List of things you can compost.

Lawn clippings, hedge cuttings, weeds, lawn edgings, old fruit and vegetables, vegetable peelings, potato peelings, old bedding plants, twigs, shredded newspaper and cardboard, nettles, raked leaves, almost any green plant material you might find in your garden.

List of things you cannot compost.

Meat, bones, animal mess, cat litter, dead animals, large branches, cooked food at anything that won’t break down easily.

Can you compost raspberry canes? You could certainly use them to make a base for your compost pot, they are quite woody and tough though some may need a lot of time to break down.

Can you compost potato haulms? You can as long as they do not having disease.

Can I compost cat Litter made from sawdust? If you’re going to have a very efficient compost heap that gets hot then you probably could, for most people you probably shouldn’t. You certainly shouldn’t put any animal waste on from pets that have been treated with medicines such as worming tablets.

Can I put old newspaper on my compost heap? You can, but don’t the one in large amounts, you might want to shred it, or soak it to make sure it gets the really damp.

Do I have to turn my compost heap? No! You don’t have to, but when you come to use the compost heap you will find that some of it hasn’t got it down so you should put this aside for your next compost bin.

Do I need more than one compost bin? If you have room for more than one, it’s the next one way of creating a composting system. You can fill one bed and leave it much too slowly for the other. When you’ve let one pile compost decompose you can use the compost and put the bad compost in the other pile.

It takes me a long time for the compost bin, is this a problem? No, you will just take longer to make compost. If you have a small garden, or only make a very small amount of waste, then you might consider a word tree as this is a more efficient option for small quantities of household vegetable waste.

I have a large lawn, I end up with a huge pile of lawn clippings, will be rot down into compost? It will do, even if you just put in a huge pile and leave it. It will probably go through quite slimy revolting stage first, but if you have a large garden leave in a far corner and stop worrying about it. It might take a couple of years to fully compost, but it will become home to lots of worms who break down the grass. One grass cuttings compost heap that I’ve seen hacks the largest worms I’ve ever seen!

rhubarb from Suttons
Growing rhubarb is relatively easy. You have to prepare a bed for it because it will stay there long time. You should dig the bed well incorporating lots of well rotted compost or manure. Plant the rhubarb spaced as the instructions state. Rhubarb will grow year after year and the plants will spread out, you will eventually need to thin out the plants. You should also apply plenty of well rotted manure or compost each year. Rhubarb is relatively easy, takes no particular attention. And you will be picking it for years to come. Most plants require you to let them get established first, which might mean no sticks for the first year, and only one or two sticks from each plant the next year. But after that you should be good to go.

Buy these rhubarb collections from Suttons
The Suttons Rhubarb Tasters Collection – 3 delicious varieties, £9.95.
Right now Rhubarb is incredibly popular in British homes and kitchens.
Rhubarb is versatile – you can use it to make puddings, jams and even as an accompaniment to meat and fish dishes. But it is difficult to find in shops.
Easy to grow – Rhubarb is incredibly easy to grow. Once established it comes up year after year with little attention. Putting your rhubarb at the back of a border provides decorative foliage too.
The Rhubarb Tasters Collection – At Suttons we have put together a special Rhubarb Tasters Collection with our three most popular varieties:
Timperley (Early) (picture 1) – Capable of production from February right through to October. Delicious, tart flavour.
Suttons Seedless (picture 2) – A good later variety, known for good yield and flavour.
Victoria (picture 3) – A good all round variety, freezes very well so you can have Rhubarb all year round.
Buy two collections get one FREE! Each Rhubarb Tasters Collection consists of one plant of each variety for £9.95. However buy two collections and we will send you one free – SAVE £9.95. (Exact despatch time is subject to weather conditions as rhubarb can not be sent in freezing conditions.)

Making compost is something that every gardener should do. A compost bin can be made from old wooden pallets fits together, or be a brand-new plastic one bought through some of the many discounted schemes local authorities run. Contact local council to see if they were a discount scheme on compost bins.

Or you can buy one online from Suttons – Compost bins at Suttons

Where should you put your compost bin? It should go somewhere where you don’t mind visiting every day with vegetable peelings from the kitchen. If it’s too far away from the kitchen then you’re just not bother using it. It shouldn’t be to close though because it can get bit whiffy if things go wrong.
What can you compost? You can compost almost all the green matter from your garden. There are arguments for and against putting in damaged plants that have infection. If you run your compost bin hot enough, then it should destroy any problem material, but most small compost bins won’t do this. For most small gardens the sensible advice be to throw away disease plant material. For those with bigger garden it should be okay to put things in the summer should build in a big stack and it gets hot enough to destroy things.

