WEBVTT - Gardening: How to get composting started in your garden 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.400 It is time to step into the garden, and today 0:00:02.440 --> 0:00:04.360 we are going to be zooming in on the subject 0:00:04.360 --> 0:00:07.640 of compost, When to use it, how to use it, 0:00:07.880 --> 0:00:09.720 how to make it if you want to make your own, 0:00:10.000 --> 0:00:12.280 what to ask about if you prefer to let somebody 0:00:12.280 --> 0:00:14.960 else make it and send it to you. Charisfail Yun 0:00:15.120 --> 0:00:17.119 is with us, but she has bought a special guest 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:20.079 who is going to headline the act as it were. 0:00:20.320 --> 0:00:22.720 So firstly, let me say lovely to see you again, Charise, 0:00:22.800 --> 0:00:25.119 welcome back, Thank you so much, and thank you for 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:28.120 finding us such an extraordinary specialist in this field. Because 0:00:28.160 --> 0:00:31.480 with me in studio as well is horticulturist Hilda Stanfleet, 0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:35.600 who worked for many years for Master Organics, specializing in composts, 0:00:35.680 --> 0:00:38.920 mixes and mulches. She's also one of the judges of 0:00:38.920 --> 0:00:42.279 the South African Landscaping Institute's gardens every year, so this 0:00:42.320 --> 0:00:44.200 is a subject very close to her heart. And Hilter, 0:00:44.280 --> 0:00:46.120 thank you so much for coming in to share your 0:00:46.120 --> 0:00:48.440 knowledge with us. Welcome, Thank you very much for having me. 0:00:48.520 --> 0:00:51.360 It's our great, great pleasure. Let's start with what might 0:00:51.400 --> 0:00:53.400 seem like a very obvious role, because we fear so 0:00:53.440 --> 0:00:56.080 many guests saying, throw a little compost on it. What 0:00:56.240 --> 0:00:58.600 is compost? What role does it actually play in the garden. 0:00:58.800 --> 0:01:04.400 So compost is essentially your green waste that you would 0:01:04.440 --> 0:01:07.800 normally put into your landfall, and now you're taking that 0:01:07.920 --> 0:01:13.280 product and you're taking it from being green and horrible 0:01:13.319 --> 0:01:17.080 and turning it into this very rich, dark lash material 0:01:17.120 --> 0:01:19.319 that you'll stick into your garden. So we live on 0:01:19.360 --> 0:01:23.200 the cape flats. Everything people say things like my garden 0:01:23.360 --> 0:01:26.360 soil is oily. I throw water on it and it 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:29.520 just runs off, or I'll put water on it and 0:01:29.560 --> 0:01:32.360 it'll soak down to two millimeters, And that's because we 0:01:32.440 --> 0:01:37.160 don't have enough organic components within our soils. So what 0:01:37.240 --> 0:01:39.280 we do is we go to a nursery and we 0:01:39.360 --> 0:01:45.280 buy something we've essentially putting into landfall. So we're taking 0:01:45.319 --> 0:01:49.400 something that we've got in huge volumes at certain times 0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:53.080 of the year and we're buying it so rather than 0:01:53.160 --> 0:01:55.680 taking that money that we could be spending on plants. 0:01:56.280 --> 0:02:02.800 Because let's face enough, man suspended. You take your green 0:02:02.800 --> 0:02:04.920 waste and if you don't have enough, you get some 0:02:05.120 --> 0:02:08.200 from your neighbor, and you're go and find the products 0:02:08.200 --> 0:02:12.720 that you need to turn into this rich black gold. 0:02:12.919 --> 0:02:14.520 I love that way of looking at it, and I 0:02:14.560 --> 0:02:16.720 also love what you've said about sharing with the neighbors, 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:20.720 maybe starting a communal compost heap for your block of 0:02:20.800 --> 0:02:22.800 three or four homes or whatever it may be, and 0:02:22.840 --> 0:02:26.200 saying we'll all contribute and all enjoy the produce at 0:02:26.200 --> 0:02:28.800 the end of it. Now, not all compost is equal, 0:02:28.880 --> 0:02:31.880 and the contents of compost are so important to the 0:02:31.919 --> 0:02:35.640 final impact on the garden once you put it in there. 