Recycling your garden and household waste and turning it into compost is one of the very best things you can do as a gardener. Compost is easy to make, costs very little in time or effort and is environmentally friendly too

Garden compost - it looks like rich, dark soil - is an excellent, free fertiliser so your plants will grow better. Spread out over your flower or vegetable beds, compost will help stop weeds and improve the structure of your soil. This means it will hold water better and let plant roots go deeper into the earth in search of moisture. So less need for watering. What's more, making compost means you'll be cutting down the amount of waste you send to landfill. In fact, it's hard to see why everyone isn't doing it.

It could be because composting has been surrounded by a lot of mystique when it's really very easy. At its simplest, it just means combining all your waste and leaving it to rot down. Of course, that can take time but the good news is there are ways of speeding up the process.

Compost bins
The only equipment that's essential is a garden fork for turning your compost but a bin of some sort can help keep things contained.

If you have a small garden, a basic plastic composter - they look a bit like Daleks - will keep your compost contained and regulate the amount of moisture and heat. They are light, easy to move and work well. Many councils supply these at low cost and, for a little extra, you can opt for one with an opening at the base. This makes it easier to get at the rotted-down compost while the top layers are still fresh.

If you've a bit more space, you can make yourself some bins out of pallets nailed together, straw bales stacked up, or chicken wire supported by strong corner posts. Don't forget to leave access to the front for getting the compost out once it's crumbly and broken down and ready to use.

Probably the best system, though, is a set of three wooden compost bins (bought or home-made). Having three means you can turn the compost from one bin to another and aerate it which is one of the keys to producing good compost more quickly. You start filling the second bin when the first is full, and use the spare one as space to turn the first one into and carry on maturing.

What goes in
Basically, pretty much anything that rots will turn into compost. The trick is to get a good mix of ingredients. A healthy compost heap contains a balance of

• dry (carbon-rich) materials (eg non-woody hedge clippings, ripped-up cardboard or paper (not glossy or coloured), stalky debris, straw


• wet (nitrogen-rich) material (eg lawn cuttings, young weeds, raw (uncooked) kitchen fruit and vegetable waste, any soft, leafy material)


• activators such as the herb comfrey and/or nettle tops

It also needs air - which is why turning it once or twice is a good idea if you can manage it. And heat can help speed up the process and kill weeds and diseases, but isn't vital.

If you mostly compost kitchen scraps, grass cuttings or soft, leafy material, the heap will soon get slimy. Add things such as torn-up egg boxes or loo roll middles to improve the balance. If the heap is dry, water it. Remember too that the smaller the pieces of waste are, the quicker they will rot down. Shred or chop up larger pieces or spread them out on grass and run a rotary mower over them.

If you are putting mostly vegetable or fruit waste into your compost bin, and there are rats in the area, it would be sensible to put a layer of weldmesh or chicken wire at the base of your composter to prevent them digging under the side. If your waste is mostly garden waste, you are unlikely to have a problem.

Other items for making compost

• wood ash
• cardboard tubes, brown envelopes and egg boxes
• paper towels and bags
• fruit and vegetable scraps (but avoid huge quantities of fresh citrus fruit skins as the worms that work away making your compost don't like an antiseptic they contain - let them rot down a bit first in a separate container outside)
• tea bags and coffee grounds
• old flowers and bedding plants
• vegetable plant remains
• young hedge clippings and soft prunings
• weeds (but avoid persistent ones like celandine, nettle, buttercup, ground elder and bindweed which might not get killed off in the compost heap and so could reappear when you spread the compost around your garden. Mix these with grass cuttings in a plastic sack, tie up and leave for a few months until they're no longer recognisable, then it's safe to add them to the heap)
• gerbil, hamster and rabbit bedding

Slow rotters

• autumn leaves - if you have large quantities, make them into leafmould: stuff wet leaves into black bin liners, tie loosely and leave. After a year or two, you'll have some wonderful leafmould. Mowing leaves up from the lawn helps speed up the process by chopping them and mixing them with grass cuttings.
• tough hedge clippings and woody prunings - chop or shred these if you can; compost large quantities separately; even if they're not shredded, they'll rot down eventually and can be used as a mulch

Do NOT compost

• meat and fish
• cooked food
• coal and coke ash
• cat and dog waste
• glossy magazines
• diseased plant material
• cooked fruit and veg

When is compost ready?
Compost can be made in six to eight weeks or it can take a year or more. The more effort you put into turning the heap, mixing the ingredients carefully, making sure they're all shredded, the quicker you'll get compost. When it's turned into a dark brown, earthy-smelling material, it's ready for use, either dug into the soil or layered on top. Don't worry if it's a bit lumpy or sticky, with bits of twig and eggshell still visible, it will still work its wonder on your garden.

Useful links
To find out about any special compost bin offers in your region www.recyclenow.com

Home composting equipment: www.recycleworks.co.uk

Garden Organic's instructions for making your own wooden compost bins www.gardenorganic.org.uk