I do not put food scraps in the pile any longer as our area has a big rat problem. I also don't have fruit trees for the same reason. Some people make a coil of fencing 4-5 feet across, and then throw in all their leaves, grass clippings, etc. I like to add coffee grounds from our local coffee shoppe every now and then. Starbucks is really good with this. The fencing can be lifted and moved easily. Compost is ready to put into the garden when it has broken down into unrecognizable soil-like crumble. Keep it slightly moist to help the bacteria break it down.

Ours Is a pen made from cedar post and hardware cloth.
We put leaves, food scraps (no meat, no oils) and yard waste in it.
You have to water every so often if it is dry and we are pretty darn lazy about turning it, but it is done when you turn it and it looks like rich black soil.
Pretty much if you pay more attention than we do, it turns to compost sooner!

There is a ton of info on the internet about composting and making bins...from as simple as a pile in the corner or a wire ring to very complicated bins...One of the simplest to make and cheapest is to use free pallets...hook/nail/wire them together and viola you have a compost bin. I love to add kitchen scraps to mine including coffee grounds. The perfect mix is given in what you should and shouldn't put in, but I just toss in what ever is available, a handful of fertilizer or manure and a bucket full of dirt and I have great compost...so it is as complicated or as simple as you make it...Google compost and in no time at all, you'll be an expert...come over to the garden forums and join us there...

Thanks for the info. I have been doing some research and several sites have directions for making bins using wood pallets. I have several that we were getting ready to throw away. Maybe we will use them. I just wonder if I will have enough waste to make it worth my time.

I have a small area enclosed with chicken wire, maybe four feet square. I put in anything organic, peels, fruit skins, coffee grounds, leftovers, but no fat or meat or dairy products, they decay and smell bad, and draw vermin. I leave it for at least a year, then top-dress my garden areas around March.

Garden Web has a compost forum. They are very informed bunch over there. I gave up on composting and have started vermicomposting (GW has a forum) OK I'm raising worms and use the worm castings and worm tea. I personally think it's easier.

We have a store-bought green plastic compost thing- it's like a 4' tall cube, if that makes any sense. We keep an air tight container on the counter and put all our egg shells, coffee grounds, salad and veggie scraps, etc in it and once a day Woody takes it out to the compost bin. Possoms get a lot of it, but eventually we get a nice pile of good, rich stuff. We throw in leaves and grass cuttings occasionally, especially if it ever starts getting too many flies on it. And we rarely turn it, I think the critters do that for us. We keep ours just on the outside of the picket fence, we can reach over to add to it. And we built an extra L-shaped fence around it to hide it from the driveway so it's fenced on 3 sides.

By doing this, we never have any leaky garbage to contend with. Meat scraps get frozen until we go to the crusher.

If you clicked on my Garden post you will see I have two compost piles. One is in a black plastic bin in which I put all the food scraps. We have it lined on the bottom with chicken wire so critters can't get in. We got that one for a reduced fee from our waste company.

The other is chicken wire in a circle that we put pulled weeds, grass and leaves into till they breakdown and then I add it to the black bin. I would really like to get one of compost tumblers I have seen advertised but they are way too expensive. My back is getting too old to keep turning over the compost.
Clare

I do a lot of gardening,but i don't have a compost bin.I do however save egg shells and tea bags in a basket outside my back door.

Our town has a great greenwaste program.so everyweek we put out our 96 gallon GW container and sometimes more.It's all hauled away and recycled.Whenever we need mulch DH just drives over there,shows his ID and they fill up his truck with as much as he wants/needs.This works for us very well,as we are up in age.So we do what we can,t help the enviroment and ourselves as well.
Kathi

BTW,i use the egg shells and tea bags around the plants.the shells help keep the snail and slug population down and the tea bags just add nutrients to the soil.

We compost and it's great having that rich soil for your plants. We put leaves, veggie scraps, coffee grounds, tea bags, etc in there. I'll occasionally have a GS turn it for me, but for the most part it just simply rots. We have 2 piles--one that's ready to use and a new pile. The compost forum is very informative and those folks will answer any questions you have.

You've gotten alot of good advice Mary Ann. I compost. things really break down fast here in the heat. Grass clippings and oak leaves are wonderful for the compost pile.

So tell us - what are you going to plant in your garden? I have a small veggie patch and probably always will. My grandson loves to help me with the veggies and his mom is amazed at the stuff he will eat now that he turned his nose up at before. I think it's because everything tastes so good right off the plant. Especially tomatoes!!!

Happy gardening!

~Betsy

Thanks everyone! I checked out the compost forum and know I will learn a lot there. I'm amazed that so many of you are composting, and I'm just getting started!

Betsy, our garden is already planted with sweet corn, tomatoes, bell, jalapeño and banana peppers, yellow and zucchini squash, okra, cucumbers and cantaloupe. I still want to plant leaf lettuce. I will take pictures tomorrow.

MaryAnn, I have been making compost since the 70's. I have moved a compost pile during my three major moves, even so the movers and Jerry just shook their heads. :)

This yard I have a plastic composter that looks like this.

{{!gwi}}

I put all my peels in there, potato, carots, banana, eggs, and my coffee grounds, tea bags and all other organic stuff. Even weeds, as long as they don't have flowers and seed heads yet. Left over leaves from last year, and of course, this year, after cutting those trees down I am adding a lot of wood chips.

Makes GREAT "black gold". :)

Moni

Here's the GW Compost Forum. Linda

Here is a link that might be useful: GW compost forum

Do you add some dirt from time to time?

It seems to me that flower heads wouldn't hurt ... seed pods might not, either, if you add quite a lot of stuff and some water from time to time, to cause it to heat ... that should kill the seeds.

What about pet poo? We used to put cattle and horse poo on our fields and garden. But the manure piles got so hot that one couldn't put one's hand in there (should one want to). They steamed when we put the stuff into the manure spreader.

If compost heats, that should destroy harmful stuff that the poo might carry. If one had a good amount of grass clippings and yard waste and add some water when it went in, I think that the poo would work then.

Enjoy your compost.

ole joyful

Ed, I wouldn't use dog or cat poo, if I had a dog or cat. Specially, if I was using the compost on veggies.
There is just no telling, if the pile heats up enough to kill all harmful bacteria.

Moni