Captain Cleanup’s perfect veggie and herb garden soil recipe
Please make sure you are supervised by an adult and follow the potting mix manufacturer’s instructions. Sometimes potting mix can contain harmful micro-organisms.
Ingredients
- Quarter of a 15 litre block of Coir or coco peat (made from coconut husks)
- 15 litres potting mix
- Two handfuls organic fertiliser
- One handful of blood and bone
- 30 litre pot/grow bag
- Fish and seaweed solution – one to two capfuls per 10 litres of water
- You will also need a dust mask for protection
Method
- First prepare the coco peat. Put the block of coco peat into a wheelbarrow or large container of some kind. Fill half the container with water. Wait till the coco peat absorbs this water. Break it up as much as you can. Repeat this process until all the coco peat is moist throughout.
- Now you are ready to do the mixing. Put on a dust mask. Place equal amounts of the coco peat and potting mix in a 30 litre pot/grow bag. Add the organic fertiliser and the blood and bone. Mix in well.
- Plant your seed or seedlings.
- To keep your plants healthy and strong feed them once a week with fish emulsion and seaweed solution.
Captain Cleanup’s Compost Recipe
Ingredients
- Carbon materials – examples: straw, dead leaves or chopped up dried prunings from trees and bushes
- Nitrogen materials examples: fresh grass clippings, any chopped up green waste from the garden or kitchen
- 30 litres organic poo
- Water
Recipe
- On a 1m square sandy area lay some straw or dry leaves down, 5cm high.
- On top of the straw or leaves put a layer of green grass clippings, 5cm high. Water the layers as you go.
- Every 3 layers throw in several handfuls of organic poo.
- Keep layering until the pile is about a metre high by a metre square.
- Finish off the pile with a layer of brown material to help trap the heat.
That is it! All you have to do now is wait. In two weeks, give the pile a turn with a fork, rake or spade. This helps oxygenate the pile and feed the micro-organisms so that they can continue breaking down the material. Then give the pile a turn once a week for the next four to six weeks. In eight weeks it’ll be ready to use. You beauty!
