GIVE BOKASHI COMPOSTING A GO
With all that food waste coming up over Christmas, I’m just delighted to have been given a bokashi composter to try out by wigglywigglers.co.uk.
I have been using it for a month or so and love the smell of the live bokashi bran used to activate it.
I was sent a value pack that includes two composting bins, so you can always have one on the go (price from £69.95). You simply add a 2cm layer of chopped food waste, about the size of a filled kitchen caddy. As a family of five we always have too much to fit in the council food waste bin, so I simply put the leftovers into my composter, then add a couple of scoops of the bran.
There is a tool to press scraps down to flatten them and a tap enabling you to drain off excess fluid easily. It is all rather satisfying.
Once the bin is full, you leave it for a couple of weeks to let the microbes in the bran break down the food waste before it is ready to use.
You can add it to your garden compost bin or wormery or dig it in directly to improve your soil.
As a family of five we always have too much to fit in the council food waste bin, so I simply put the leftovers into my composter, then add a couple of scoops of the bran.
DEN FOR AMPHIBIANS
Toads, frogs, and newts like a cool, moist place to hibernate.
Make a den by digging a hole in an unused corner of your lawn about 30 to 40cm deep.
Line it with moss and fill with sticks and stones, criss-crossing them to create hidey holes.
Cover the den with turf, leaving an entrance for amphibians to get in and out. It’ll last for a few years.
Don’t mow over it.
Toads, frogs, and newts like a cool, moist place to hibernate
PLANT A COLOURFUL CRAB APPLE TREE
Compact crab apples have pretty blossom in spring and glossy fruit in the winter months, providing food for wildlife.
Plant bareroot trees now so long as the soil is not frozen or waterlogged. Malus sylvestris ‘Evereste’, is compact with blush white flowers and orange fruit.
Malus ‘Red Sentinel’ has cherry red fruit often used in Christmas decorations.
Compact crab apples have pretty blossom in spring and glossy fruit in the winter months, providing food for wildlife
PLANT OF THE WEEK
IRIS UNGUICULARIS MARY BARNARD
This award-winning cultivar of the Algerian iris is an evergreen perennial which comes into flower in midwinter.
It is named after the woman who first collected it in Algeria in 1937 and has fragrant deep violet flowers with slivers of gold in the centre of the petals, that can last until early spring.
This diminutive iris is happiest somewhere sheltered and well-drained such as the foot of a south facing wall and prefers an alkaline to neutral soil.
It grows to around 25cm high, with slender dark green foliage.
Iris Unguicularis Mary Barnard is named after the woman who first collected it in Algeria in 1937 and has fragrant deep violet flowers with slivers of gold in the centre of the petals, that can last until early spring
READER’S QUESTION
How can I stop squirrels from stealing bird food?
The best advice is to invest in a squirrel-proof bird feeder
Mrs C. McSweeney, Lincs
I was looking out into our garden the other day and saw what I thought was a rag hanging from a tree.
It turned out to be a squirrel, helping itself to our suet bird feeder.
The best advice is to invest in a squirrel-proof bird feeder and position it at least 6ft from trees and fences to prevent squirrels from jumping on to it.
I quite like seeing squirrels in our garden, so if you do too, you might want to consider putting out a separate food source just for them.