and recycle into the soil to feed the grass, reducing the need for buying fertilisers. Make sure any big clumps are broken up first. Grass cuttings make a good short-term, moisture-retaining mulch for fruit, vegetables and other plants. Used as a mulch around carrots they can help deter carrot root fly!