What's Wrong With Compost?

Anne Swithinbank's masterclass on: sludgy compost

- Anne Swithinbank

Q Determined to make lots of compost for my new allotment, I installed a bin in our small garden for kitchen veg waste. Instead of fibrous compost, though, it was a black sludge full of fruit flies. How can I do better?

Andrea Neilson, Buxton, Derbyshire

A Making garden compost at home ticks a lot of boxes. There’s less waste for the council to haul away, free soil conditioner is made on-site, the soil is enriched, and plants benefit.

Plenty of well-rotted compost improves the structure of all soils, helping in the formation of soil crumbs. These small nuggets of mineral particles, clay, and organic matter are perfect homes for organisms and help soils stay aerated, at the same time as holding on to water and nutrients. Yet as you have found, compost-making is not always as simple as tipping organic waste into a bin.