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:38.600 Let's start there, Hilda. What should be in there? What 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:40.720 shouldn't be in there? If you want to make a good, 0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:43.160 rich compost that is going to nourish your garden and 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:46.240 turn your soil into something magical that things grow in. 0:02:46.639 --> 0:02:48.720 What are the key things you're looking for? 0:02:48.880 --> 0:02:55.600 So the key ingredients to a compostors air water, brown 0:02:55.720 --> 0:03:02.079 waste or brown high carbon content, and green waste. And 0:03:02.120 --> 0:03:06.120 then of course your normal everyday garden I'm not guarding, 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:10.840 but kitchen products that you've got hanging around. And then surprisingly, 0:03:11.000 --> 0:03:15.280 coffee grounds amazing stuff for compost. Yes, you can get 0:03:15.280 --> 0:03:18.720 it free from your local coffee merchant. They're just gonna 0:03:18.880 --> 0:03:20.280 transfer are they just throwing it away? 0:03:20.520 --> 0:03:23.440 You might be fighting off the of skin product people, 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:25.520 because I know that the scrubs these days use a 0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:26.800 lot of coffee grounds. 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:29.680 I'm sure you've got a local guy somewhere think there's enough. 0:03:30.240 --> 0:03:31.320 There's enough to get. 0:03:31.400 --> 0:03:33.520 Yeah, I'm sure I drink enough to sustain one of 0:03:33.520 --> 0:03:36.080 those industries on its own, just me personally. So there 0:03:36.120 --> 0:03:39.440 we go. Okay, So the greenways, the brown high carbon 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:43.640 content air and water. That water might be something that 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:46.560 people haven't thought about when setting up their own compost heat. 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:48.840 So let's talk about what you need to do. It's 0:03:48.880 --> 0:03:51.440 not as simple as just HOOI everything onto a heap 0:03:51.480 --> 0:03:52.240 and hope for the base. 0:03:52.360 --> 0:03:55.240 Well it can be, can it can if you're if 0:03:55.360 --> 0:03:58.240 you've got time and you don't want to, well you 0:03:58.280 --> 0:04:00.520 don't have time. If you don't have time, but you've 0:04:00.520 --> 0:04:02.400 got the product, you can check it in a heap 0:04:02.800 --> 0:04:06.320 and everything will break down over time, so you might 0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:09.120 get your compospital will be much later than if you 0:04:09.200 --> 0:04:10.760 actually did a little bit of work. 0:04:11.120 --> 0:04:13.440 Okay, So that little bit of work that can speed 0:04:13.520 --> 0:04:15.120 up the process, what does that involve? 0:04:15.320 --> 0:04:19.360 Okay, So it's choosing a site, okay, and anybody can 0:04:19.360 --> 0:04:22.040 do a compost tep. You can your littles. You could 0:04:22.080 --> 0:04:25.440 have a massive garden where you've got incredible amounts of 0:04:25.520 --> 0:04:28.600 waste that normally would just go to landfall where you 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:30.640 can use that and build it. Or you could have 0:04:30.680 --> 0:04:33.040 a tiny little garden where you can get a compost 0:04:33.080 --> 0:04:38.400 bin so it's not unsightly. Most municipalities actually will give 0:04:38.440 --> 0:04:40.400 it you for free, so just go onto your local 0:04:40.480 --> 0:04:42.640 municipal website and see what they'll do. 0:04:42.839 --> 0:04:45.280 I'm so glad you've mentioned that because our listener Jill 0:04:45.360 --> 0:04:48.000 has actually written in saying how much she has enjoyed 0:04:48.080 --> 0:04:51.880 joining the City of Cape Town's home composting program. She says, 0:04:51.880 --> 0:04:54.680 we have been thrilled with urban They seem to be 0:04:54.800 --> 0:04:57.599 rolling them out area by area and it's worked really 0:04:57.640 --> 0:04:59.799 well for her and Jill. I'll get to the question 0:05:00.120 --> 0:05:01.920 came with that comment in a moment, but just wanted 0:05:01.920 --> 0:05:03.839 to include that mention that it can be done right 0:05:03.920 --> 0:05:04.560 here in Cape. 