Easy Composting
Compost is generated by allowing grass clippings, leaves and kitchen vegetable and fruit wastes to decompose.
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Most kitchen scraps and yard clippings are great for composting. However, never use cat or dog manure, meat or dairy products or plastics. Don't use grass clippings that have been treated with weed killer or herbicide.
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One of the best things you can feed your garden is your garbage. Composting transforms kitchen wastes into rich humus that amends the soil and feeds the plants. Compost aerates the soil and provides it with nutrients.
You can build a simple compost bin using 2x4s on the bottom as a frame and wire stretched around to contain the compost. The key to composting is layering. Put the big material on the bottom (sticks, for example) to allow air to get through and to prevent the compost from getting matted down. Next add a thick layer of leaves and then a layer of soil to help break down the leaves and start the mixture "cooking." The temperature inside the heap will get up to 150 to 160 degrees if you have an effective compost heap. A thick layer of grass clippings can go on next. Keep the heap moist and turn it (mix it up) every third day with a pitchfork. In a couple of weeks, you will have great humus for your garden.
If you're short on space, you can use a plastic garbage can. Remove the bottom, and set it on top of the soil. Inside, layer the materials as with the larger composting bin and then put the top on. In a week, lift up the garbage can. The compost will fall out. Take the can to a new location and put the old compost back in the can. In a few weeks, you will have rich humus from composting.
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