Just wanted to let you know that every video I now upload has correct captions, rather than the terrible RUclips automated captions. This is due to popular request from viewers who aren't native English speakers, as well as others who have hearing impairments. I hope you enjoy the video😀
I'm not a native English speaker either, but you speak so slowly and clearly that I don't need subtitles on your channel. I like your singing Welsh accent. :)
@@Gartenlust I have no problems to understand him either. I just didn't know what he meant with "captions". Now I know because your answer helped me to understand. As I mentioned I can understand Hue very well, but my English is not good enough to understand every word in his videos. This is why I am very glad to have the captions. I can read the words and can look up the ones I didn't know in a dictionary.
Apart from being helpful, these films are just so damned well produced. I worked in TV & I know how much work goes into this. Kudos to you & your camera operator & editor 👍🏻
Seems he could have his own tv show!!! The time to garden. 😁 Now. Now is of course always changing. He has a good tv presentation, the education smarts, I agree, the videos, material, information is 👍
I actually discovered this years ago in California when I forgot about a pile of leaves and yard waste at the back of the yard. By the next spring when I finally got back to gardening I stumbled upon it and discovered it was all compost...all by itself!
I really appreciate the recommendation and explanation for 3 compost bins! It seems so simple, but, as a beginning gardener, the idea had eluded me, and I was struggling to understand how to eventually have finished compost when I was regularly adding content to my single compost pile. Thank you!
You can put away unfermented and half fermented matter. Beneath that you will get fully fermented manure. Thus emptying the bean, you can put unfermented matter first in the bean or pit whatever it is. and half fermented afterwards.
I don’t have a garden so I do my composting in a Black plastic Dustbin on my balcony, so most of what goes into it is kitchen scraps. I started the compost off by adding old Soil from some Flower pots, then gradually built it up over two years. Now I have a second Black plastic Dustbin( found them both in skips) that I’ve got half full. I have a small area where I can get away with growing food crops in pots, so I’ve been using the compost for those. Because the compost is 95% kitchen scraps it makes the compost a bit damp, so it doesn’t get hot enough to kill seeds, which I like cos then I get all sorts of fruits etc growing out of my pots. So far I’ve got a Grape Vine seedling, Apple and Cherry Tree saplings,
"...compost a bit damp" add some dry carbon to the mix. In the form of paper, cardboard, sawdust, wood shavings... pretty much whatever you can get your hands on. It will take care of the damp and smell issues!
@Ed B Yes I know most fruit seeds don’t grow true to the fruit they come from, I expect to get a Crab Apple Tree, I recently watched a vid of a person had grafted 3-4 varieties of Apple onto the Crab Apple. Re the Cherry, it might fruit like the Cherry it came from, as a friend of Mine grew some Cherryplum Trees from fruit we got from a local Cherryplum Tree. I’m not expecting any fruit worth having from the Grape Vine, although I’ve been told if I grow a different variety next to the one I have, that it will grow better Grapes, also I’ve been told if you prevent the Grapes from growing the first fruiting season, that the second season will produce better Grapes. The first idea ie growing a second different variety sounds like it could possibly work. But the latter idea of not letting the Vine fruit in first season, sounds a bit far fetched, if it was a good Vine from the start then that idea might work. I have a new Tree from my comoist this year, I think it is a Pear Tree if so it might produce good fruit, the reason I say that is cos my friend with the Cherryplum Trees, also has a Conference Pear Tree that he said just appeared one year, so it must have been either from a bird pooing the seeds out or from compost. Now it is a Mature 20 feet tall Tree that produces a lot of fruit every year. But really I’m happy just having the 3 Trees regardless if they fruit or not, as its nice to see the Trees from my kitchen window, and knowing I’m doing a little bit towards CO2 capture. When I have a few more Trees I am thinking of planting the ones I have in a local ‘wild’ green area.
I have been lazy composting since I started gardening here in France. Tomorrow I will be completely emptying the compost bin, with all the wormies. Lol. They all go to the new flower bed I am preparing for Spring. I should ask my 6 year old daughter to “jump in” the compost. She will be more happy to do it. 😁
I feel like this pushes out oxygen. I try to keep it as loose as possible, keeping a lot of air in. I think Dowding does the same and only turns his compost once.
@@thomasfuchs9451 Same here, I also try to keep it loose. In the video he uses garden left overs as a whole..the lazy methode. I can imagine this is the reason why he needs to compact the compost heep quite a bit...it's just too much air in between the materials.
The reason you see rich compost in the forests is because every Saturday morning a mysterious guy comes over and turns over the precise mix of 50-50 greens and browns with a big fork.
Huw, you're too much fun :) I wish you were my neighbor here in Texas. I have greatly benefitted from watching your videos. Your efforts in sharing your pearls of wisdom are truly appreciated. Thank you!!!!
This is now my most favorite gardening channel. video quality is amazing, and everything is explained so well and easy to understand. Thank you so much, can’t wait to learn more.
Years ago I was given a top tip to get your compost going and help it break down the matter quicker . The guy told me - collect your. “first P” of the day and pour it over the compost. Something about enzymes and other big words. It works a treat. I’ve done a comparison and the one that had the “first P” did a lot better than the compost that didn’t.
@@cynthiafisher9907 it’s because it’s been in the bladder longer , like over night. Approx 8 hours. Giving time for it to collect nitrogen’s etc and not be watered down. (No pun intended). Most people go to the toilet around every 75 mins - 100 mins during the day(approx) Disclaimer- I’m not a urologist 😉
I agree with most of it apart from the rats part. In my experience if you build any kind of structure where rats can hide be warm sheltered then you will get rats even if you never put meat dairy bread etc in the heap they will make a home.
I started using your"lasagna"-method last spring and I this year I can use my first compost. I was so happy about the result! :) The rule of using 2 buckets of browns and 1 bucket of greens is really easy to remember. Thank you very much! Keep up the great work.
Thank you! For those of us with smaller urban yards, the Dalek type compost bins are all we have space for; but now I will try to design a bin with wooden boards that will give the same sort of area space for heating up and breaking down garden matter.