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:07.560 To absolutely And I actually went on to the city's 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:11.080 website and there for the next month and a half, 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:13.880 they are various areas that'll roll it out, and I 0:05:13.880 --> 0:05:15.599 think you just have to fill out a form and 0:05:16.320 --> 0:05:16.760 is I like. 0:05:16.720 --> 0:05:18.800 One okay, and they will bring you your compost and 0:05:18.839 --> 0:05:19.560 just get started. 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:23.800 Absolutely, so you've got a big enough garden, find a 0:05:23.839 --> 0:05:26.720 space that you will get to. The thing is often 0:05:26.760 --> 0:05:28.839 people make their compost steeps at the end of the 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:32.200 garden and then they forget about it or life happens, 0:05:32.800 --> 0:05:35.640 so you know you've never actually done what you intended 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:38.760 to do. So what you need to do is start 0:05:38.839 --> 0:05:42.000 with a good bassett. Find a site that I think 0:05:42.600 --> 0:05:46.120 is accessible. Firstly, has access to water, so you know 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:47.760 you don't want to be carrying your water in can 0:05:47.839 --> 0:05:49.479 down to the end of the garden to try and 0:05:49.520 --> 0:05:55.440 water it. It must okay, and then errate the soil underneath. 0:05:55.520 --> 0:05:57.839 You're going to put this compost down. We need to. 0:05:58.160 --> 0:06:00.160 You don't want to put it on a preferably a 0:06:00.240 --> 0:06:04.320 blank space. You're a domestic gardener, you don't. You don't 0:06:04.320 --> 0:06:08.719 have the the large areas like the guy the commercial guys. 0:06:08.760 --> 0:06:11.320 Do you want to turn that soil so you want 0:06:11.360 --> 0:06:15.239 to bring the micronutrientstead of there. And the earthworms they're amazing. 0:06:15.279 --> 0:06:18.719 They find their way into compost heaps. They'll move up 0:06:18.760 --> 0:06:22.320 slowly but surely. So find your little area, turn the 0:06:22.400 --> 0:06:29.120 swell and then compost essentially is lasagnia. That's saying it's 0:06:29.400 --> 0:06:35.560 just layering course products underneath then greens. So greens is 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:43.400 your grass clippings, your kind of products that you have 0:06:43.520 --> 0:06:46.320 in your vegetable patch where you've harvested your vegetables and 0:06:46.320 --> 0:06:49.440 now you're stuck with the green product afterwards. That's your greens. 0:06:50.200 --> 0:06:52.680 Try not to do too much greens. Greens are lovely, 0:06:52.760 --> 0:06:56.400 but they'll compact down and they'll become sludge. So that's 0:06:56.400 --> 0:06:59.160 where the compost. That's where the lazagnia comes in. You 0:06:59.200 --> 0:07:04.960 go green, brown, green, brown, It doesn't matter. Fifty to 0:07:05.000 --> 0:07:07.720 fifty is always good. You read these things and it says, oh, 0:07:07.760 --> 0:07:09.960 you've got to use one third two thirds. Let's not 0:07:10.080 --> 0:07:14.360 make life complicated. 0:07:12.600 --> 0:07:16.200 In school, okay, So green brown, green brown, green, and 0:07:16.440 --> 0:07:20.800 moisten in between green brown, moist, green brown moist. 0:07:21.640 --> 0:07:23.960 And don't forget the little coffee grounds. 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:25.720 In there and the coffee grounds because remember the coffee 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:27.480 grounds activators as well. 0:07:27.880 --> 0:07:29.160 Stale stale beer. 0:07:29.280 --> 0:07:35.080 But who is still beer with South Africans. 