If you have aspirations to be a gardener like Monty Don or Carol Klein, this year’s Compost Awareness Week will help you start digging for success in your garden.

This year’s Compost Awareness Week (CAW) takes place from Sunday, May 3 to Saturday, May 9, and residents are being encouraged to green up their gardens by making their own compost.

As the allotment boom continues and people begin to grow fruit and vegetables in small garden plots, making your own compost is a great way to ensure your produce is a blooming success.

Everyday household waste like fruit and vegetable peelings; tea bags; egg shells and shredded paper can all be transformed from smelly waste into garden goodness that not only improves soil quality by adding nutrients to feed the plants, but also saves you money and trips to the garden centre to buy ready-made compost.

CAW organisers hope that as well as making their own fertile compost, residents will also be able to reduce the 6.7million tonnes of food that is sent to landfill sites unnecessarily every year.

Compost enthusiasts The Medway Mulchers and Medway Council’s Waste Minimisation Team will be running compost clinics at Wyevale Garden Centre, Elm Court, Gillingham on Tuesday, May 5, and Friday, May 7.

They will be offering support and advice to anyone wanting to make their own compost from 9am to 430pm.

They will also be at Rainham Shopping Precinct on Wednesday, May 6; Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre car park on Thursday, May 7 and Strood Market on Saturday, May 9, from 9am to 430pm.

Waste Minimisation Officer Matt Feekings said: “Home composting is a great way for people to dispose of organic waste at home. It’s relatively easy and can save you money and trips to the garden centre to buy ready-made compost.

“As well as being able to make great compost for your garden, it can also help reduce the amount of rubbish that is sent to landfill sites.

“There are lots of different ways for you to start making your own compost, and Medway Council also supports a subsided-fee compost bin scheme to get residents started.”

To celebrate Compost Awareness Week, Medway Council and Wyevales Garden Centre are offering anyone living in Medway the chance to win up to £20 worth of in-store goods at Wyevales or our promotional Tardis compost bin.

Anyone aged 15 or under is being invited to come up with a design to turn your compost bin in to something fun. To help you get started, Medway Councils Waste Minimisation Team has created two characters from the cult programme Doctor Who. The winning design may be used by Medway Council’s Waste Minimisation Team in future publicity work.

To be in with a chance of winning, send your artwork or photos to Compost competition, Communications, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TR.

To be in with a chance of winning £20 worth of in-store goods at Wyevales, tell us the date of this year’s Compost Awareness Week. Send your answers to Compost competition, Communications, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TR. Terms and conditions are available from www.medway.gov.uk/compostcompetiton

All entries must be received by May 26 2009 at 5pm.

For more information about home composting call the Waste Minimisation Team on 01634 333509