You can compost all your lawn cuttings, you could add shredding is of newspaper and cardboard, you can add other plant material like stems and prunings, and you can add lots of vegetable kitchen waste. You shouldn’t put meat or bones in the compost, as these may attract rats who will then set up home within your compost bin.

If you add too much of one type of material, then your compost bin won’t work as well. In a perfect world you would collect different types of material and then built a compost heap in layers. For most people this is impractical and just throwing everything in as it arrives is the best way to deal with things. You might then need to turn the compost over at least once before it’s ready.

Your compost bin can be in the shade, after all the Sunni areas in your garden at best to serve the plants you want to grow. A little prevent it getting to where in rainy weather, although some liquid is required for good composting. Some gardeners believe that adding urine to your compost heap speeds up the process. One TV gardener who is no longer with us, claimed to do this!

Older more woody material is slower to rot. If you have a garden shredder, then shredding this type of material before adding it to your compost heap is a great idea. It will speed up the decomposition and create great compost quickly.

Some plants are supposed to be great for activating compost. Nettles are supposed to be a great plan to put your compost bin. Just wear gloves when picking them. You should avoid putting in plants with thick roots like dandelions. It’s probably best to avoid putting Dandelion heads in as well as they will go to seed and then you’re just creating a perfect environment for them to replicate.

As long as you avoid taproot weeds and flowering heads of weeds you should produce good compost. Sometimes there will be bits that don’t decompose straightaway, safety is for your next heap. You will be amazed as the how much grass cuttings compost down quickly in summer. This is probably a good job as the lawn constantly needs mowing all summer long.

Potatoes at Suttons
Potatoes are fun to grow and can be grown even in a small garden. For an allotment or large garden you can try lots of different types and grow some really delicious spuds! The joy of digging up your own new potatoes and getting them into a pot very quickly will show you the advantages of growing them yourself!

Time to decide what potatoes you’ll be growing this year!

Speciality Salad & New Potato Collection
£12.95
Buy Both Salad & New Potato Collection and Mashed & Baked Potatoes Collection and Save £5.95

For the freshest potatoes of the year, why not try our collection of four different varieties that are sure to please? Charlotte – The classic salad potato, Rocket – Earliest to crop, Vanessa – One of the very few pink skinned earlies and Nicola – Excellent in salads or sautéed. All taste delicious with a knob of butter or with freshly chopped mint or chives.

Delivered as 1 kg tubers of Charlotte, Nicola, Rocket and Vanessa
Code: 228360

Buy Both Salad & New Potato Collection and Mashed & Baked Potatoes Collection and Save £5.95
Code: 228385

Mashed & Baked Potatoes Collection
£12.95
Buy Both Salad & New Potato Collection and Mashed & Baked Potatoes Collection and Save £5.95

Whether you prefer perfect creamy mash or crisp baked potatoes, these varieties all chosen for their heavy crops will feed the family for months! King Edward – unsurpassed for roasting, Rooster – An excellent all-round potato, Picasso – Easy to grow with good disease resistance and Cara – King of the Bakers.

Delivered as 1 kg tubers of King Edwards, Rooster, Picasso and Cara
Code: 228364

Buy Both Salad & New Potato Collection and Mashed & Baked Potatoes Collection and Save £5.95
Code: 228385

Super Healthy Potato – Mayan Twilight – with Growing Pouches
£9.95
Grow Your Own Peruvian Gold!
This variety boils in half the time of a normal potato.

Mayan Twilight is a new super healthy variety combining the productivity of the modern potato with the highly nutritious and buttery texture of the traditional Peruvian potato. A single portion of this superb potato contains more vitamin C than an apple and more fibre than a bowl of bran flakes! It boils in half the time of a normal potato and because of its natural creamy flavour requires less butter, so overall it’s a delicious and healthy option.

Delivered as 3 Growing Pouches and 12 tubers of Mayan Twilight
Code: 228368
Bargain Patio Potato Growing Kit
Only £14.95!
HARVEST YOUR POTATOES IN LESS THAN 7 WEEKS!

Potato planters are the easy way to grow potatoes. In fact each planter is capable of producing up to 9lbs of healthy potatoes. These sturdy soft sided bags are ideal for growing a delicious crop of potatoes on the patio. With three potato varieties (Swift, Vivaldi and Charlotte) especially chosen from our patio growing potato trials for their high yields of delicious tasting new potatoes, we are certain that you will get a fantastic crop. Even better… why not re-use the planters later in the year for tomatoes or carrots or grow a second crop of potatoes in Autumn!