0:07:32.800 --> 0:07:35.480 I do not understand. Yes, okay, but if you accidentally 0:07:35.560 --> 0:07:38.960 open a court and when you should that halfway, or 0:07:39.000 --> 0:07:40.680 you woke up from the party the next morning, and 0:07:40.680 --> 0:07:43.600 there are a few unused, unfinished bottles. That's let's imagine 0:07:43.600 --> 0:07:46.440 that scenario. You can pour that onto the composity perfect, okay, 0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:48.040 amazing stuff. 0:07:49.240 --> 0:07:52.920 Micro nutrients in there. Also, the yeasts help break down, 0:07:53.040 --> 0:07:54.560 move things very very fast. 0:07:54.840 --> 0:07:56.920 And it's going to attract all the snails, isn't it cheries? 0:07:57.080 --> 0:07:57.400 Of course? 0:07:57.440 --> 0:08:02.080 I know that you have that. Okay, okay, all right, 0:08:02.120 --> 0:08:04.120 so you're green, you're brown moisturing it in between a 0:08:04.160 --> 0:08:07.080 little bit of coffee, some stale beer for for for help, 0:08:07.360 --> 0:08:10.080 is there anything that you absolutely shouldn't put on their hilda? 0:08:10.320 --> 0:08:18.400 Okay, so cooked foods, okay, not ideal meat products, cheeses, 0:08:18.600 --> 0:08:23.120 anything that potentially will attract rats, mice, anything like that. 0:08:23.600 --> 0:08:26.800 Not ideal. You can look, you can use that, But 0:08:27.400 --> 0:08:31.560 that's a bakashi on your kitchen counter with special breakdown. 0:08:31.760 --> 0:08:35.120 Don't stick it in your your garden composte at the 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:35.720 end of the garden. 0:08:35.760 --> 0:08:39.160 Don't you just want to keep it vegan, Keep it vegetarian, keep. 0:08:40.440 --> 0:08:45.000 Some people each to your zone, your vegan compusti for 0:08:45.040 --> 0:08:46.640 your vegan and your. 0:08:46.400 --> 0:08:50.760 Meat with a bacasha in the kitchen, just just for 0:08:50.800 --> 0:08:53.480 the sake of anybody who's come In midway to this conversation, 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:57.240 you'll hear the occasional chirp from Scheris Filoni's voice, you 0:08:57.280 --> 0:08:59.160 know very well. But the other voice doing most of 0:08:59.200 --> 0:09:01.960 the talking today belongs to Hilda Stunfleet too, is a 0:09:02.000 --> 0:09:05.320 horticulturist who is giving us a crash course in making 0:09:05.360 --> 0:09:08.040 your own compost in your own garden, even if it's 0:09:08.040 --> 0:09:11.120 a tiny little garden with space for a small compost bin. 0:09:11.440 --> 0:09:13.280 She is empowering us with the knowledge on how to 0:09:13.360 --> 0:09:15.839 do this ourselves, so we don't have to go and 0:09:15.920 --> 0:09:19.000 spend our hard earned money on buying somebody else's compost. 0:09:19.040 --> 0:09:21.520 We can make it ourselves using the waste products that 0:09:21.559 --> 0:09:24.480 we ourselves are generating. And I love the circularity of 0:09:24.480 --> 0:09:27.440 that idea holder that we take our own waist, yes, 0:09:27.480 --> 0:09:30.480 and turn it into something beautiful. Now, William asking a 0:09:30.559 --> 0:09:33.679 very cape down question, can you put horsepoo in your compost? 0:09:33.720 --> 0:09:41.199 Heap absolutely yes, so preferably herbaceous and animals that eat grasses. Okay, okay, 0:09:41.280 --> 0:09:44.600 so yes. Horse poop is amazing and it will break down. 0:09:45.000 --> 0:09:48.199 It is a activator. So if you don't have enough, 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:50.840 you water it down and you water it on your 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:55.280 compost deep. Okay, you can use it fresh. It's fine 0:09:55.320 --> 0:09:58.640 because your compasteep's going to take eight to twelve weeks 0:09:59.000 --> 0:10:01.680 to get ready soon burn anything because at that by 0:10:01.679 --> 0:10:03.280 that point it will have broken down. 0:10:03.440 --> 0:10:06.440 Oh yes, perfect, So eight to twelve weeks for a 0:10:06.559 --> 0:10:09.720 good for a good one good one that gets turned okay. 0:10:09.800 --> 0:10:12.800 So I would say anything will break down over time. 0:10:12.920 --> 0:10:14.560 If you've got the time, you can just leave it 0:10:14.600 --> 0:10:17.160 and it will break down, but it won't be accessible unusable. 