Turn your compost bins

Turn your compost bins to get the rotting process going strong so you can be barrowing lovely, rich crumbly mulch onto your garden as soon as possible.

Making compost is a lot like cooking: you have to mix everything thoroughly to make sure the end product is blended to the perfect texture. All you need is a fork, a spade and some muscle power. It helps if your compost bins are side by side, as it's easiest to fork the compost straight over the side into the empty bin, mixing as you go.

Once you've transferred everything across, water thoroughly and cover with thick cardboard to keep the moisture in and the weeds out. This gets the rotting process going at full steam, with bacteria and worms relishing the damp conditions.

It's up to you how often you turn your compost, but the more often you do it, the quicker your compost will be ready. A minimum is twice, once in spring or summer and once in autumn, which gives you compost in about a year; but turn it as often as every four weeks and it takes only a matter of months to transform garden waste into black gold.