I always think it’s a bit of a cheek when councils charge to collect your garden waste and then make compost out of it which you have to buy back at the tip!

If you make your own at home instead, you don’t need a lot of room for a compost bin and once you’ve chosen your site you can get going, using up all the waste you may currently pay to get taken away.

I have three compost bins made out of old pallets that I try to rotate but I am indeed guilty of keep piling stuff on it week after week and just leaving it.

To make the finest black gold, as I call it, you need to mix up the contents regularly to improve air circulation, which in turn will speed up decomposition.

For me this involves forking the contents of one bin into the next but if you have a smaller bin you will need to get your fork in and mix up the contents as thoroughly as you can.

What to compost:

Nitrogen rich material such as grass cuttings; cut flowers; fruit and veg waste and prunings.

Carbon rich material such as newspaper; straw; cardboard and paper bags.

What not to compost

Cooked food; diseased plants; perennial weeds, like bindweed; meat and fish. I avoid adding eggshells also as I don’t want to attract the rats!

The key here is not to add too much of one type of material or your heap will go slimy.

If you add too many grass clippings for instance you won’t get enough air in so break it up by adding in some drier waste such as straw or hedge clippings.

If, on the other hand, it is too dry you can add some water to aid the breaking down process mixing it up again as you go.

If you have an excess of leaves, which can be the case at this time of year, make a separate bin just for that which makes a lovely leaf mould.

Compost generally takes about a year to fully decompose but by regular turning, adding water and a good mix of materials it can be ready in two to four months, it will have an earthy smell and will be half its original size. Pure gold.