0:10:18.040 --> 0:10:20.320 I also like to want people to, if they've got 0:10:20.320 --> 0:10:23.760 the space, have two compost heaps, going one to bold 0:10:24.000 --> 0:10:27.480 and one to use, so you're constantly and rotating through 0:10:27.480 --> 0:10:29.520 your compost heaps one to bold. 0:10:29.280 --> 0:10:31.960 One to use. Okay, now we've got Roy on the line, 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:34.320 who is calling in from FISHUK, who I think wants 0:10:34.320 --> 0:10:36.760 to share a piece of advice that he's found helpful 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:39.000 in his own composting. Roy, thank you so much for 0:10:39.040 --> 0:10:40.480 calling in. Good afternoon pleasure. 0:10:40.520 --> 0:10:43.800 Hello Papa. The easiest thing to do is buy a 0:10:43.840 --> 0:10:47.959 WHEELI bin you can get them online simple, and then 0:10:48.000 --> 0:10:50.480 you make holes in the bottom. Just drill holes down 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:52.480 in the bottom so that the water can go out, 0:10:53.120 --> 0:10:56.680 and then pack it as you normally would you know 0:10:56.760 --> 0:10:59.000 with sticks at the bottom, et cetera, et cetera, as 0:10:59.000 --> 0:11:03.520 you've been describing, and it works perfectly so you can 0:11:03.679 --> 0:11:08.400 tip it over to to dig it over and when 0:11:08.440 --> 0:11:11.439 you need to take it out to wherever your your 0:11:11.800 --> 0:11:14.880 gardening is, you can usually hopefully wheel it along. 0:11:19.120 --> 0:11:21.480 That is such a practical. 0:11:23.240 --> 0:11:26.040 Like your rubbish, but you buy them online and no 0:11:26.240 --> 0:11:27.960 rats or mice or anything like that. 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:30.640 Roy, that's a brilliant tip. Thank you so much for 0:11:30.640 --> 0:11:32.360 sharing it with us. I love the idea of making 0:11:32.360 --> 0:11:35.480 it portable, as you said accessibility. If you can't get 0:11:35.520 --> 0:11:37.360 to it, you're not going to use it. If you 0:11:37.360 --> 0:11:39.240 can take it to where you need to use it, 0:11:39.400 --> 0:11:41.680 you're going to use it even more. That's a genius idea, Roy. 0:11:41.800 --> 0:11:46.040 Thank you. What about eggshells, asks Diana. 0:11:46.320 --> 0:11:50.520 Yes, so egg shells contain lime or and you want 0:11:50.559 --> 0:11:54.040 to break down the eggshells and crush it down and 0:11:54.080 --> 0:11:57.239 then sprinkle in between. And it is also an activator. 0:11:57.559 --> 0:12:02.360 It gets the compost deep going and provides small good 0:12:02.480 --> 0:12:04.600 quantities of lime within the soil. 0:12:04.920 --> 0:12:07.800 Okay, thanks for that. Okay, so, but crush important to 0:12:07.800 --> 0:12:09.880 crush small people. 0:12:09.920 --> 0:12:11.840 Yeah, you wanted to be very fine and you can 0:12:11.880 --> 0:12:15.160 also use tea tea leaves. 0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:17.000 Okay, the tea leaves, that's gonna say. If youre talking 0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:21.760 about leftover tea, there should be no such traves tea leaves, okay. 0:12:21.880 --> 0:12:24.120 And could you break open your commercial tea bag. 0:12:23.960 --> 0:12:30.040 And that are decomposable the plastic and there might you 0:12:30.120 --> 0:12:32.400 might just get what's ta skeletons. 0:12:32.600 --> 0:12:35.560 Okay, but if you could actually wrap it open and scatter. 