Delivered as 3 Potato Planters + 5 tubers of Swift (1st early), Vivaldi (2nd early) and Charlotte (Salad)
Code: 210160

Refill Potato Kit
£4.95
Just need the seed potato tubers?

If you already have the containers then all you need is our refill pack to plant them up again – 5 tubers each of:
Rocket – Earliest to crop…
Vivaldi – The super low calorie potato…
Charlotte – The classic salad potato…

Delivered as 5 tubers each of Rocket, Vivaldi and Charlotte.
Code: 228357

Seed saving hints to help in the credit crunch — grow your own.

You can grow press at home very simply. It brightens up salads can go on sandwiches and is very cheap and easy. You can buy Crest seeds at some supermarkets and all you have to do is planted on wet kitchen roll or tissue. Keep it down and within a couple of days it will sprout and develop little green leaves. It’s at this point when you harvest it by cutting with scissors. It’s very quick and easy and can really brightened up a door sandwich. You can grow salad in the same sort of way and you pick them as micro-leaves.

You can grow salad in grow bags outside on your patio once spring arrives. It is easy and quick also. The biggest problem you will have is stopping slugs from eating it, but you can do this by keeping it off the ground.

If you have a window box you can grow herbs. In fact if you have a windowsill you can grow basil very easily. Basil was to be grown in pots. You can buy pots of basil in the vegetable section at the supermarket. These can be kept alive some time with careful watering and even repotting. Chives bought the same place can also be repotted. These can be put in the garden where they will grow for years and years. Fruit bushes and trees make a good investment although somewhat more long-term than growing herbs. Once trees start through they will continue to fruit for many years. You can grow many fruits in your own garden including apple, pear, plum and damsons.

If you don’t have room for fruit tree then consider the wild fruit that is freely available along prowls and very quiet roads. You can find blackberries in the autumn and these delicious fresh water jam. There are also rosehips that you can use to make a syrup. You may also be lucky and find a hazelnut tree in the wild.

Raspberries are easy to grow and are a must for every garden!

You can buy raspberry canes at Unwins – Raspberry Glen Ample Canes and Glen
Ample Canes are summer fruiting and Raspberry Joan J Canes is Autumn fruiting.

Raspberries could well be the easiest fruit to grow. The canes are vigorous
and will grown in most soils. They prefer sunshine though to get the fruit ripe
but can be grown against a south facing wall. They prefer a moist soil but are
happy enough in a dryer one if they’re watered during the growing season. They
like to be a neutral soil but will grow in a slightly acidic one better than
other plants. They can also cope well with a little shade as they naturally
grow in wooded areas.

They spread by throwing up shoots and producing new canes outside of where
you want them though. You can cut these off if you want tidy rows or leave them
to grow a little and then dig the new canes up and move them to a new area.
If you have a wild corner of the garden you can let them get on with it, but
be warned, an untidy raspberry patch is harder to pick fruit in.

Canes need cutting down in the autumn after fruiting has finished. This can
be late in the season and it’s not unusual for raspberry plants to still be
fruiting towards December although the lack of sunshine makes for a less delicious
berry.

Traditionally they are grown on a supported wire system with two posts holding
three wires at the bottom, middle and the top. The canes are then tied to this
to keep them neat and make it easier to pick the berries. Autumn fruiting berries
only need the bottom two wires. For a smaller garden don’t bother with this
row method. Plant them together around a sturdy stake or tree post.

A few weeks before planting dig in some well rotted manure of compost but reserve
some for mulching. They will benefit from a thick mulch as this will help retain
water in the soil.

Plant to the level they were grown at. Look for the dirt mark on the stem.
Spread the roots out carefully and fill in with soil. Make sure they’re planted
firmly.

Pruning time depends on the season they fruit. Prune the summer fruiting canes
during the autumn and clip them back as close to the ground as you can. You
should remove any canes in excess of 8 per plant. Leave the strongest canes.
Cut back any excessive growth in the winter so that they are not more than 15cm
taller than the top wire.

Prune autumn varieties when you clip back the tops of the summer fruiting ones.
Cut them again to ground level. Tie in canes as they grow to keep the rows neat.

Ensure they have fertilizer and water and they will reward you with a good
crop. You should learn how to make jam as this is a great way to preserve raspberries.
Pick regularly though else the fruit gets squishy and messy to pick.