How to STOP Buying Compost (Tips For Compost Self-Sufficiency), by Huw Richards

Making your own compost is key to self-sufficiency and Huw will provide us with a few tips.

Thanks to Huw Richards for sharing his wisdom and knowledge! I wrote the following notes watching the video published on Huw Richards’s channel. You can watch it using this YouTube link.

Starting disclaimer

No everybody has access to the same resources and the same amount of each.

Also, we have different numbers of spaces to make and store the compost.

In this vlog, Huw showcases *his method to become self-sufficient in compost.

Definition of self-sufficiency

It can be different for all of us. To Huw, the goal is to create all the mulching compost he needs for the garden and for transplanting.

However, at the time of the shooting, he still purchases seed compost (e.g., potting compost) because he hasn’t perfected his own yet.

Self-sufficiency is a journey that takes time.

Types of compost

We find the following:

• standard compost, the one you apply in a layer of 2 to 3 cm each year on your beds.
• inoculated compost
• nutrishous compost
• and the fourth one can be in The Living Soil Handbook from Jesse Frost.

It’s available in France, in the UK and the US. It provides clear and detailed tips to build up life in your soil.

Jesse describes the four types of composts in depth.

How much compost

Huw’s favorite bed size is a 3 m by 1.2 m with a depth of 20 cm (rough estimate from the vlog).

For a mulch layer of 2 cm, it will require 100 liters of compost.

Count the number of beds you have and time that by 100 liters. It will give the compost amount you need for your garden.

Also, take a 20% extra so you’re sure not to run out.

Making compost

Remember: compost is decomposed material, it means that the original materials have been broken down and you will get about one third in the volume of what you put in on the heap.

Of course, this ratio is dependent on what you put on the heap.

When you look at the compost you need to make, you might feel overwhelmed.

So Huw suggests to spread the load.

Making compost in the alleys

Huw spreads all kinds of material in the alleys between the beds.

It equals to about 10 cm to 15 cm layer. When it’s ready, he sifts it.

That way he can get about 200 liters of compost, enough for the two beds.

Chicken compost

Checkout EdibleAcres and Geoff Lawton channels that talk about this topic.

The advantage of chicken compost is that the chicken will eat the seeds they find in the bedding.

Worm compost

This compost is usually very nutritious. It’s used more as a supplement rather than a sole use for your garden.

Hot beds

It’s more a gardening technique than a compost making technique.

Basically, it’s about using the warmth of compost in the making to grow vegetables you wouldn’t grow in certain times of the year.

And at the end, you have harvested the crops that grew in those hot beds and you will find yourself with a huge amount of great quality compost.

Sourcing materials

Grass clippings

Huw thinks it could work well on the previously mentioned deep mulch chicken compost.

Woodchips

Woodchips come not only from the freshly cut branches, but also the sawmill.

The first type, called fragmented rameal wood, comes from the small branches. Their width shouldn’t exceed 7 cm in diameter.

Those branches contain more nutrients than bigger pieces and, with two to three years, you can use it as compost.

Saw dust

Saw dust creates a fine texture because of its natural form.

So using compost with a good portion of saw dust might just be the good recipe for potting compost.

And you may wonder if it isn’t too high in carbon and that it might suck the nitrogen out of the ground. Well, it’s always a matter of balance. You won’t apply saw dust as is the beds. You will mix it with some green material and let it degrade.

Dead leaves

Same as saw dust, dead leaves are available and cheap, and mixed well with green materials, you can create a great compost.

Coffee grounds

It’s high in nitrogen, so you can assimilate it to a green material.

Other materials

Obviously, your kitchen waste participate to filling the heap.

The local highly available weeds can become a great source of material. Huw has a lot of bracken (Pteridium) around his garden.

Cardboard suits a lot of applications in the garden: from covering in the No Dig method to brown material additions to the heap.

Huw lives near the coast so he harvests seaweed from the coastline after a storm or a high tide.

Finally, using cover crops produces a lot of materials to bulk up the compost heap.

Check out the channel David the Good as he explains it in these vlogs.

Set goals that you can attain

The first challenge is to gather the materials. Finding a place to pile it up won’t be a challenge.

So for your first year, brainstorm:

• where you can get the materials,
• then build your heap using wood pallets
• finally, start filling the first heap

Within a year, you will have your very own homemade compost.