Shropshire Master Composters

International Compost Awareness Week starts today and runs until Saturday 9th May. To mark this important event in the composting calendar Garden Organic and the Norfolk Master Composters are hosting a FREE Introduction to Home Composting webinar on Wednesday 6th May at 7pm. Book your spot here: https://www.ticketsource.com/norfolk-master-composters/t-ejjrmkr

Large numbers of ants could be an indication that your compost is too dry. While they can be a nuisance, ants are not a serious problem in your compost bin and can actually be beneficial to the composting process. Add more nitrogen and moisture rich 'greens' to your compost bin to make it a less desirable environment for ants to build a nest and you will find they will naturally move on. If your compost has a lot of ants during a particularly dry spell, you could also add some water to your compost to keep it moist and adding material often and mixing it in well will make it less welcoming to ants wanting to make a nest as they will not want to be disturbed.

Keep following for more composting and food waste reduction tips from Garden Organic.

For more on composting...
https://linktr.ee/gardenorganiccomposting

For more on food waste...
https://linktr.ee/gardenorganicfoodwaste

Flies in compost aren’t a bad thing, they are just one of the many important composting creatures that help turn your organic waste into wonderful compost. However they can be unpleasant in high numbers, especially during a warm dry weather spell, so if it's making you dread your trip down to the compost bin you can reduce them by covering your fruit and veg scraps with soil, sawdust, straw, newspaper/shredded paper or just some dryer garden waste as you add it.

Keep following for more composting and food waste reduction tips from Garden Organic.

For more on composting...
https://linktr.ee/gardenorganiccomposting

For more on food waste...
https://linktr.ee/gardenorganicfoodwaste

Next week is International Compost Awareness Week (3rd - 9th May): join Garden Organic and the Norfolk Master Composters, on 6th May at 7pm, for an Introduction to Home Composting webinar. Book your spot here: https://www.ticketsource.com/norfolk-master-composters/t-ejjrmkr

The Master Composters will be offering composting advice in Pontesbury this Saturday in the village hall. There's lots of activities and things to see in the Pontesbury Community Garden and in the The Pavilion Community Hub And Library too - pop down and celebrate all things green this weekend.
Garden Organic

Free composting webinar! Wednesday 6th May 2026 at 7:00PM
Do you compost at home? Have you thought about it but have been put off by the thought of things like smells or rats? Join us and our partner project Norfolk Master Composters for an introduction to composting webinar. Whether you're a beginner or just curious, we'll bust the myths and answer any questions you have about managing your garden and food waste successfully and safely at home during International Compost Awareness Week 2026. Garden Organic Garden Organic in Gloucestershire Cumbria Master Composters Garden Organic in Buckinghamshire

Book your FREE ticket here: https://www.ticketsource.com/norfolk-master-composters/introduction-to-home-composting/e-qgdbkp

*Job vacancy!* We're looking for a Community Engagement Officer to work collaboratively and proactively with project colleagues, stakeholders and volunteers in Shropshire.

Your role will include:

- Identifying opportunities to reach audiences in their local communities.
- Designing, developing and delivering sessions for a range of audiences with the principle aims of raising awareness for waste reduction and promoting the principles of organic growing.
- Working with volunteers, and collecting evidence and data from them to inform project reports.

If this sounds like something you'd like to be involved with, apply at https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/who-we-are/work-with-us/community-engagement-officer-shropshire. Closing date: 4 May.

Photo: Gavin Dickson

Comfrey is a remarkable plant and the organic gardener's best friend. Your comfrey will be starting to grow vigorously at this time of year so as soon as there are plenty of large leaves on your plant, you can start to harvest them. Comfrey's foliage is mineral rich containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium as well as trace elements drawn up through its deep tap root. The flowers are also beneficial and attract an array of pollinators. You can use comfrey in a variety of ways:

As a compost activator to produce enriched compost; To make a liquid feed or concentrate for pots, containers or hungry veg plants; Chopped up as a fertilising mulch.

Keep following for more composting and food waste reduction tips from Garden Organic.

For more on composting...
https://linktr.ee/gardenorganiccomposting

For more on food waste...
https://linktr.ee/gardenorganicfoodwaste

Nettles are a good compost activator when young and fresh, as the leaves are full of nitrogen, so are a great thing to cut down at this time of year and add to you compost heap or bin. Be careful composting the roots as they may not break down fully unless you get your compost to really high temperatures and can cause the nettles to re-grow once you have added the compost to your garden.

Keep following for more composting and food waste reduction tips from Garden Organic.

For more on composting...
https://linktr.ee/gardenorganiccomposting

For more on food waste...
https://linktr.ee/gardenorganicfoodwaste

We're in the OsNosh - Oswestry Community Kitchen garden at the moment sorting the compost and weeding, pop down and join us if you're free!