title inst
cksmall hfsmall hbsmall

1

3

4

Curly’s Compost
is a magnificent rich blend of aged turkey, cow and stable mulch that has been bulk composted in windrows. With regular turning the mix reaches 60 °C which eliminates weed seeds and pathogens and results in a worm-friendly non-smelly compost ready for the garden.

Packed with all nutrients needed for healthy and productive plants, it has been tested and found to be pH neutral and the compost process ensures no flies, no smell, no burning effect on plants.

Curly’s Compost
is suitable for:

  • Vegetable gardening soil enrichment
  • Flowering plants and trees booster
  • Super garden mulch
  • Lawn revitalizer
  • Potting mix additive
  • Organic gardening
  • Encouraging garden worms
  • Natural fertiliser

Curly’s Compost Supply

Available in 20kg bags which can be purchased directly at Penrose, just south of Bundanoon in the Southern Highlands (by appointment please).

Contact Curly and Margie Charlwood by phone 02 4884 4115 or email

Bagged compost is conveniently available from these selected nursery stockists:

  • Bundanoon Bloomery
  • Mt Murray Nursery, Moss Vale
  • Marulan Produce
  • Mittagong Garden Centre
  • Welby Garden Centre
  • Harris Farm Bowral

And at the Bowral Public School Markets on the 2nd Saturday of the month (bar January).


Curly’s Compost Process

Curly trucks in the raw materials and sets them out in windrows at his Penrose property. The ingredients - aged turkey, cow and stable mulch - begin to decompose mainly under the action of mesophilic bacteria. As the pile heats up these give way to the heat-loving thermophilic bacteria which accelerate the composting. The piles are mixed and turned to aerate the material to maintain the composting rate as the main thermophilic workers are aerobic and need lots of oxygen to continue to function effectively. The turning also ensures that all seeds are cooked and broken down. The mixing and turning is repeated up to eight times depending on weather conditions. As the hot phase finishes and the heap cools again the mesophilic bacteria reactivate to finish the process.
The pH or acidity of the pile changes from slightly acidic at the start to more acidic as the bacteria make acidic by-products, then when the theromophilic bacteria take over they produce ammonia which brings the mix back to neutral. Curly regularly checks the temperature and smell of the composted manure till the mix has cooled and the manure smell has turned to a rich earthy aroma. "I know when the mix is ready cos the compost worms tell me." says Curly. "I don't know where they come from but they turn up by the thousands."
Then it's time to enlist Margie to help bag the rich organic fertiliser with their bulk load bagging machine.

5

6

7