As ever thanks for an informative and well made gardening video, your videos have been helping me make a start with an allotment over the past few months, also don't be afraid to be weird in videos it's adorable seeing you jumping on he compost pile tbh.
This is the first time I have watched your video. I have struggled with compost making for years. but your simple approach. very clear instructions. Give me the confidence going forward. thank you.
Been watching all your videos lately. You’re like the Bob Ross of gardening. Videos are always straight forward, peaceful, and make everything we know is hard look so damn easy. Keep it up. Also got your book ordered.
Great video, thank you for the tips :) On rats & vermin in compost, if you don't own a cat, but have a neighbourhood cat who visits (or could visit) your garden, be friendly to it, and leave a terracotta saucer of rain water out, then the cat will deter any vermin, inc pigeons. If there are several cats around where you live, either put down two water dishes at opposite edges of the boundry, so there is no conflict over resources as they will usually only toilet on the boundaries of their own territory, or where there is a conflict of territory. They don't like to toilet near their water sources - this is an instinct. The cat(s) will naturally deter rodents & pigeons. Although a friend of mine did have some water voles who used to regularly visit & dine in his compost bin, although it situated very near a stream. Originally we thought it was rats / mice, until they got brave enough to peek at the person bringing the fruit & veg scraps. They particularly liked watermelon, fruit and all the high water content kitchen waste scrapps, they tunnelled in from underneath, the compost broke down pretty quickly. The cat did get one or two though :( & my friend was very careful when stirring the compost. He also swears by adding well roasted egg shells to, that are crushed.
I just checked my autumn 2020 compost and it's not broken down at all. I think I managed to identify two main problems. We never watered it so maybe it was too dry as it's under a huge pine tree. Also, the green material we thought we added (grass clippings) had just dried and turned out into brown material which ties into the the first reason. I will try to add more diversity and more vegetables clippings in the future in addition to watering it more often. Thanks a lot for your wonderful video!
Your self suggested solution to the problem is good one. Besides i suggest that whatever brown (dry) substances you use, chop it into considerably small pieces. It will help decomposition speed.
saya dari Indonesia yang mulai suka berkebun ingin belajar sepenuhnya dari anda tentang cara berkebun organik karena menurut saya ide anda sangat mudah untuk di ikuti.terimakasih sudah menyediakan terjemahannya
Really interesting video, thanks Huw! So many people like to make out that compost is this tricky, exact science and I think it can put others off (including me in the past). This was brilliant and makes it really accessible!
We have a 6 ft x 6 ft chain link former kennel (with a gate) that's been perfect for lazy composting. I put in raw kitchen scraps (veg, fruit, eggshells), yard waste, and garden waste and it's just perfect. As you say, it takes several months, but the timing works out okay. Critters don't overly bother it, probably because our pups are nearby during the day. I feel rich with the beautiful black soil it produces! I didn't compost for a long time because I thought it would be tedious, but it's just so forgiving and easy. I love it!
Speaking of lazy, I have given up on raking leaves. When I have autumn leaves all over my lawn I get the lawn mower, put on the grass catcher, and chop the (brown) leaves mix them with (green) grass clipping and dump it all on the compost bin. If I do this while it's still wet with rainwater or dew it's even better.
@@tess764 What I have is a walk behind mower made by Honda. Mine has the "high vacuum blade". I've had several other mowers over the years. This one is the best for picking up leaves and grass clippings.
@@alexriddles492 thanks Alex! I have an electric battery mower... It picks up some leaves, but not the thick oak ones, and I have a lot. Maybe next one needs to be an upgrade.
Insert at 5:03: another positive of adding a VARIETY of materials is that the compost pile's microbiome will be more DIVERSE, as each genus-species loves a particular food | set of foods; the more diverse a microbiome is, the stronger it composts AND the more (quantity and variety) postbiotic nutrients (macro and micro) it produces!
To avoid rats use only vegetation in open bins (leaves and grass clippings). Use a closed system (I use a storage tote with small holes on the side) for food scraps. In the summer the black soldier fly larvae moves in, they are gone in Nov. After the food scraps decomposes then it goes on the main compost pile.
I am doing this too - I've done pretty much every method of the 20+ years I've been gardening here on and island with forests...so I've come to accept that there will be rats...minimal but they will come. The do not dirty the place they sleep in (I think) so when they are sleeping in the compost they aren't pooping in it :) If I'm wrong that is still ok as our rats are forest rats not sewer rats....and if you have a decent size garden you are likely not in the downtown city centre (with the sewer rats ) :)
I keep an lrg empty ice cream container in my freezer. When filled it is buried into a hole in my garden. No animal products no dairy except rinsed egg shells. No critters. Works great. Thick layer of leaves in fall I'll work into it in spring. My bed is 3' wide strip at edge of lawn and idk but 2-250' long? So far. Lousy soil but coming around. I'll bury along edge and between plants now. Works great.
@@amanda-ei2mg Just a fyi you will looove 😂. Lewis and Clark Journals. One entry described rats on the Missouri in one place the size of dogs! Idk what kind he meant but...if you like western history it's a great read.
Thanks Huw for your update. I have 3 bins made from pallets. I've been using the bins for different stages, turning compost from one bin to next so that the last bin is the final stage. I considered this as turning the compost but I gather from you that you don't turn at all.
This year I'm doing leaves mixed with grass clippings and topped with rabbit poo in the past it's done great for my corn so I'm doing it again this year
Nice vid... ever thought of chopping your vegetation?? Two positives here. 1. Makes compost much quicker. 2. By chopping it up you actually make much more in same sized bin..
my only suspect why he does not is that, chopping compost is not lazy compost. I need a chipper for my stalk-y things, and the sticks that drop in my yard.
Hello from France, just learning stuff for permaculture garden. Thank you for all you're sharing, it's really inspiring at all levels, technical and humanely . 2 questions: 1) Why don't you put some thin layers of ashes in your compost sometimes? and 2) Can we put vegetables like bay tree? Thanks a lot for your answer.
