UK Gardeners Urged To Do 1 Job This January

I get it, I get it ― snow is falling across much of the UK this week, with chillier climes predicted next week. Little is blooming, nothing is fruiting ― but still, your garden has demands. 

In his blog, gardening pro and TV presenter Monty Don revealed that if you have a compost pile in your garden, you should still consider turning it ― despite the cold. 

The horticulturalist warns that “It is important to turn your compost, even in the coldest weather (and it is a good job to warm yourself on a frosty day).” 

“Even though we think of the process of turning and making compost as heating it up in fact the important thing to do is to add oxygen and this stimulates bacteria to digest the material, be it kitchen waste or Christmas packaging, which in turn generates heat, even in mid-winter,” he added.

So, here’s how to turn your compost in the winter:

There are a couple of methods 

“There are various ways to turn compost – the most thorough being to empty the bin then refill it, or to move the contents from one bin to another. But both of these take space and can be difficult,” the Royal Horticultural Society says. 

But if that’s not possible, try stirring and turning the compost with a gardening fork, “introducing air and mixing the different ingredients to the best of your ability.” 

Then, Monty Don says, you can try completing other compost-related January tasks. 

“At this time of year I also like to spread a layer of finished compost on any vegetable beds that are not carrying a crop so it can be worked into the soil by worms and weather, ready for sowing and planting in a few months time,” he says. 

And finally, eager gardeners may want to “sieve compost and bag it up ready to add to potting compost ready for the flurry of sowing in spring.” 

Just don’t allow to cold snap to affect the hard-won quality of your compost...