Composting

Location, location, location 
Place your compost heap in shade or light shade. Consistent temperature is helpful for producing compost and you will want sunnier corners for planting or relaxing. I have recently built the simple compost heap below behind a screen of bamboos in central London. Metal poles hold the wooden planks together and the front planks slide up and out for access. 

 

Easy does it 
Start at your level of interest, work and finance. You can buy a wooden kit or most cheaply a plastic compost bin, build your own wooden structures (see above), or just start building an open pile in a forgotten corner of the garden. It will still break down without any accoutrements. For those with a very small space, consider a wormery, of which more below. 

What not to throw 
Don't throw in woody materials, meat and dairy or anything diseased – which is is better off binned or burnt. Also, hardcore perennial weeds like ground elder and bindweed will take over your compost so dispose elsewhere. 

What to throw 
For a conventional cold compost heap – which is one where you slowly add to the pile a mixture of 'greens' and 'browns' to a ratio of 50:50. 
Greens are: green prunings, kitchen waste (your pasta, bread and cooked vegetables are better in a wormery or contained compost heap), lawn mowings and young weeds or nettles. 

Browns are: autumn leaves, bracken or ferns, cardboard, paper, and straw. 
If you just use greens you will have a slimy heap. Browns give your compost heap structure and allow the air to circulate. Browns are high in carbon and green in nitrogen. 

 
Mixing 'greens' and 'browns' 

Wormery 
A wormery is perfect for a small garden producing daily kitchen waste. You also don't need to worry about mixing greens and browns. Worms will consume greens alone and this method is contained, which means you can safely add bread, pasta and cooked vegetables without attracting vermin. You can even have a wormery on a balcony or roof terrace. 

Spin the bottle 
If you have a conventional compost heap you will need to turn it. If you can manage once per month the results will be spectacular but once every three months will do. The ideal would be to turn three times before using. But this is not essential. One of my clients uses two spinning barrels. They are raised off the ground, and have handles to turn them regularly. This takes the work out of turning, but the barrels are expensive and they get rather disgusting when full of sticky compost and leaking compost juice. You are also supposed to turn them daily for best results. I have found it far easier to turn the heap myself with a fork. You can then fill up the space you've created in the process with your fresh produce. The compost below has only been turned once but is almost ready to use. 

 

No sweat 
The easiest option is to place uncomposted material as a mulch onto your beds. Mulches slowly break down and feed your beds and also suppress weeds. However, they can provide a hiding place for slugs, so don't use this method amongst vulnerable young plants.