Are you really doing permaculture? That would be terraforming land that's inhospitable to agriculture, typically terraforming soil from something like sand into with organic matter in it. I would consider composting a way to accelerate the process of making arable biodiverse soil from soil or dirt with very low, perhaps no carbon content. Because compost is a ready to go mix of an existing microbiological web ready to support any kind of plants, it should be good enough as is. Adding ash can be done but if your base ingredients are correctly proportioned and properly composted to a "black gold" state, no special amendments like ashes and charcoal. As for vegetables and bay trees (I don't think a bay tree is a vegetable), you can grow them in compost or put them in a compost pile to decay if you wish. But, if there is anything approaching the appearance and density of a log, it's best to split it up first and process as a proper "hot compost pile" and not as described in this video.
I have been watching your videos for several years and have your books. You are a well-tended garden of knowledge. I often refer gardeners, young and old to your posts. One favor though… could you answer more of the questions so we all could learn from it? I know you get so many but even a few here and there would be helpful.
great advice. Just one thing: in your list of brown materials, there is "Dust from vacuuming", and I heard that you should never put this in your compost, because there are plenty of plastic particles, heavy metals or motor oil /exhaust residues in this dust. But I believe you can compost your hair (the major part of the contents of my vacuum cleaner bag^^). Also, crushed eggshells are not brown or green material, but it's great for compost!
I agree. And I have found that it doesn't break down well, either. A neighbour gve me alpaca wool to add - several years later, it was still wool. (When my bin is cooked, I sieve the compost befor putting it on the garden, and anything not broken down goes back into the other bin to conntinue the process.)
What great timing! Our new chickens and ducklings are making a lot of bedding that I knew SHOULD be useful but what and how ??! Perfect, Huw, thank you again.
LMAO When he (JW) was on Graham Norton talking about doing Who Do You Think You Are? with his father: "I am deeply upset; I had no idea we were Welsh!" 😂😂😂
Anyone else thinks it is not lazy enough for you 🤣 I just bury the scraps in different places in the garden and they disappear. No matter how much I leave behind in the garden, I seem to get bare soil in the spring and nothing left to mulch. I like the jumping and the smell of compost though.
haha my degree of laziness when it comes to composting won’t benefit with what was shared here! 😆 I’ve found the dig and drop or trench composting methods to be the best one for me. My yards produce a ton of brown matter, and I have a lot of fruit/vegetable leftovers every single day. So much more productive for me, even if it takes longer. However, this was still a very informative video, as I do like to have a small area of active composting for use in other areas. I love the smell of compost!
Maybe "chop and drop" technique is the best for me, because mowing the grass takes a long time, and i don't want to waste time gathering it. So i used the chop n drop technique as used by other permacultures.
I have a 3 bin model on the allotment - works exceptionally well, layering and as suggested ...just watch for rats though. Other than veggie scraps, we don’t put food waste in but still get rats. In fact most veggie waste goes to feed our chickens back in the garden at home. Chicken bedding cleaned weekly with their poop goes onto the compost to turbo charge it. Tend not to compose weeds as I’m not convinced unless it’s a hot composting method that it’s hot enough to kill the weed seeds off effectively through heat. Then if it is a hot compost it’s a different model more bacterial decomposition than worms, wood lice, etc. When ready I sieve it into a lidded dustbin as a fine tilth potting mix. Maybe it’s the worms the rats are attracted to? Thx Huw!
Seems to me another advantage of diversity of ingredients is the physical structure of the ingredients (as opposed to chemical composition). Uniform physical structure seems to be associated with matting and lack of oxygen penetration. Variety of structure seems to discourage that. I notice a similar thing in the dishwasher. If you put all your spoons together and all your forks together they tend to nestle tightly and prevent the water in, resulting in dirty flatware. Mix them up and the difference in shapes always results in spaces between them and they get more uniformly clean. In the compost heap, it's oxygen rather than water we want to penetrate.
This is very similar to what I do. I make large piles of compost lazy compost *in* the garden. This can be in the spring, when I have lots of weeds to put in, or in the fall, when I am cleaning up the garden. Piles are large, at least a meter in diameter. I flatten the tops of the piles (no conical shapes), so more water is caught when it rains, helping to break down the piles. I also add leaves to the piles as needed for extra brown material. As the spring piles are breaking down, I plant squash in them, either summer or winter squash, it does not matter. I would also plant mellon, but my garden is not quite hot & sunny enought for mellon. These plants love to grow in compost. In the fall, any piles that are ready, I sift to make seed starting soil, so I am ready for indoor seed starts in late winter/early spring. Advantages: o no need for separate compost bins o Since I am growing in the pile, I am also watering it regularly, which helps to break it down. o I put the piles where I know the soil needs to be improved the next year, and just spread out the finished compost in place. o Plenty of compost for preparing seed starting soil in the fall (by sifting). o Plenty of compost in spring from over-wintered piles that I can use for various bed prep. Disadvantages: o Often, there is unfinished materials that I need to sift out or move to the next compost pile. o I don't have much compost *during* the growing season, since I am growing in it. However, I have found this works out for me. I do a lot of leaf mulching (after plants are started), and any beds that had leaf mulch the previous year, have a nice fine layer of leaf "compost" on top.
Now THAT’S smart AND lazy composting. I planted in my compost pile last year. I got pumpkins so large I couldn’t budge them. My only problem was the deer. They ate every leaf then the pumpkins, one by one. My compost pile is outside my garden but I might think about moving one or two inside. Right now the deer are eating everything. Focusing on fencing to keep them out. Can’t seem to win.
@@lindmarcella I have cut wood piled outside my garden that I'm using to fill in a hillside. The deer do not like to walk on it or other brush and I can grow squash outside the garden on this woody area.
Everybody say jump jump jump.. I use my chickens as factory workers and get everything scratched up and ready compost in a few months.. Loved your video😍
Hi Huw! Great video, I'm getting ready to start my last pile for the season (so the timing is great). I worry tho about the smell when adding too much greens. Does this pile have any odors?
