The Occasional Gardener: It's easier to make compost in a wormery that with a compost bin but, since nobody has yet set up a worm kennels for the holidays, it's best to stick with straw.

We've all gone compost mad. Gardening programmes rave about it, garden centres stock a confusing array of different types of compost bin and even my local council office has a leaflet giving advice on how to make the stuff.

What I'd like to know is whether everyone in Ireland is happily composting away, recycling their veggie peel and grass cuttings, or if - like me - they have an embarrassing secret.

Well, I'm coming out. I've struggled with my compost bin for over two years and now I have to admit the ugly truth: mine stinks. It's horrible. It's slimy. And in the summer, it's full of flies. Before I go anywhere near the bin, I take a deep breath, hold it and make a mad dash with my bag of squishy pineapple, melon and onion skins and potato, apple and carrot peelings plus any leftovers the dogs won't eat. Compost should be brown, crumbly and smell-free - not black slimy sludge that even a rat would turn up its nose at. But according to Klaus Laitenberger, head gardener at the Organic Centre in Co Leitrim, I'm not alone. "That's the number one problem of everyone starting out making compost. It's because there's too much green material - grass clippings and kitchen waste - and not enough brown material - straw, hay, leaves or shredded paper."

The container itself is a pauper's version of those smart green plastic jobs you see in garden centres - it's just a bog-standard black bin with the bottom cut off. And that, according to Klaus, is another problem.

Although these plastic bins are handy for a small garden (and because they're sealed, they don't attract rodents), they're difficult to use properly. "You have to be very careful about what you put into them," he says. "Plastic bins can't breathe, so the compost hasn't got enough air or light for micro-organisms. You have to build the compost better, with layers of green and brown material, or you just end up with sludge."

Like most things in life, moderation is the key. I put in too much kitchen waste and not enough brown material and because it's so wet, the compost can't breathe, apparently, so there's too much nitrogen and not enough carbon. But my compost heap isn't beyond repair.

"The solution," says Klaus, "is to put in materials which will absorb nitrogen. First, tip the compost out and turn it - which will add air - then put one foot of straw in the bottom of the bin. After that, put in alternate layers - about four inches thick - of the smelly compost and the brown material."

Another problem with small bins is that they don't always heat up enough to kill fungal spores and weed seeds, so it's best not to risk adding diseased plants or weeds, he says. I had always thought that leaves rotted down too slowly to be of any use in a compost bin, but I'm wrong: a few inches layered with green material is fine. Urban gardeners might have a problem finding enough straw to make the compost lasagne but shredded or crumpled newspaper does the trick too.

The easiest way of making compost isn't in a compost bin at all, but in a wormery, says Klaus. "These work very well because you can't overfeed worms and they eat cooked kitchen waste and even meat." The squeamish might not like the idea of "growing" worms, but Klaus says you soon get fond of them and admits to strong feelings for his wriggling colony: "I love them."

The only problem with worms is that they need feeding regularly. Since nobody has yet set up a worm kennels for the summer holidays, I'm off to add straw to my compost bin - as soon as I find that clothes peg for my nose.

February courses run by the Organic Centre include: beginners' guide to growing vegetables at Airfield House, Dublin; establishing a garden from scratch and green building in Co Leitrim; complete garden part one in Co Clare. See www.theorganiccentre.ie or 07198-54338