Compost Happens
‘Tis the season for the leaf thiefing to begin. I know that is an odd statement, but is it any stranger than taking your valuable time to rake up your leaves and haul them to the curb and then go to your local home improvement store and purchase compost?  I think not.  Every year our trees drop their leaves and provide for us a wonderful source of carbon.  Carbon is one of the two key ingredients in making compost, the other in Nitrogen.  We can obtain nitrogen from grass clippings, manure, vegetable waste, even basic fertilizer.  Now what do we do with our ingredients?
The Bin
Composting does require a bin.  This can be as complicated or as simple as you would like.  The simple method is using chicken wire and making a circle that is roughly 4 to 5 feet in diameter and 4-5 feet in height. Once full, in order to turn and speed up the decomposition process you would remove the chicken wire and relocate it.  Then shovel the compost mix back into the new location as a way of turning or aerating the compost.
A more complex bin is one that has three bays (each bay is roughly 3 to 5’ height and 4 to 5’ deep and 3-5’ wide) and is made out of wood, which would allow you to turn your compost from bin to bin to aerate it as it ages.  The time for turning from bin to bin can depend on the mixture, but the average is 3-5 days on the first bin and 4-7 days in the second bin before flipping to the third.  This also allows you to start another batch in the first bin.
The flipping or turning is a great way to aerate both bin types speed up the decomposition of the materials and produce the final compost at a quicker rate, rather than just letting it sit there.  A pile that is continually flipped should produce finished compost in 2-4 months.
The Ingredients’:
Things that can go into the pile fall into two groups, Nitrogen and Carbon.  For an active and fast working pile you want a carbon to nitrogen ratio of 30/1.  What is in each group?  Nitrogen items are generally grass clippings, vegetable waste, manure.  Carbon items are leaves, sawdust, straw and even newspaper (less than 10 percent of the total pile).
Things to leave out of the pile: pet and human feces, diseased plants, large amounts of weeds containing seeds, bones, fats, oils, and garden tools.  Yes, sometimes the odd garden tool does end up in the pile only to be found in the spring.
Layering the Pile:
You want to layer the pile with a layer of Carbon then a layer or Nitrogen and then continue on all the way to the top.  Adding a small layer of old compost or even good garden soil will add the necessary microorganisms to help speed up the decomposition as well.
Maintenance:
The pile will require aeration through flipping to insure its speedy decomposition.  This will also help keep the odors down.  The pile should also be kept moist, not soggy.  Generally rain takes care of this, but if we do not have rain for several weeks you may need to add some water.
The nice thing about Compost is that if you forget about it once you put all the items in the pile it will eventually happen it will just take longer.  Remember ‘Compost Happens.”
For more information on composting see the “Composting: A guide to Managing Organic Yard Wastes” at www.ces.ncsu.edu/dept/hort/hil/pdf/ag-467.pdf