Bad odours really only occur when you use food scraps that stink as they rot, otherwise it should really just be a deep pungent organic foresty type smell
Love the info! Lazy composting is my favorite way for sure :). I do it in big plastic bins, so I don't have to worry about the large pests as much. Loved the cinematography too! The cut to jumping with the camera was awesome.
My father started my compost pile decades ago. His is the MORE lazy version I don't think he actually knew all the benefits, he just thought he was giving back to the earth 🌎♥️ I have been turning it and using the compost at the bottom since it breaks down fairly quickly. Recently my bf threw a bunch of branches on it 😑 all the leaves have fallen off so there's my browns... Now I gotta pull out the branches. Thanks for the motivation. I have been waiting for better weather to get back in the heap. Thank u, from Texas ☺️
“Then God said: “Here I have given to you every seed-bearing plant that is on the entire earth and every tree with seed-bearing fruit. Let them serve as food for you”
I just found and watch this video of yours, I am so impress!! I am a latin man living in Alberta, Canada. I am about to start preparing compost for the 1st time for my summer garden, I love it, your explanations are very straight forward. Hey, I love your accent by the way usually I have hard time understanding English accent, if you are Irish that's cool. I subscribe already to your channel...👍Gracias Amigo!!!
Hi Huw, greetings from Malaysia, I am a big fan of your videos. Thank you for inspiring us with all your informations and tips on home gardening. I would like to make a suggestion if you can cover a topics about how to use a compost. Such as how frequently to add compost on your raise bed, how we can know that the bed or plant need a compost. Hope this message find you well and wish you have a lovely seasons yields. Sorry if my English is bad cause we are not use English in my country. Thank you. 😃
Thank you so much this is the best one I have seen and so easy to make. I have had all these greens and browns laying around and your video has definitely inspired me to start doing this. Why did I only just use veges scraps...thanks again man. Your channel is the real deal.
Just wanted to let you know that every video I now upload has correct captions, rather than the terrible RUclips automated captions. This is due to popular request from viewers who aren't native English speakers, as well as others who have hearing impairments. I hope you enjoy the video😀
I am not a native speaker of Englisch and I have a problem with this text.
What do you mean with "correct captions"
@@jamesgrieve309 You know the RUclips subtitles feature? Click subtitles for this video and you will see what I mean :)
I'm not a native English speaker either, but you speak so slowly and clearly that I don't need subtitles on your channel. I like your singing Welsh accent. :)
@@Gartenlust I have no problems to understand him either. I just didn't know what he meant with "captions". Now I know because your answer helped me to understand. As I mentioned I can understand Hue very well, but my English is not good enough to understand every word in his videos. This is why I am very glad to have the captions. I can read the words and can look up the ones I didn't know in a dictionary.
Very considerate. :)
Apart from being helpful, these films are just so damned well produced. I worked in TV & I know how much work goes into this. Kudos to you & your camera operator & editor 👍🏻
Thanks Mike H for bringing that to light. I agree that the video is done well. I forget that it is also an art.
Thankyou for the kind words 👍
Great boot licking
Seems he could have his own tv show!!! The time to garden. 😁 Now. Now is of course always changing. He has a good tv presentation, the education smarts, I agree, the videos, material, information is 👍
@End Times Are upon us calm your tits Mr Armageddon
My office shreds paper all the time. I take bags of that home. Mixed with kitchen scraps it produces great compost
I just throw all on it that I have. No order, no rules and yet I still get a good fine compost and my plants love it.
Is it necessary to dry it still?
Me too. Having multiple bins helps a lot with this.
@@kaalamankusinaatkantahan3487 why would you need to dry compost?
Also plastics?
I love hearing the intro 🥺. “Hello, and a very warm welcome.” Love it
I actually discovered this years ago in California when I forgot about a pile of leaves and yard waste at the back of the yard. By the next spring when I finally got back to gardening I stumbled upon it and discovered it was all compost...all by itself!
I really appreciate the recommendation and explanation for 3 compost bins! It seems so simple, but, as a beginning gardener, the idea had eluded me, and I was struggling to understand how to eventually have finished compost when I was regularly adding content to my single compost pile. Thank you!
With a small bin they often have a removable flap at the bottom, so hopefully your bottom half is ready first and you can scrape it out.
You can put away unfermented and half fermented matter. Beneath that you will get fully fermented manure. Thus emptying the bean, you can put unfermented matter first in the bean or pit whatever it is. and half fermented afterwards.
The noises in this video make me so excited to get back in the garden.
Gardening ASMR
I loved the sound the secateurs cutting the fennel/dilly (unsure which) and them landing in the wheelbarrow too.
I don’t have a garden so I do my composting in a Black plastic Dustbin on my balcony, so most of what goes into it is kitchen scraps. I started the compost off by adding old Soil from some Flower pots, then gradually built it up over two years. Now I have a second Black plastic Dustbin( found them both in skips) that I’ve got half full. I have a small area where I can get away with growing food crops in pots, so I’ve been using the compost for those. Because the compost is 95% kitchen scraps it makes the compost a bit damp, so it doesn’t get hot enough to kill seeds, which I like cos then I get all sorts of fruits etc growing out of my pots. So far I’ve got a Grape Vine seedling, Apple and Cherry Tree saplings,
Think about the possibility of vermicomposting.
You might add paper for a carbon source.
"...compost a bit damp" add some dry carbon to the mix. In the form of paper, cardboard, sawdust, wood shavings... pretty much whatever you can get your hands on. It will take care of the damp and smell issues!
@@pedrosgarden Ive never heard of ‘’Vermicompostin’’, whats that?
