Compost

try and compost as much as you can from the home and garden. I'll list as many things as I can think of from the house that can be added to the compost heap and from the garden.
The compost enclosure can be made from a number of things but the essential thing to consider is air circulation, those plastic compost bins that some counils give out are usually a bit naff as they have no air holes. the bacteria and other organisms that break down your waste into usable compost are aerobic so divvent smother them. I nailed three pallets together and put removable wooden slats on the front. As you can see by glancing descretely to the left of this text.

The pallets I got from the back of a factory unit at a local ind est. You could construct brick or cinder block bays or rough timber. again allow some little breather holes around the sides. another compost bin which I use for putting weeds only into is a plastic bin that I drilled some holes through. Now this one is a bit different because I use snails in there to break down the weeds into compost. I have a problem with big garden snails which I used to throw in the pond if I found them as food for the beasties in the pond. Now I put the big ones in the weed bin as the shells are too big for them to get out of the holes. In the main compost bay I have hundreds of those bight red skinny little worms to break down the different things that go in there. OK so what do I put in there?

From the house
shredded paper
cardboard loo roll inners
the contents of the vacuum
ash from the open fire
used tissues ( its mainly water you blow out )
any fruit or veg waste from the kitchen
some cardboard packaging
tea bags, coffee grounds
dead leaves flowers from house plants
wood shavings/sawdust from diy.

I'm sure theres more if anyone can add to this please send your ideas.

From the Garden
Grass clippings
leaves
soft stems from perennials
pond weeds
stable or farm yard muck
shredded or chipped twigs, branches
shredded hedge trimmings
soil
old compost from pots
old hanging basket moss
ash from garden fires
cut weed tops no root

With all these readilly available, everyday things, it shouldn't take long to fill a descent sized compost bay. So have another one ready to start filling once the first one is up to capacity. Some would say keep leaves seperate for a year as they take longer to break down then add them into compost. They take longer yes but in mixed compost with plenty of tiger worms they should mix in well from the start. The key is not to have too thick a layer of any one thing. build up in gradual layers. If you have a big lawn dont dump all the grass clippings in at once put some other layers in between. You may need a seperate temporary grass bay to stock pile until theres space to add in the grass. Grass can clump together and stagnate in a pile so that no air gets in and it doesnt rot. Quite often you can dig deep into a pile and find white powdery layers of almost unrotted grass. Nettles are a good compost accelerator so go of to the nearest country lane or woods with a pair of gloves and a bag during the spring and summer and bring back some fresh green nettle leaves to add to your heap. Comfrey also except this is a protected native so only pick the older yellow leaves from the base of the plant. Never take flower stalks from comfrey let it seed and increase. Have your own plant in the garden if you have space they're quite attractive. Bees love the flowers.
In building the heap in layers you begin to develope a skill for lasagne bed construction. But thats another story. Happy planting!