The basis of good organic compost is carbon, so you need to start there. This means using things like dried leaves, straw, shredded newspaper and dead flowers. These are the vital brown materials that many people forget to add, but that's not going to be you.

Next up your compost will need some nitrogen. One of the easiest places to find this is in your kitchen waste. Anything green should be used, like fruit and vegetable peelings or green leftovers... never use any meat! You can also use any green garden waste, such as lawn clippings and green plant clippings.

To get your compost to start decomposing, it's very important to add ordinary soil from your garden to the heap as your next step, this will top off your pile.

Let's see, you've now got a layer of brown material, on top of that you've thrown some green waste and covered it with some garden soil. What you need now is another layer of nitrogen rich brown waste. Before you go any further you need to moisten your organic compost with a splash of water. It's critical that you keep your pile damp, but just as important to not allow it to get soggy!

You continue adding layers in that order until you've got a pile about 3 feet square. As a rough guide you want to have about three parts brown waste to one part green waste. Keep adding more material to your pile as it becomes available until it's about 3 feet tall.

You will need to turn your compost with a garden fork to aid the decomposition. As you turn, you want to move the stuff from the center to the outside and the outer material to the middle. You should do this every couple of weeks at least.

To understand why the moisture level is so important, if your pile dries out it will stop decomposing. The easiest way to know if your compost is healthy is to watch for steam to rise as you're turning your pile. This is a clear indication that your heap is decomposing correctly.

The worms in your garden will find your compost in a short time and aid in the process, but if you feel impatient and want to speed up the decomposition, you can always buy some common earthworms to put in your pile. The best place to find them is at your nearest fishing bait store.

To stop your compost heap from being an untidy eyesore you can either make or buy a bin. There are even rotating bins available that make your task of turning your compost over much easier. The choice is yours.

As your compost decays it will turn into a nearly black substance that will have a sweet smell. At this stage it's ready to be mixed into your garden soil to enrich it with all the nutrients needed to grow fantastic crops. It's also excellent for use as potting soil, you don't need to add anything else to it. Over time you will replace all your garden soil with this enriched organic compound and your plants will thrive.