Spend a penny to help compost, gardeners advised

17:42 11th December 2009

Garden and greenhouse enthusiasts making their own compost have been urged to spend a penny to help the process.

According to the Daily Mail, doing so will improve the nutrients in the organic material, while mixing wet and dry materials can be beneficial for speeding up the process.

"You can dry wet compost with torn-up fibre egg cartons or cardboard. Dry mixes can be watered and, if you're a bloke in a reliably private garden, peed upon," the article advised.

Other tips include adding a little soil to the mixture and turning it over regularly to help ensure every part of it is rotting.

The process can also be helped by cutting all materials down into tiny pieces and, if possible, using a shredder to ensure they have a large surface area for bacteria to work on.

A combination of green and brown materials should be used, which will add both carbon and nitrogen to the mix.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail also revealed that garden and greenhouse growers can continue to plant garlic until around the middle of December.