@Ed B Yes I know most fruit seeds don’t grow true to the fruit they come from, I expect to get a Crab Apple Tree, I recently watched a vid of a person had grafted 3-4 varieties of Apple onto the Crab Apple. Re the Cherry, it might fruit like the Cherry it came from, as a friend of Mine grew some Cherryplum Trees from fruit we got from a local Cherryplum Tree. I’m not expecting any fruit worth having from the Grape Vine, although I’ve been told if I grow a different variety next to the one I have, that it will grow better Grapes, also I’ve been told if you prevent the Grapes from growing the first fruiting season, that the second season will produce better Grapes. The first idea ie growing a second different variety sounds like it could possibly work. But the latter idea of not letting the Vine fruit in first season, sounds a bit far fetched, if it was a good Vine from the start then that idea might work. I have a new Tree from my comoist this year, I think it is a Pear Tree if so it might produce good fruit, the reason I say that is cos my friend with the Cherryplum Trees, also has a Conference Pear Tree that he said just appeared one year, so it must have been either from a bird pooing the seeds out or from compost. Now it is a Mature 20 feet tall Tree that produces a lot of fruit every year. But really I’m happy just having the 3 Trees regardless if they fruit or not, as its nice to see the Trees from my kitchen window, and knowing I’m doing a little bit towards CO2 capture. When I have a few more Trees I am thinking of planting the ones I have in a local ‘wild’ green area.
I have been lazy composting since I started gardening here in France. Tomorrow I will be completely emptying the compost bin, with all the wormies. Lol. They all go to the new flower bed I am preparing for Spring. I should ask my 6 year old daughter to “jump in” the compost. She will be more happy to do it. 😁
This is the first “ jump on it” compost video I’ve seen! Love it! Great vid as always Huw! Thank you!
I feel like this pushes out oxygen. I try to keep it as loose as possible, keeping a lot of air in. I think Dowding does the same and only turns his compost once.
@@thomasfuchs9451 Same here, I also try to keep it loose. In the video he uses garden left overs as a whole..the lazy methode. I can imagine this is the reason why he needs to compact the compost heep quite a bit...it's just too much air in between the materials.
@@mamo9389. I agree. He had a lot of plants with stiff stems and vines which trap lots of air.
I compost the same way. Some people seem to like to make it complicated. Glad to see I am not alone.
The reason you see rich compost in the forests is because every Saturday morning a mysterious guy comes over and turns over the precise mix of 50-50 greens and browns with a big fork.
Yeah, God
It's the gnomes! :o
its probably Satan . . .
The small guy with the big pointed hat , and the really long beard ❓
Or it could be just that all that organic matter is deposited and broken down over a long period of time.
Merci beaucoup Huw ! Tu a une simplicité en toi qui est rafraîchissante !
Huw, you're too much fun :) I wish you were my neighbor here in Texas. I have greatly benefitted from watching your videos. Your efforts in sharing your pearls of wisdom are truly appreciated. Thank you!!!!
More to the point I wish YOU was my neighbor liz, you stunner. Happy gardening!
Huw you have grown big. I couldn't notice you from sight but your voice doesn't change. God bless you for the good work you do even teaching
Thank you, even this video is a year old 😉
This is now my most favorite gardening channel. video quality is amazing, and everything is explained so well and easy to understand. Thank you so much, can’t wait to learn more.
That's so great to hear! Thank you :)
Its nice to hear someone who knows what they are doing and why they do it
Years ago I was given a top tip to get your compost going and help it break down the matter quicker . The guy told me - collect your. “first P” of the day and pour it over the compost. Something about enzymes and other big words. It works a treat. I’ve done a comparison and the one that had the “first P” did a lot better than the compost that didn’t.
Urine has a lot of nitrogen, I think. It’s interesting that it might matter what time of day you collect it, though.
@@cynthiafisher9907 it’s because it’s been in the bladder longer , like over night. Approx 8 hours. Giving time for it to collect nitrogen’s etc and not be watered down. (No pun intended). Most people go to the toilet around every 75 mins - 100 mins during the day(approx) Disclaimer- I’m not a urologist 😉
@@valium-fm7236 Oh, I see. I guess that makes sense, it’s more concentrated.
@@cynthiafisher9907 that’s the one 😁
Ahhhh Thanks for the tip👍🏿👎🏿👊🏿 I am a first time compost maker so this means it’s gonna come in handy...Thank You
Great tips on composting Huw. This time of year there is a lot of green matter while we are cleaning our gardens.
I agree with most of it apart from the rats part. In my experience if you build any kind of structure where rats can hide be warm sheltered then you will get rats even if you never put meat dairy bread etc in the heap they will make a home.
Green matter matters
I started using your"lasagna"-method last spring and I this year I can use my first compost. I was so happy about the result! :) The rule of using 2 buckets of browns and 1 bucket of greens is really easy to remember. Thank you very much! Keep up the great work.
Wow, what an awesome distillation of the most foundational elements of life. Needed now more than ever, thanks.
The content is great. Plus the video is so professionally done. Love from Nigeria.
Loved the stylistic camera shooting of this one. Plus great tips. Thanks Huw!
Thank you! For those of us with smaller urban yards, the Dalek type compost bins are all we have space for; but now I will try to design a bin with wooden boards that will give the same sort of area space for heating up and breaking down garden matter.
You can grow on top and up the sides of a compost bin too :)
That camera is just never gonna compost. But I loved the intro!
Give it a few hundred years😉 Thank you, it was great fun filming and editing it!
😄
@@HuwRichardsshould be a good Source of Carbon , and Aluminum 👍
As ever thanks for an informative and well made gardening video, your videos have been helping me make a start with an allotment over the past few months, also don't be afraid to be weird in videos it's adorable seeing you jumping on he compost pile tbh.
This is the first time I have watched your video. I have struggled with compost making for years. but your simple approach. very clear instructions. Give me the confidence going forward. thank you.
The production quality of your videos is second to none. Fantastic stuff!
Thanks, what a lovely comment! Glad you like them
Love this channel. It is one of a half dozen channels that I turn to for gardening and permaculture info. Thanks.
Thanks for the tips on composting. I've moved into a house that has two bins (Daleks), so this has really encouraged me to start filling them!
Been watching all your videos lately. You’re like the Bob Ross of gardening. Videos are always straight forward, peaceful, and make everything we know is hard look so damn easy. Keep it up. Also got your book ordered.
