Welcome to the Garden Guru!

At The Compost Shop we only stock the best compost available that is full of rich nutrients. For this reason we would suggest sticking to our already highly nutritious compost and not adding anything to it. That said, there are a few natural ingredients that should not do the compost any harm and that can be used if you are attempting to make your own compost. There are also some other ingredients that we suggest you actively avoid putting in your compost heap.

It is fundamentally important to keep an even blend of wet, green and dry, brown materials. Green materials constitute fruit and vegetable scraps, egg shells, tea bags and freshly mown grass clippings. These should all be fine to put in your compost heap but should be balanced out by dry, brown materials including dry leaves, dry grass clippings, nuts, pinecones and shredded newspaper. Work around maintaining a basic 50/50 ratio between green and brown materials, although many suggest the perfect ratio is 60/40 in favour of green.

There are a few things that it is ill-advised to put in your compost, and although some people will swear by these products we highly recommend avoiding them. The first of these is animal waste from your pets. This should be avoided if you are looking to plant vegetable or fruit plants and should only be added to your compost if you are growing solely ornamental plants. If you are making compost at home also avoid large amounts of meat and bones from animals and dairy products, oils, fats and so on. When making compost at home you are not likely to be able to generate sufficient temperature to properly break down meat or bones into compost.

Do not under any circumstances add diseased plants, weeds or wet grass to your compost. Doing this can cause these diseased plants and weeds to grow amongst your compost and among the plants that you are trying to grow. Anything that is not a natural product should not be added to compost. Synthetic pesticides and other inorganic materials such as plastics and cleaning chemicals should not ever be added to compost. Paper should be fine to compost but coloured paper or printed paper should be avoided as the ink will likely contain toxins which will be harmful to the compost.

Making your own compost at home can be a great way to keep down the cost of growing plants. What many of our customers do is mix their home-grown compost with our professionally produced compost to create a blend of nutrient rich compost. Turf Growers are the experts in creating garden compost so trust us to provide you with the best compost and the best hints and tips to ensure great plants every time.

If you live in a flat or a place that doesn't have a gardent or plant some flowerbeds, this doesn't mean you have to miss out on all of the fun of growing and nurturing your own plants to make your outside space look stunning!

There are so many varieties of plants you can choose from to create a bright and colourul summer selection or an evergreen perennial range of plants to give some year-round character to your window box or courtyard. Choosing a quality compost to start your pot with is paramount to their survival and will ensure that the plants have all of the nutrients and minerals they need to thrive. 

Most herbs are easy and rewarding plants to maintain and grow. They can grow either indoors or outdoors as part of your garden, provided that the weather is not too cold or frosty. You can use any multi purpose compost to grow herbs successfuly, making them an ideal beginners plant for new gardeners. You can buy compost online for great prices from many compost suppliers like us if you want to expand your herb garden.

Possibly the biggest advantage of growing your own herbs, is that by using freshly pruned leaves you maintain a lot more of the taste than store bought, giving you a better product at a fraction of the cost. Here is a short guide on a few easy herbs that can be used in your cooking:

Ginger

Ginger is a widely used plant known for its spicy fragrance and unique health properties. It’s also very simple to cultivate. All you need to do is buy a chunk of ginger and cover it in soil in a container. Keep the soil moist, water when dry. To harvest pull the entire plant, simply cut off what you need and then re-plant. The taste of the ginger depends on its harvest. The older plant has a hot taste, whereas a young plant is more mild and succulent.

With people all over the country tightening their belts, now is the perfect time to become self-sustainable in 2015 by growing your own veg in your garden, or even on your windowsill if you don't have a garden or outdoor space. 

We provide veg kits that will get you started growing fruit and veg for your family to eat year round, saving valuable pounds in your wallet and probably your stomach too. There's nothing more satisfying than harvesting and eating your home-grown fruit and veg, whether it's making a apple and blackberry pie or mashing your own spuds for the Sunday roast. 

All of our starter boxes will include a baby plant which we will deliver to your door when they season is right for you to start growing them. Once you have tasted success with our starter packs we are sure that you will continue to grow your veg year round.

One thing about setting up your veg plot is key, the compost has to be right. The advantage of most veg is that they are able to survive in all but the most extreme composts, with ones that are too acidic or alkaline often stunting growth, even if they do not kill the plant. Results with all kinds of compost may vary, but our selection of organic compost is a great place to start. You could also take a look at our peat free compost and multi purpose compost to find the right one for your plot.

A great place to start is with herbs. Herbs are cheap and will provide year round flavour if looked after well. They are hardy enough to be grown anywhere from the window ledge to a flowerbed, making them an ideal starter plant for the budding farmer.

Our herb starter packs include all the main tastes that will improve any dish, such as parsley, rosemary, basil, chives and mint. Once you have got the hang of herbs you could move on to something that's a bit more challenging. 

Our range of veg garden starter packs varies depending on the kind of veg you want to grow. We have options for the windowbox grower, ideal for flats or small spaces; right ot the large veg garden pack that includes numerous plants of cauliflower, lettuces, green beans, onions and more.

A great starter pack to introduce you to growing veg, especially in spring, is the salad garden pack. This includes everything you will find in most salads such as tomatoes, onions and lettuce; as well as some more exotic plants like radishes, dwarf beans and even giant red mustard! 

Getting the hang of self-sustaining your beg garden takes time, but it will all be worthwhile when you are harvesting a bumper crop for your summer salads or winter root veg. If you have an excess of produce, why not sell it at a local market or even offer it to the neighbours.