Let’s Talk Trash – an introduction to composting with Compost Club

As part of our No Waste Series, we’re looking into how we can make small but impactful changes to waste less at home and make the most of what we already have in the kitchen and garden. 

One thing we wanted to learn more about is composting, so we reached out to Michael, founder of Compost Club, who gave us some top tips for starting out in the compost world.

 

Composting doesn’t need to be complicated or time-consuming

The trick is using the right system for the right job. I use several composting methods side by side, and together they let me compost almost everything with very little effort. That includes garden waste, food scraps and even materials from keeping chickens and pets. Here are five composting tips to help you get started this year:

1. DON’T FORCE ONE BIN TO DO EVERYTHING

Different waste breaks down in different ways, so one compost bin rarely works for everything. I use Bokashi (more on this later) for food waste, a wormery for fruit and veg scraps, compost tumblers for mixed material and open bays for garden waste. Each system does what it’s best at and composting becomes much easier. Chicken bedding, pet-safe garden waste and high-nitrogen materials all benefit from having the right system rather than being squeezed into one bin.

Quick tip: If something keeps causing smells or flies, it probably needs a different system. In composting we say, “If you smell it, you’re losing it” and the “it” is nitrogen.

2. USE OPEN BAYS FOR BULKY GARDEN WASTE

For grass cuttings, prunings, leaves and larger volumes of material, open compost bays or circular heaps are hard to beat. They handle large volumes, allow good airflow and quietly turn garden waste into compost over time with very little intervention. They’re especially useful if you keep chickens. Used bedding, straw, wood shavings and manure are rich in nitrogen and compost brilliantly when mixed well with carbon materials and can generate heat for faster breakdown.

Quick tip: Mix materials well for better structure and aim to maintain around 50% moisture, good aeration and the right balance of greens to browns. A compost aeration tool makes turning much easier. You could introduce a hollow channel from top to bottom, like a chimney, to act as a lung for passive aeration.

3. LET WORMS HANDLE THE SMALL STUFF

Wormeries are brilliant for raw fruit and vegetable waste. They’re compact, low-maintenance and produce incredibly rich compost. They’re ideal if you generate small amounts of food waste regularly and want fast results without much effort. Avoid adding meat, dairy or pet waste to wormeries, but they’re perfect for plant-based kitchen scraps from busy households. However much you love soil, worms love it more – they have five hearts!

Quick tip: Always top food with a bedding of leaf litter and add around 10% browns to keep flies away and keep your worms happy.

4. Compost tumblers work best when they’re kept moving

Regular turning adds oxygen and speeds up decomposition. I use tumblers to mix food waste (especially Bokashi) with dry materials like wood chips. Shredded cardboard, paper or autumn leaves can work well too. This creates compost far faster than a static bin. Tumblers are also ideal for mixing in small amounts of soiled chicken bedding once it’s been balanced with plenty of carbon. I aim to mix greens and browns 50:50 by volume. In composting, “greens” refer to nitrogen-rich materials (like food scraps, fresh grass clippings and coffee grounds), while “browns” are carbon-rich materials (like dried leaves, straw, shredded cardboard and paper). A balanced mix of greens and browns helps compost break down faster and keeps your pile healthy.

Quick tip: A quick spin every day or two makes a big difference. Fill to about ¾ full, and choose a unit of at least 245 litres capacity.

5. BOKASHI – WHAT IS IT?

Bokashi is a unique composting method that involves fermenting food waste using beneficial microbes. It’s perfect for breaking down materials that traditional compost bins struggle with, like meat, dairy and cooked food. Bokashi works indoors, is mess-free and helps speed up the composting process. Once the food has fermented, you can add it to your garden or another compost system to finish breaking down.

Quick tip: Press food down firmly and keep the lid airtight to avoid smells.

CHICKEN KEEPER BONUS TIP: BOKASHI BEYOND THE BIN 

Bokashi isn’t just useful for composting food waste, it can also play a helpful role for chicken keepers. Used correctly, Bokashi bran can act as a gut-supporting feed additive, helping introduce beneficial microbes into a chicken’s diet (I even feed a bit to my cat). It can also be sprinkled lightly into bedding as an odour suppressant, reducing ammonia smells and improving conditions in the coop.

When Bokashi-treated bedding and manure are added to compost, the fermented microbes help accelerate decomposition, resulting in a more balanced, biologically active compost. That means better soil structure, healthier plants and a stronger soil food web.

Quick tip: Use Bokashi sparingly with chickens. Small amounts go a long way, and it works best as part of a wider composting and soil-building system.

Composting doesn’t have to be perfect – just practical

By using a few simple systems together, you can compost more waste, including food scraps and chicken bedding, faster, with fewer problems. Start small, keep it simple and let nature do the rest. Compost made well will be far superior to anything you can buy commercially, thanks to all those living microbes that power the process. If there’s one thing the soil has taught me, it’s that diversity is resilience. Whether that’s your compost inputs and process, your plants, your animals and even our human communities.

Thanks so much to Michael Kennard, Founder of Compost Club, for these tips. We’re looking forward to trying them out ourselves and hope you do too. You can find out more about composting, as well as details about upcoming workshops and courses at compostclub.online.You can also get 15% off compost on their site with code OMLET15.

 

This entry was posted in Chickens

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