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It may have been a lousy summer for growing many crops but the wet weather bodes well for my compost.It's always 'alright' rather than 'wonderful', unlike the stuff I make at work, which is always lovely: friable, richly dark and full of worms, just

What wonderful creatures composting worms are. I first set up my wormery compost container about 15 years ago, and it has been converting kitchen waste into compost ever since. Unlike traditional compost bins where you simply pile in and mix-up your

.But the downside of the cold weather is that my compost heap has stopped decomposing. The pile of fruit and vegetable peelings and garden waste has shown little sign of decay in the last few weeks. The banana skins turn black very quickly, and the local badgers

Like politics and football everybody seems to have an opinion about compost. About the only thing that we all agree about is that compost is a good thing; at the same time there are moments when it gets a little competitive for my liking. It's true

I don’t think my garden could look any worse. The borders I left to rot into themselves have tumbled all over the lawn, the patio is covered in pigeon poo, and there’s now a temporary cardboard compost bin outside my back door because the real bin

Like many gardeners at this time of year, I can normally be found in the garden with my head in a bag of compost. I'm not hiding from the taxman, or even two noisy kids - I'm just trying to get some seeds sown. Sowing seeds is a task that should

Sending compostable waste to landfill is criminal, and while many gardeners do their bit to compost kitchen and garden waste, I'm sure many people could do more.I'm keen to recycle everything I can. This makes sense on two counts: it reduces

Making good compost has become something of an obsession for me lately. At idle moments, I've found myself contemplating the two heaps on my allotment. Affectionately called 'hedge heap' and 'new heap', I've been considering what else I could add

Last week I wrote about the wood mouse that has taken up residence in my compost bin. So far I have resisted urges to check up on it, but have enjoyed the odd fleeting glimpse as I've added fresh waste to the bin.With the new resident fresh in my

My two compost bins are being very productive. As well as yielding their first crop of usable compost, now spread over back and front gardens to great effect, they are also home to a heaving mass of wildlife. Every time I open the lids a great cloud