Great video, thank you for the tips :)
On rats & vermin in compost, if you don't own a cat, but have a neighbourhood cat who visits (or could visit) your garden, be friendly to it, and leave a terracotta saucer of rain water out, then the cat will deter any vermin, inc pigeons. If there are several cats around where you live, either put down two water dishes at opposite edges of the boundry, so there is no conflict over resources as they will usually only toilet on the boundaries of their own territory, or where there is a conflict of territory. They don't like to toilet near their water sources - this is an instinct.
The cat(s) will naturally deter rodents & pigeons. Although a friend of mine did have some water voles who used to regularly visit & dine in his compost bin, although it situated very near a stream. Originally we thought it was rats / mice, until they got brave enough to peek at the person bringing the fruit & veg scraps. They particularly liked watermelon, fruit and all the high water content kitchen waste scrapps, they tunnelled in from underneath, the compost broke down pretty quickly. The cat did get one or two though :( & my friend was very careful when stirring the compost. He also swears by adding well roasted egg shells to, that are crushed.
Such great tips from this group. I've learn a lot. Thank you(and others), for commenting
Any cat in my garden gets an early bath and a boot up the backside.
For the topic alone.. a big like. Then I enjoy learning I can put the materials in as they come. Thanks.
Thank you very much ☺️
I just checked my autumn 2020 compost and it's not broken down at all. I think I managed to identify two main problems. We never watered it so maybe it was too dry as it's under a huge pine tree. Also, the green material we thought we added (grass clippings) had just dried and turned out into brown material which ties into the the first reason. I will try to add more diversity and more vegetables clippings in the future in addition to watering it more often. Thanks a lot for your wonderful video!
Your self suggested solution to the problem is good one. Besides i suggest that whatever brown (dry) substances you use, chop it into considerably small pieces. It will help decomposition speed.
@@pmg2016 Thanks! We use the mower to broke down leaves but not always.
saya dari Indonesia yang mulai suka berkebun ingin belajar sepenuhnya dari anda tentang cara berkebun organik karena menurut saya ide anda sangat mudah untuk di ikuti.terimakasih sudah menyediakan terjemahannya
Really interesting video, thanks Huw! So many people like to make out that compost is this tricky, exact science and I think it can put others off (including me in the past). This was brilliant and makes it really accessible!
Hand Picked Green Chillies at back yard garden
ruclips.net/video/QRF4dtdrrqw/видео.html
We have a 6 ft x 6 ft chain link former kennel (with a gate) that's been perfect for lazy composting. I put in raw kitchen scraps (veg, fruit, eggshells), yard waste, and garden waste and it's just perfect. As you say, it takes several months, but the timing works out okay. Critters don't overly bother it, probably because our pups are nearby during the day. I feel rich with the beautiful black soil it produces! I didn't compost for a long time because I thought it would be tedious, but it's just so forgiving and easy. I love it!
Loved the video , gave me the idea to use my two chicken wired containers for compost and my Dalek type plastic ones for leaf mould
Great thinking Lynda! Thank you for watching :)
Fantastic just what I needed having built a compost bin this morning at the allotment
Speaking of lazy, I have given up on raking leaves. When I have autumn leaves all over my lawn I get the lawn mower, put on the grass catcher, and chop the (brown) leaves mix them with (green) grass clipping and dump it all on the compost bin. If I do this while it's still wet with rainwater or dew it's even better.
What kind of mower does that?
@@tess764 What I have is a walk behind mower made by Honda. Mine has the "high vacuum blade". I've had several other mowers over the years. This one is the best for picking up leaves and grass clippings.
@@alexriddles492 thanks Alex! I have an electric battery mower... It picks up some leaves, but not the thick oak ones, and I have a lot. Maybe next one needs to be an upgrade.
Insert at 5:03: another positive of adding a VARIETY of materials is that the compost pile's microbiome will be more DIVERSE, as each genus-species loves a particular food | set of foods; the more diverse a microbiome is, the stronger it composts AND the more (quantity and variety) postbiotic nutrients (macro and micro) it produces!
To avoid rats use only vegetation in open bins (leaves and grass clippings). Use a closed system (I use a storage tote with small holes on the side) for food scraps. In the summer the black soldier fly larvae moves in, they are gone in Nov. After the food scraps decomposes then it goes on the main compost pile.
I have phobia of rats so thank you for this tip.
I am doing this too - I've done pretty much every method of the 20+ years I've been gardening here on and island with forests...so I've come to accept that there will be rats...minimal but they will come. The do not dirty the place they sleep in (I think) so when they are sleeping in the compost they aren't pooping in it :) If I'm wrong that is still ok as our rats are forest rats not sewer rats....and if you have a decent size garden you are likely not in the downtown city centre (with the sewer rats ) :)
I keep an lrg empty ice cream container in my freezer. When filled it is buried into a hole in my garden. No animal products no dairy except rinsed egg shells. No critters. Works great. Thick layer of leaves in fall I'll work into it in spring. My bed is 3' wide strip at edge of lawn and idk but 2-250' long? So far. Lousy soil but coming around. I'll bury along edge and between plants now. Works great.
@@amanda-ei2mg Just a fyi you will looove 😂. Lewis and Clark Journals. One entry described rats on the Missouri in one place the size of dogs! Idk what kind he meant but...if you like western history it's a great read.
@@trish3580 could a lid barrier using chicken wire work?
Thank you for sharing this video.
This is what I have been doing and trying to spread this message of simple “lazy” composting.
Thanks Huw for your update.
I have 3 bins made from pallets.
I've been using the bins for different stages, turning compost from one bin to next so that the last bin is the final stage. I considered this as turning the compost but I gather from you that you don't turn at all.
I’m so glad I found this video. I needed this no nonsense approach to start out with. Too many requirements were a deterrent for me to start.
This year I'm doing leaves mixed with grass clippings and topped with rabbit poo in the past it's done great for my corn so I'm doing it again this year
It’s very clever of you to train your rabbits to poo on the compost pile.
This is a very beautiful and excrement free method I will also adopt this method InshaAllah.
Nice vid... ever thought of chopping your vegetation?? Two positives here.
