Ahh the compost pile. Avid gardeners swear by them and inexperienced ones stay away because they fear it will smell. But have no fear if a compost pile is done properly not only will it not smell but it will break down those kitchen scrap and yard clippings very quickly.

Okay, first step is to figure out where you want to place your compost pile. Make sure that it is handy yet out of direct site. Now I am not saying the you have to have a bin but it does keep things a hole lot neater. You can make your bin out of just about anything. I mad mine 4 foot by 4 foot and out of wood, with one side open for stirring and adding. You can find patterns for building your own compost bin on line or even buy bins.

Now for the building of the actual pile. You will need two main ingredients for a successful pile. Greens and browns. The greens are high in nitrogen and include, grass clipping old annuals, things that are alive and ready to start decomposing. The browns add carbon to the mixture and include dry leaves and you can even add paper, great Idea for all that junk mail. The key is finding the proper balance between greens and browns. For a pile that breaks things down the fastest strive for a one part greens and two parts browns mixture.
If you notice that your pile smell it usually means that you have many greens in it and need to add more browns.

Things you should not put in your compost are animal waste,meat dairy , oils or any plants that are dead or treated with any type of fertilizer. Once you have your greens and brown properly mixed you can add some garden soil or compost to jump start your new pile.
Another key ingredient to your composting success is moisture. The compost pile should be moist but not soaking. It should feel like a wrung out sponge. This is important because too much moisture will cool down the temperature and slow down decomposition making it smell. I suggest checking the moisture of your pile at least once a week. If it is to dry just add some water but if you find that it is too wet just add some browns this should help dry it out.

Now the final key component is air Air is added by stirring your compost. This should be done once a week and the pile should be stirred from the outside inward. After all this you should have finished compost in about two months. You will know that your compost is finished when it stops heating up and you can not recognize any of the original material. Now just add it to you garden soil and you have the best soil additive ever.

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