Get Spring ready with Laverstoke Compost

Is your garden in need of a bit of ‘TLC’ in this rainy start to Spring?

Laverstoke Compost display at Macknade Farm Shop, Faversham

Despite the typical English weather, our customers are gearing up for the Spring and Summer season. Here at Laverstoke, we pride ourselves on quality and our compost is no exception.

When you use high quality compost you don’t have to use artificial fertilisers, the different life in the soil is doing it for you naturally. By using compost you are also doing your bit to protect our fragile planet and help lower your carbon footprint.

Friends of Whitchurch Primary School using Laverstoke compost in their Forest School Programme as part of Ground Force day, where they planted 80 new trees. (Left to Right) Amy, Gareth Ridge, Gethin Ridge, Lucas Judge, Mrs Stevens (Head) and Mrs Lamb (Teacher and Parent). Photo credit: Nancy Judge

 

A handful of good soil has more living things in it than there are people on earth, that’s what makes the nutrients in the soil available to your plants.

 

Situated on the farm, we have a 7 acre purpose built compost site that shreds the garden waste from local councils and landscape gardeners. The whole composting process takes 9 weeks.

  1. We receive public green waste.
  2. The green waste is shredded.
  3. The green waste is piled into long rows called Windrows.
  4. Our compost ‘chefs’ get the right mixture of carbon (wood), nitrogen (grass etc) and moisture. The windrows are regularly turned to increase oxygen, vital for the growth of micro-organisms.
  5. The microbes (bacteria and fungi) break down the organic matter and slowly turn it into compost, temperatures are regulated averaging 65.C which kills any weed seeds or pathogens.
  6. When the ratios are correct, the compost will have a sweet smell. 
  7. Once the compost has matured for around 9 weeks, our screener removes any stones, metal or horrible plastic out and screens it into two grades. One smaller for horticultural use, and a larger for agricultural use.
  8. After this process it is now lovely, clean and sweet smelling compost, ready to be put on gardens, lawns, in fact nearly any plants that need to grow!

 

We’re pleased to say that you can now purchase our PAS100 high quality and home grown compost at Macknade Farm Shop in Faversham.