0:12:36.240 --> 0:12:38.839 Or scatter that within a bucket so you're not walking 0:12:38.880 --> 0:12:39.640 to the garden, just. 0:12:39.559 --> 0:12:42.840 Put on and then it's fall. Finally, use for that 0:12:42.960 --> 0:12:46.800 huge pile of tea in my heart. Okay, there we go. Now. Jill, 0:12:46.880 --> 0:12:49.520 who was saying how much she's enjoying the cities and 0:12:49.720 --> 0:12:51.640 that she received, had a question. Then we just go 0:12:51.720 --> 0:12:54.480 back to that. She says, there are weeds everywhere after 0:12:54.480 --> 0:12:56.640 the rain which need to be pulled up by hand. 0:12:57.120 --> 0:13:00.400 Can those be added to compost? She feels, and can 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:03.880 be very therapeutic and it's also a very useful work opportunity. 0:13:04.440 --> 0:13:06.720 But can can the weeds go onto the compost? 0:13:06.880 --> 0:13:07.280 Very much? 0:13:07.320 --> 0:13:11.800 So, yes you can, but preferably not flowering weeds. So 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:16.679 if you can. Dandelion is amazing for to activate compast seeds, 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:19.640 but not the dandelion seeds. So the flowers before they 0:13:19.840 --> 0:13:25.160 the seeds mature perfect. So yeah, absolutely, just mature. You're 0:13:25.160 --> 0:13:27.840 not putting the weed seeds in other things that you 0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:31.960 shouldn't put in as and we often find that not cooker, 0:13:32.040 --> 0:13:36.440 you cuttings, that's fine, okay, cooker you roots and quick 0:13:37.920 --> 0:13:41.680 those they will grow anywhere. They'll grow meters. So when 0:13:41.679 --> 0:13:44.120 you're pulling out you know often you're digging in the 0:13:44.120 --> 0:13:46.120 garden and you and then you'll take all of that. 0:13:46.360 --> 0:13:49.840 Try just don't those two specifically, they're not okay. 0:13:49.960 --> 0:13:53.240 So weed are the root system the root systems. 0:13:52.960 --> 0:13:56.559 Of specific grasses that just by their nature will take 0:13:56.600 --> 0:13:58.880 over and grow without any help. 0:13:58.960 --> 0:14:01.560 You don't want grass growing in I get you. 0:14:02.040 --> 0:14:04.120 You do need to know something about your weeds before 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:08.920 you do it. Also, because those creeping rhy tastes oh rhizomatically, 0:14:10.160 --> 0:14:13.360 ones that grow flat on the lawn that root as 0:14:13.360 --> 0:14:15.720 they go, don't put them in the compast because that 0:14:15.760 --> 0:14:18.240 little piece of root can grow. And you read, but 0:14:18.280 --> 0:14:21.640 there are plenty of soft green herbaceous pasions that have 0:14:21.680 --> 0:14:24.000 got no strength to them that make a great addition 0:14:24.080 --> 0:14:24.680 to the company. 0:14:24.920 --> 0:14:29.000 Anything with a long taproot, okay, perfect, okay, any weeds 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:31.920 with long tap roots perfect to stick in without the 0:14:31.960 --> 0:14:33.560 flower heads perfectly. 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:37.680 Okay, thank you. Just several listeners, he'lda saying absolutely practical 0:14:37.680 --> 0:14:40.520 and usefulness talk is they're taking copious notes and saying 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:42.760 thank you to you for your help. So thank you. 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:44.640 Let me echo that, and let me just say once 0:14:44.680 --> 0:14:47.160 again in case somebody's coming very late, that our guest 0:14:47.200 --> 0:14:49.720 is horticultures till the stun fleet. She is for you, 0:14:49.760 --> 0:14:52.240 and also with us chirping in from time to time. 0:14:52.760 --> 0:14:55.440 Another can I or can't I question from Judy Yes 0:14:55.520 --> 0:14:57.280 or no? To finely chopped paper. 0:14:57.400 --> 0:15:00.840 Yes, yes, as long as it's not glossy. Okay, so 0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:05.600 just normal everyday paper is fine, just nothing glossy. No 0:15:05.960 --> 0:15:06.920 treated wood. 0:15:06.960 --> 0:15:09.880 No treated wood. Okay. We've also got a question that's 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:12.200 coming as a voice note from die. I believe. Let's 0:15:12.200 --> 0:15:13.000 take a listen to that. 