1. Makes compost much quicker.
2. By chopping it up you actually make much more in same sized bin..
my only suspect why he does not is that, chopping compost is not lazy compost. I need a chipper for my stalk-y things, and the sticks that drop in my yard.
Warm greeting from Lombok Island Indonesia, thanks for sharing your precious knowledge of compost. ITS really helpful as well as inspiring
Thank you so much! This video is very helpful, simple and not too long! Love watching you go about the garden !
Thank you for a very informative, useful compost tutorial. Information learned will be put to use.
Hello from France, just learning stuff for permaculture garden. Thank you for all you're sharing, it's really inspiring at all levels, technical and humanely . 2 questions: 1) Why don't you put some thin layers of ashes in your compost sometimes? and 2) Can we put vegetables like bay tree? Thanks a lot for your answer.
Are you really doing permaculture? That would be terraforming land that's inhospitable to agriculture, typically terraforming soil from something like sand into with organic matter in it.
I would consider composting a way to accelerate the process of making arable biodiverse soil from soil or dirt with very low, perhaps no carbon content. Because compost is a ready to go mix of an existing microbiological web ready to support any kind of plants, it should be good enough as is. Adding ash can be done but if your base ingredients are correctly proportioned and properly composted to a "black gold" state, no special amendments like ashes and charcoal. As for vegetables and bay trees (I don't think a bay tree is a vegetable), you can grow them in compost or put them in a compost pile to decay if you wish. But, if there is anything approaching the appearance and density of a log, it's best to split it up first and process as a proper "hot compost pile" and not as described in this video.
Sat with a coffee right now reading your book :) thank you for teaching us and sharing your tips and tricks. :) with thanks Zoe x
You're very welcome :) Thank You for your support Zoe!
I’m all in for lazy methods. :-) what are your thoughts on just burying food scraps in the ground? Great opening sequence by the way.
Burying all your scraps in a trench is an excellent thing to do,my parents and grandparents did this 👌
The old boys at the allotment do that for beans.
I have been watching your videos for several years and have your books. You are a well-tended garden of knowledge. I often refer gardeners, young and old to your posts. One favor though… could you answer more of the questions so we all could learn from it? I know you get so many but even a few here and there would be helpful.
great advice. Just one thing: in your list of brown materials, there is "Dust from vacuuming", and I heard that you should never put this in your compost, because there are plenty of plastic particles, heavy metals or motor oil /exhaust residues in this dust. But I believe you can compost your hair (the major part of the contents of my vacuum cleaner bag^^).
Also, crushed eggshells are not brown or green material, but it's great for compost!
I agree. And I have found that it doesn't break down well, either. A neighbour gve me alpaca wool to add - several years later, it was still wool. (When my bin is cooked, I sieve the compost befor putting it on the garden, and anything not broken down goes back into the other bin to conntinue the process.)
A great no nonsense video on composting. Thanks Huw
My pleasure Mary!:)
What great timing! Our new chickens and ducklings are making a lot of bedding that I knew SHOULD be useful but what and how ??! Perfect, Huw, thank you again.
I love your jumping in the compostbin! 😀
I'm so pleased to have found Jack Whithall's farming twin
Thanks Holly😉
@@HuwRichards dont think that was a compliment lol
@@dahmed8993 I don't care😉 I like Jask Whitehall
@@HuwRichards hehe...just came across your channel, good channel well worth watching
LMAO
When he (JW) was on Graham Norton talking about doing Who Do You Think You Are? with his father: "I am deeply upset; I had no idea we were Welsh!" 😂😂😂
The grass tip is great to know. Never started composting before because I thought it would smell. Thank you for sharing.
Anyone else thinks it is not lazy enough for you 🤣 I just bury the scraps in different places in the garden and they disappear. No matter how much I leave behind in the garden, I seem to get bare soil in the spring and nothing left to mulch. I like the jumping and the smell of compost though.
haha my degree of laziness when it comes to composting won’t benefit with what was shared here! 😆 I’ve found the dig and drop or trench composting methods to be the best one for me. My yards produce a ton of brown matter, and I have a lot of fruit/vegetable leftovers every single day. So much more productive for me, even if it takes longer. However, this was still a very informative video, as I do like to have a small area of active composting for use in other areas. I love the smell of compost!
Maybe "chop and drop" technique is the best for me, because mowing the grass takes a long time, and i don't want to waste time gathering it. So i used the chop n drop technique as used by other permacultures.
'Jumping off compost is not recommended' - love it! (As well as all the actual compost info!)
I have a 3 bin model on the allotment - works exceptionally well, layering and as suggested ...just watch for rats though. Other than veggie scraps, we don’t put food waste in but still get rats. In fact most veggie waste goes to feed our chickens back in the garden at home. Chicken bedding cleaned weekly with their poop goes onto the compost to turbo charge it. Tend not to compose weeds as I’m not convinced unless it’s a hot composting method that it’s hot enough to kill the weed seeds off effectively through heat. Then if it is a hot compost it’s a different model more bacterial decomposition than worms, wood lice, etc. When ready I sieve it into a lidded dustbin as a fine tilth potting mix. Maybe it’s the worms the rats are attracted to? Thx Huw!
Rats are extremely helpful in keeping the compost aeriated and turned over as they tunnel through it looking for scraps.
Excellent compost making video Huw Richards using the Lazy method. Keep safe and well during these uncertain times.
Thank you so much I really appreciate that and same to you ☺️
Are we going to see hoards of gardeners lurking around forests, sniffing the ground to check if their compost has the same smell?
Yes definitely😉
😂😂😂😂😂
Dude, this made me laugh out loud 😁😁
I mean I check our compost by smell anyway. It smells really nice in spring!
Wait, you guys DON'T?
Lol
This was an AMAZING video, I cannot thank you enough for this.
Seems to me another advantage of diversity of ingredients is the physical structure of the ingredients (as opposed to chemical composition). Uniform physical structure seems to be associated with matting and lack of oxygen penetration. Variety of structure seems to discourage that. I notice a similar thing in the dishwasher. If you put all your spoons together and all your forks together they tend to nestle tightly and prevent the water in, resulting in dirty flatware. Mix them up and the difference in shapes always results in spaces between them and they get more uniformly clean. In the compost heap, it's oxygen rather than water we want to penetrate.
