The Stansfield Family
NHS project manager, Sheinaz Stansfield lives with her husband Michael and their children Aleisha, aged six, and Joshua, aged four. They moved to North Farm in Throckley eleven years ago and it is hard to believe that this picturesque location is less than half an hour from metropolitan Newcastle upon Tyne. Sheinaz works four days a week and Mike is self-employed. How long have you been composting?
For over 10 years.What made you start composting?
We've always been supporters of recycling, when we moved to the farm house and took on the extensive grounds, composting seemed an obvious choice. The garden was overgrown, and it made sense to compost rather than trudge large amounts of clippings to the recycling centre. Mike bought a shredder and we started a large, open, compost pile.Then we took one of Geoff Hamiltons' top tips to speed up composting by building a beehive-style bin. Unfortunately it was way too small for our needs so we started to buy compost bins from the council through the WRAP scheme. We now have five compost bins which are always full. The compost is used in all parts of the garden.
Did you find it easy to get started? Or did you have any problems at first?
We find composting generally very easy. Because of our busy lives we probably don't always manage to turn the compost as often as we should, but we produce an adequate supply of compost for our own needs.Do you regularly put in kitchen waste as well as garden waste? If so, do you use a kitchen caddy?
Yes, we have three small collection bins in the kitchenIs your compost bin doing well now?
Yes, it's great. We even started a wormery under our kitchen sink with a few red worms from our existing compost heap. We quickly had to up-size to a larger bin as it was so successful.Are you pleased with the results in your garden by using your own compost? Any examples?
Well, we enjoy the fruits of our labours at the dinner table with home grown fruits, vegetables and herbs regularly on the menu. We have lots of excess produce which I share with friends in the village and colleagues at work. Mike also has the job of turning the compost, which is great for keeping him fit!Do you compost throughout the year?
Yes, we have a ready supply of compost all year round.Finally, do you have any tips to give people about composting, which you've found useful?
The advice I would give to new composters is to give it a try. It's easier than it sounds. Most of our knowledge about traditional composting has been gained from watching gardening programmes and reading - Geoff Hamilton and Bob Flowerdew are my gardening heroes. However, the majority of information on worm composting came from the internet.It’s great to know exactly what went into the organic matter that feeds our plants which in turn feed us and our children.