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:17.520 Pappa, I do hope you haven't covered this in the 0:15:17.520 --> 0:15:21.760 conversation already. I'm interested to know what to do with leaves, 0:15:21.960 --> 0:15:25.440 especially plane tree leaves. We have a big tree in 0:15:25.480 --> 0:15:28.920 our garden, lots of leaves. My husband and I are 0:15:28.960 --> 0:15:31.280 at odds as to whether they should be added to 0:15:31.320 --> 0:15:35.200 the compost heap, because one party says they will take 0:15:35.440 --> 0:15:39.280 too long to decompose, and the other one says they 0:15:39.320 --> 0:15:43.840 will decompose but not prepared to commit to how long. Oh, 0:15:43.880 --> 0:15:45.480 what's your experts opinion? 0:15:45.560 --> 0:15:45.840 Please? 0:15:45.880 --> 0:15:49.720 I'd really like to hear that. Thank you. It's die 0:15:50.040 --> 0:15:50.920 more constantia. 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:52.680 Bye, thanks die. 0:15:52.600 --> 0:15:54.760 Thank you, die so die. You're both right. 0:15:55.960 --> 0:15:57.760 The best possible diplomatic answer. 0:15:58.520 --> 0:16:01.760 You're both right. Yes, it will take incredibly long to 0:16:01.800 --> 0:16:04.480 break down. But we're not just going to throw that 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:07.880 entire pile on your top of your compost deep. Remember 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:11.200 we're going to lose ania. So the green things, the 0:16:11.200 --> 0:16:15.240 green nitrogenous ones, help break down the brown. So if 0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:18.240 we layer the two rather than just checking a pile. 0:16:18.280 --> 0:16:20.960 Because often when you put big leaves they stick together. 0:16:21.360 --> 0:16:25.760 They become this impenetrable mass when they get wet as well, 0:16:26.080 --> 0:16:28.800 so you want to put the things that will help 0:16:28.880 --> 0:16:31.200 keep it light and fluffy. The idea of a compast 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:33.040 heep is to have lots of air in it, so 0:16:33.080 --> 0:16:36.160 you want to have air particles, air pockets in between, 0:16:36.840 --> 0:16:40.200 and so the leaves will work. If you can put 0:16:40.240 --> 0:16:42.640 your leaves on your lawn. Run your lawn mower over it, 0:16:42.640 --> 0:16:44.720 if you've got a strong enough lawn mower. Yeah, so 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:49.080 that'll break the leaves down into smaller pieces. So that's probably, 0:16:49.240 --> 0:16:51.720 I think, probably the better thing to do. Check your 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:54.200 leaves on the lawn, run your lawn mower over it, 0:16:54.400 --> 0:16:57.040 check it in the compasteep. So now it's not big giant. 0:16:57.800 --> 0:16:59.320 I've just had a vision of someone sitting with a 0:16:59.360 --> 0:17:02.080 pair of scissors cutting off their big leaves into small strips. 0:17:02.080 --> 0:17:04.280 I'm sure it would be a great exercise and mindfulness, 0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:06.720 but it might take a little longer than the lawnmower version. 0:17:07.200 --> 0:17:09.919 We've got Vincent on the line from Musenberg with I'm 0:17:09.960 --> 0:17:11.760 not sure if it's a question or a comment, but Vincent, 0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:13.080 you're welcome. Well, good afternoon. 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:16.400 I'm not a question of comment, yep. If you want 0:17:16.480 --> 0:17:20.760 to attract earthworms to your compost heap, don't use citrus 0:17:20.920 --> 0:17:21.879 or onions. 0:17:22.760 --> 0:17:25.080 Okay, then they don't like those, do them? 0:17:25.480 --> 0:17:26.240 No they don't. 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:29.360 Okay, thank you very much for the tip, Hilda. Does 0:17:29.359 --> 0:17:30.280 that ring true for you? 0:17:30.320 --> 0:17:33.360 Absolutely? Okay, I know Vincent's very right, and you can 0:17:33.640 --> 0:17:36.760 even try and get some red w regulars, which are 0:17:36.800 --> 0:17:41.280 your vermei compost worms and throw them in to your 0:17:41.320 --> 0:17:42.359 normal compost teep. 0:17:42.560 --> 0:17:46.400 Okay, to just start the boat of the process. 