Our first event of the season         Saturday 19th March 2011

Open Day    Compost and Self-sufficiency

Composting

Compost Works volunteers will be on hand to explain how to get started, advise on the compost container best for you, answer your compost queries, and demonstrate ways of speeding up your compost using a mower and a shredder. And with our shredder, which you can borrow, you can see how to dramatically reduce the bulk of your woody prunings, and provide an ideal mix in the compost heap with your kitchen waste and grass cuttings.

We have working examples of all sorts of compost containers, including numerous low cost DIY examples, and how to make them. If you want to get even quicker and better compost, we can show you an insulated pallet composter, made from free materials. Also a home made wormery.

Self-sufficiency

Find out how you could eat your own fruit all the year round, helped of course by lots of good compost!

See how to grow soft fruit - Rhubarb, gooseberries, blackcurrants, boysenberries, jostaberries, blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries, as well as fruit trees - apples, quince, damsons.

And most importantly, how to preserve the fruit by bottling, freezing, storing properly, making jams and chutney. All these methods will be on show.

You can also find out how easy it is to propagate so you never need to buy new plants.

When and Where

Saturday 19th March 2011 from 2 - 5.30pm at 8 The Drive, Fetcham, KT22 9EN. Admission free.

7 million bags that could be making leafmould

Did you know that 7 million one-trip builder bags are thrown away every year in the UK. One builder's merchant chain uses nearly 2 million. A horrendous waste of resources.
They are ideal for making leafmould. It is incredibly easy. Put the leaves in a builder bag and forget about them for 18 months, when you will have a fine fibrous compost, ideal for making your own compost mix or for using as a mulch.

How can you help reduce this waste?
We are acting as a local clearinghouse for builder bags.

         If you have or know of any spare bags, please contact us.

Think big- we are also looking for places such as sports grounds, golf clubs etc. Next time you go, ask what they do with any bags they get and ask if we can have them.

Why make leafmould?
Leafmould is a perfect replacement for peat, saving valuable peat bogs and reducing climate change.

Climate change
You can reduce your carbon footprint by 100kg for every builder bag of leafmould you make and use instead of peat.
The use of peat is relatively new. Prior to the 1970's, leafmould was the norm. Since then, the use of peat as a convenient alternative has expanded dramatically.
"Three million cubic metres of peat is used every year in the UK for horticultural use and sales of multi-purpose compost, which is equivalent to One million tonnes of CO2 emissions that contribute to climate change. Grow bags account for about 70% of this peat."
Nationwide campaign
Compost Works is working with the Community Composting Network on a nationwide campaign. This is aimed at getting builders bags printed with simple instructions on 'How to reuse bag to make leafmould'. To date several nationwide builders' merchants are actively planning to do this. But as this is still under wraps, no names or firm proposals to quote at this stage.