International Compost Awareness Week

International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) is the largest and most comprehensive education initiative of the compost industry.

It is celebrated nationwide and in other countries each year during the first full week of May.

Started in Canada in 1995, ICAW has continued to grow as more people, businesses, municipalities, schools and organisations are recognising the importance of composting and the long-term benefits from organics recycling.

The goal of the program is to raise the awareness of the public regarding the benefits of using compost.

The program includes a poster contest in the Autumn and activities and events held during the week in May.

Throughout the week of ICAW, community and business events are held to encourage and celebrate composting.

Composting in Spring:

Spring is a great time for composting. If you have a compost bin that collected material over the winter, then you should expect it to begin to warm up. As temperatures rise, your compost bin will start to cook naturally and may create useable compost in 21 days. This means your compost may be ready for use when you begin your spring planting.

When is compost ready for use?

Ideally, compost is ready for use when it looks crumbly and smells like earth. Finished compost must have broken down completely and must not emanate putrid odor. However, newer compost may need more time to break down. Adding it directly to your plant will tie up nitrogen that the plants need, making it unavailable for use immediately. Older compost, on the other hand, is one that has been thoroughly broken down. This compost contains readily available nutrients that are essential to the soil. They can be used immediately on your plant. Regardless, all compost once applied will continue its natural process of decomposition and breaking down into rich soil.

When is the best time to add compost to your garden?

Late Autumn is the best time to add compost to your garden. This is because compost breaks down slowly and needs to be worked on by the Soil Food Web before it becomes available to plants. Contrary to popular belief, compost is not very soluble so you don’t have to be worried about the nutrients going to waste. If compost is applied in the Autumn, the soil food web will work on incorporating the compost in the soil, making it available for your plant when growth begins in the spring. You can add compost to your pile in spring as well. You only need to make sure that it is applied at least 2 weeks before you begin to plant. This will ensure that it breaks down considerably before the plant growing season.