I am composting at the current time. Well, undoing the compost heap. That might sound like a simple activity but there is a catch; those spikey creatures that like to live in the compost heap. I have two heaps, the one in use and the other left to rot down. If the word rot somehow sounds negative, then think again. Let’s say the heap structurally reduces, it gets smaller. The top tends not to decompose and the amazing compost itself is somewhere down below. The one heap was pretty poor, hardly decomposed simply because there has been too much rain. I took perhaps 15 buckets of decent compost out. I then turned the heap over, and it will decompose further until autumn. Being so wet, I knew I would not find any composting hedgehogs.

Forked pork

The second heap was a challenge. I saw two hedgehogs by it last autumn. Did they take up residence? Back in the past, I was forking out a compost heap and a lump dropped on my foot. It was a hedgehog, all curled up. Somehow, I had missed him with the fork but it was a salutory lesson. This time, I carefully lifted off the uncomposed top material. That was all the leaves I had raked up last November and they were all a wet mush. However, down below was the promised compost, almost peatlike. Why does that give me such joy? Over three sessions, I took out 30 buckets and that was spread around my fruit bushes. I took great care as I approached the bottom of the heap. However, it was all pretty moist so not suitable for a hedgehog nest.

Composting hedgehogs

Composting is good for the environment. In the past, cold composting was deplored but is now seen as ideal. Just pile the stuff up and mix it occasionally. The earthworms certainly liked it because a lot were present, so much so that a robin often joined me. Also, it is easy to imagine that hedgehogs cannot easily find nest sites. They need to be dry and warm, just like us. They also need access. I cut a hole in my fence to allow them in. That hole has been used by cats and pheasants, so is now an animal highway. Let’s call it the A1, the main road for animals – of the spikey sort!