No matter what type of soil you have, good old-fashioned compost will improve it. Good healthy soil means tastier produce, so here are some useful pointers to help make your own.
Everything that once lived can be thrown into the compost heap, but there are some caveats. All grass clippings, veg peelings (including egg shells), leaves, newspaper, cardboard (shredded), straw, hay, chopped up stems and branches, dead plants, even the contents of the vacuum cleaner can all be composted successfully.
You can chuck weeds onto the heap as long as they're not perennial nasties like knotweed, ground elder and dandelion - these need to be either burnt or thrown out with the rest of the rubbish.
Cooked food, dog faeces, meat and glossy magazines are all no-nos.
The key to sweet smelling compost is in the mix of 'greens' (prunings and peelings) and 'browns' (shredded newspaper, straw and the stems of old perennials).
You need a heap that's about two-thirds green to one-third brown and one that's not too wet but not too dry - overly wet heaps need more brown matter adding to them.
Try to build the heap in layers no more than 6-8 inches thick. Fork it over roughly every week; air helps the decomposition process.
If you have room for another heap, move the compost back and forth between the two every 10-14 days or so - that'll help get air into it.
Avoid adding a big load of one thing, eg grass clippings, all in one go - they'll just sit in a wet, soggy, smelly lump. Mix them up with lots of browns so they rot down quickly.
In truly tiny gardens everything is on show, so it's important to find a compost bin that looks good.
Composters that look like old-fashioned beehives are popular choices; any urban garden centre will carry them or simply search on the Internet. They will cost a lot more but at least they'll blend in.
One final thing - compost does smell even if it's the best compost in the world. If it stinks though, it's a sign that you've not added enough browns.
And worms... a great thing. They prove your heap is working properly!
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