The previously cleared bed now has 84 leek transplants (grown from seed by my Lovely Mum) and 2 rows of beetroot seeds. At this late stage I might just get enough baby beets to pickle!
The weeds were bagged up (another 5 rubble sacks) and taken to our recycling centre. After dumping them into the appropriate skip we filled up the empty sacks with the free compost that gets made from garden (and food) waste in my council's super duper hot compost system! It's good stuff and did I mention that it's FREE?!!!
We took it back to the plot and promptly filled a new raised bed. £20 from B&Q!! (Verve Large Raised Bed Kit 0.96m) Dead easy to put together! Untreated wood but I'll probably stain the outside to help preserve it. For £20 it's a great deal. In fact I bought 2 more!! 😲😄
I wouldn't have made so much progress without help. I'm still exhausted after doing even a wee bit of physical work so need to keep pacing myself. It's a marathon not a sprint! 🏃
Our council charge to remove garden waste and then sells the compost they make. I make my own ah home to save money.
ReplyDeleteBlimey, that's cheeky of them! I pay to get my brown bin emptied fortnightly (although our newly elected council has pledged to remove the charge) and you can have as much free compost as you want. The recycle centre is just out of town but I like to fill up every time I go
DeleteOur council charges to take garden waste and doesn't offer compost at all 😟
ReplyDeleteSo what do they do with the garden waste? Do they sell the compost to big companies?
DeleteI've no idea. If I thought I would get a reply I would email them. I checked last night before I posted on here. No mention of what happens to what they collect.
DeleteI meant to add your plot is looking great! Your mum is a star.
My mum is a wee star. She's 75 and fitter than me just now!! Maybe email your local MP or councillor to ask what your council does with the waste. I believe your MP has to respond to all constituents' questions!
DeleteWe have a red bin for food and garden waste and you can also have garden waste uplifted free from April to October. Mind you, we pay one of the highest Council Tax charges in Scotland! You are making great progress, Ali, with your Mum’s help but remember to factor in some rest. My daughter has just finished a week of steroids and a new asthma inhaler as her lungs are not quite right after Covid in March. Catriona
ReplyDeleteStirling Council started charging to uplift our brown bin last year. My council tax is already high but I figured paying it was worth it for all the waste I don't want to compost as home composting doesn't kill off some weed seeds. Their super duper hot composter system apparently does. And the compost is free which I didn't realise wasn't the case elsewhere.
DeleteSounds as if leek soup is on the menu!
ReplyDeleteThe raised bed kits really are a bargain when you compare with prices in the garden seed catalogues.
I do love my leeks!! I have 3 of the Harrod Horticulture raised beds at the front of my house. Just the standard/allotment one 1.2m x 1.2m and 45 cm high. One of them is at least 13 years old. Out of interest I looked up the current cost and found it would cost £210 plus £31 for the capping and £18.95 for the liner!!! Pretty sure I paid around £50 for the whole thing back then and thought that was extravagant!
DeleteYes my leeks have just gone in too, although I didn't grow them from seed they were in the 'dead plants' section of the trolley at Sainsbury's and cost me £1. They soon came back to life when I gave them a drink.
ReplyDeleteFree compost is a brilliant idea from your council, and reusing your rubble sacks over and over is a very good way to do it.
My mum rescued a lemon balm from Morrisons. She sent me a before and after watering photo only a few hours apart. The difference was amazing!!! I always laugh to myself at the compost heap as I'm always the youngest person there!!! Young folk don't seem to want free compost!
DeleteOur recycling centre(Perth & Kinross) has free compost but it's limited to 2 x 25kg bags per person. We have been paying for garden waste bins for about five years now and the price has increased each year, currently £40 per bin. Interesting how different areas operate. I'm sure you will have bumped crops in no time 😁. Fiona
ReplyDeleteOurs is £35 per year or part year as they only issue them to run to the following April. As far as I know there's no limit to the amount of compost you can take. Sometimes they ask for proof of address as you enter the site but the compost is at the last bit before the exit and it's unmanned. There are cameras all over the site so I guess if it gets abused they've got your car reg number to follow up
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