This is very similar to what I do. I make large piles of compost lazy compost *in* the garden. This can be in the spring, when I have lots of weeds to put in, or in the fall, when I am cleaning up the garden. Piles are large, at least a meter in diameter. I flatten the tops of the piles (no conical shapes), so more water is caught when it rains, helping to break down the piles. I also add leaves to the piles as needed for extra brown material.
As the spring piles are breaking down, I plant squash in them, either summer or winter squash, it does not matter. I would also plant mellon, but my garden is not quite hot & sunny enought for mellon. These plants love to grow in compost.
In the fall, any piles that are ready, I sift to make seed starting soil, so I am ready for indoor seed starts in late winter/early spring.
Advantages:
o no need for separate compost bins
o Since I am growing in the pile, I am also watering it regularly, which helps to break it down.
o I put the piles where I know the soil needs to be improved the next year, and just spread out the finished compost in place.
o Plenty of compost for preparing seed starting soil in the fall (by sifting).
o Plenty of compost in spring from over-wintered piles that I can use for various bed prep.
Disadvantages:
o Often, there is unfinished materials that I need to sift out or move to the next compost pile.
o I don't have much compost *during* the growing season, since I am growing in it. However, I have found this works out for me. I do a lot of leaf mulching (after plants are started), and any beds that had leaf mulch the previous year, have a nice fine layer of leaf "compost" on top.
Now THAT’S smart AND lazy composting. I planted in my compost pile last year. I got pumpkins so large I couldn’t budge them. My only problem was the deer. They ate every leaf then the pumpkins, one by one. My compost pile is outside my garden but I might think about moving one or two inside. Right now the deer are eating everything. Focusing on fencing to keep them out. Can’t seem to win.
@@lindmarcella I have cut wood piled outside my garden that I'm using to fill in a hillside. The deer do not like to walk on it or other brush and I can grow squash outside the garden on this woody area.
How on Earth is Huw not already RUclips verified?!
Everybody say jump jump jump.. I use my chickens as factory workers and get everything scratched up and ready compost in a few months.. Loved your video😍
Hi Huw! Great video, I'm getting ready to start my last pile for the season (so the timing is great). I worry tho about the smell when adding too much greens. Does this pile have any odors?
Bad odours really only occur when you use food scraps that stink as they rot, otherwise it should really just be a deep pungent organic foresty type smell
This is pretty much how I have always done my compost and it has always worked well for me.
Love the info! Lazy composting is my favorite way for sure :). I do it in big plastic bins, so I don't have to worry about the large pests as much.
Loved the cinematography too! The cut to jumping with the camera was awesome.
Great video. Thank you. Learned some new things. I rely on compost a lot
Did I miss how often you turn it mix the bin once it's full?
Maybe part of the “lazy composting” is not turning or mixing it 🤷🏼♀️
My father started my compost pile decades ago. His is the MORE lazy version I don't think he actually knew all the benefits, he just thought he was giving back to the earth 🌎♥️ I have been turning it and using the compost at the bottom since it breaks down fairly quickly. Recently my bf threw a bunch of branches on it 😑 all the leaves have fallen off so there's my browns... Now I gotta pull out the branches. Thanks for the motivation. I have been waiting for better weather to get back in the heap. Thank u, from Texas ☺️
Compost makes me so impatient lol I still do it but...
I always learn so much from your videos. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with all of us!
I just moved and have to start my compost from
Scratch 😫
I've dogs & cats that take care of any rodent issues...great video, thank you. Reminds me of my dad's set up from long ago
I have rat but at home 😉, a hedgehog was found in my leafy compost 😮 ,scared me so much , no jumping than in my garden:( .
I loved your video and what a great editing ! Thank you for sharing the Knowledge, your garden is beautiful
“Then God said: “Here I have given to you every seed-bearing plant that is on the entire earth and every tree with seed-bearing fruit. Let them serve as food for you”
I just found and watch this video of yours, I am so impress!! I am a latin man living in Alberta, Canada. I am about to start preparing compost for the 1st time for my summer garden, I love it, your explanations are very straight forward. Hey, I love your accent by the way usually I have hard time understanding English accent, if you are Irish that's cool. I subscribe already to your channel...👍Gracias Amigo!!!
who am I kidding... You are freaking handsome 🤪
And that accent.... 😍
Informative, with no irritating waffle, thank you Huw.
"Subscribed",
the ultimate compliment.
Thank you so much! :)
me literally tho hahahah. i just throw fallen leaves and veggies scraps only and now i think i'm compromising other nutrients for the compost uh ohh.
Huw, sooo appreciate your great videos! You are a wealth of knowledge! TY from So. Alabama, USA (Zone 8)
Hi Huw, greetings from Malaysia, I am a big fan of your videos. Thank you for inspiring us with all your informations and tips on home gardening. I would like to make a suggestion if you can cover a topics about how to use a compost. Such as how frequently to add compost on your raise bed, how we can know that the bed or plant need a compost. Hope this message find you well and wish you have a lovely seasons yields. Sorry if my English is bad cause we are not use English in my country. Thank you. 😃
I use A LOT of grass clippings! Whatever I mow up that goes in my mowers bagger, goes in the bin. It always works well!
dude, your videos are top quality. Can't believe I'm just finding this channel
Thank so much that means a lot!
Excellent presentation!👍👍🇺🇸
Good videos thank you for sharing .I use mainly lawn clippings and i do not seem to have issue with smell.
Thanks for the video and list of handy items for compost.
Thank you so much this is the best one I have seen and so easy to make. I have had all these greens and browns laying around and your video has definitely inspired me to start doing this. Why did I only just use veges scraps...thanks again man. Your channel is the real deal.
A great, useful guide to composting. A nicely produced video too. It makes all the difference.
Great information thanks also excellent camera work and editing
Thanks - great ideas and they sound manageable.