0:17:46.440 --> 0:17:49.320 You know, there are so many earthworms, but these ones 0:17:49.520 --> 0:17:52.119 they seem to be workerbees. They are the ones that 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:55.320 are just going out there doing as much work as possible, 0:17:55.320 --> 0:17:57.200 and they love breaking down compost. 0:17:57.400 --> 0:17:59.960 There, you're where does one buy red regulars? 0:18:00.880 --> 0:18:04.000 I have actually mine migrated from my own little earthworm 0:18:04.040 --> 0:18:06.480 farm to my compost bind which is not far away. 0:18:06.560 --> 0:18:10.000 So they do it themselves. But there are some compost 0:18:10.280 --> 0:18:14.800 suppliers that will offer you a red regulars worth it. 0:18:14.880 --> 0:18:18.520 You just can definitely on your community groups. If anyone 0:18:18.600 --> 0:18:21.400 has an earthworm farm, they've got red regulars to share. 0:18:21.920 --> 0:18:26.040 Okay, so speak up on your WhatsApp. Anybody got some 0:18:26.400 --> 0:18:29.000 as we ordered with smulberry leaves for the silkworms back 0:18:29.000 --> 0:18:31.320 in the day. Okay, now it is the red regulars. 0:18:31.480 --> 0:18:31.720 Well. 0:18:31.880 --> 0:18:35.040 MH has got a hot compast heat full of earthworms, 0:18:35.240 --> 0:18:37.879 but says I cannot get the heart of my compast 0:18:37.920 --> 0:18:40.679 heap to be hot enough. He's worried or so that 0:18:40.720 --> 0:18:42.439 the heat might kill the earth worms. 0:18:42.560 --> 0:18:45.200 No, no, okay, I' designed for that. 0:18:45.240 --> 0:18:46.760 They're all good okay. 0:18:46.880 --> 0:18:50.159 So to get a compast heap hot, you will have 0:18:50.240 --> 0:18:55.040 to turn it and then potentially reintroduce. So compost heats 0:18:55.119 --> 0:18:58.880 up initially and then cools down. But sometimes you also 0:18:58.880 --> 0:19:01.840 don't get enough moisture in the middle, so if it 0:19:01.880 --> 0:19:05.000 gets too dry, it sometimes doesn't heat up. So remember 0:19:05.040 --> 0:19:07.600 you want your compost heap to be like a if 0:19:07.640 --> 0:19:09.600 you squeeze it, you don't if you pick up the 0:19:09.600 --> 0:19:13.080 the compostible material. You don't want water to be dripping 0:19:13.080 --> 0:19:15.159 out of your hand. Okay, you just want it to 0:19:15.160 --> 0:19:19.240 be like a damp sponge. Okay. So if he sticks 0:19:19.240 --> 0:19:21.359 his hand in the middle and it's not hot, turn 0:19:21.440 --> 0:19:25.520 the heap again. Okay, okay, add greenery in, but the 0:19:25.520 --> 0:19:28.040 greenery of the stuff that starts it up again and 0:19:28.080 --> 0:19:32.359 then moisten it. So remember we've had insane weather in 0:19:32.359 --> 0:19:37.600 the cape, so chances are your compact heaps sodden, okay 0:19:37.680 --> 0:19:40.199 if it hasn't been covered. So in the in the 0:19:40.240 --> 0:19:44.280 Western Cape, I would cover your compast sep with cardboard boxes, 0:19:45.440 --> 0:19:48.639 a jute carpet if you've got one lying around, preferably 0:19:48.640 --> 0:19:53.960 not something polysty a plastic base, yes, okay, because you 0:19:54.000 --> 0:19:56.760 don't want that into your compast teep. But yeah, anything 0:19:56.800 --> 0:20:01.520 that will keep it moist warm but not wet. 0:20:02.040 --> 0:20:02.399 Okay. 0:20:02.640 --> 0:20:06.439 Okay, so yeah, so right now most compass heaps are sudden. 0:20:07.240 --> 0:20:10.040 Just start again. Just wait for the weather to warm 0:20:10.080 --> 0:20:13.159 up a little bit. You'll have leaves, stick those in. 0:20:13.359 --> 0:20:16.080 Don't stick any more green wastein right now, because green 0:20:16.080 --> 0:20:19.320 waste is just going to become this block of mush, 0:20:20.280 --> 0:20:23.280 stinky mush. Okay, so you don't not right now, not 0:20:23.400 --> 0:20:27.720 right now, just enough leaf material just or actually right now, 0:20:27.840 --> 0:20:30.439 just leave it this very little you can do this 0:20:30.520 --> 0:20:33.760 potential rain coming. Sometimes one just has to sit and 0:20:33.840 --> 0:20:37.159