Compost

I know it's a pathetic thing to get excited about but I've just harvested my first lot of compost. Last year's birthday present of a compost bin - sad but true - has been accepting the vegetable and fruit peel for a few months now and, lo and behold, some usable compost has now been produced and is being dug into the garden as I speak by Mrs T, enjoying a Good Friday Bank Holiday off for the first time since the Messiah rode into Jerusalem.

Lessons. Well we read along the way to avoid over acidic material so citrus fruit peel is a no no but, based on my harvest, corn on the cob will come out the bottom looking pretty much like it went in the top, same as sweet corn does to a digestive system. Why don't they make aeroplane black boxes out of sweet corn? That stuff is a survivor.

Also egg shells need to be broken up into small pieces. Otherwise avoid over stumpy things (broccoli, stalks, tea spoons) and enjoy fertilising your crops with a bucket of worm poo once a fortnight throughout the growing season. I'm a convert.