Those beautiful autumn leaves have blown from the trees. Now
they’re just unsightly
brown masses in your lawn and other places you don’t want
them.

Don’t fret and don’t burn. Simply build a compost pile
and recycle these leaves into
valuable organic matter.

When you’re cleaning up the garden, yard or flowerbeds,
too, don’t forget that almost
all of that can be added to the compost pile.

It’s easier and cheaper to compost those materials than
to have the government pick
them up. Since yard trimmings were banned from landfills in
September 1996, all Georgians
should be practicing home composting.

As a soil amendment, compost improves both the physical
condition and fertility of the
soil. It’s especially useful for improving Georgia soils
that are low in organic matter.
Although some nutrients will be derived from compost, its
main benefit is improving soil
characteristics.

Here are some simple composting rules to follow.

• The best activator for compost is old compost.
  
• Use almost any organic material — leaves, grass
  clippings, hay, straw, some weeds,
  chopped corn cobs, corn stalks. Use kitchen scraps, too,
  except for animal fat and bones.
  Avoid weeds and grass with seed heads, too.
  
• Good kitchen scraps for the compost pile include
  coffee and tea grounds, peelings of
  vegetables and fruits, canning by-products such as
  tomato peels and cores, eggshells and
  corn husks. These kitchen scraps and others are
  completely degradable in the compost pile
  within 4-6 weeks.
  
• Don’t make the compost pile smaller than 3 feet wide
  by 3 feet high. That’s too small to
  heat up and decompose the material properly. It is best
  not to go more than 5 feet by 5
  feet by 5 feet deep, either
  

• The sides of the compost bin should allow free air
  movement into the material. The best
  siding material is probably 2-inch by 4-inch fencing 3
  feet high. If you don’t want to use
  anything, just pile up the material. It will still
  work.
  
• You don’t have to build the pile all at once. Begin by
  spreading an 8-inch to 12-inch
  layer of organic material. On top of this, spread one
  cup of complete garden fertilizer or
  a couple of shovelfuls of manure. You can also add a
  light layer of soil. Continue to
  alternate these layers, watering each thoroughly. Keep
  the pile moist but not soggy –
  like a wrung-out sponge.
  
• You will speed the decomposition if you turn the pile
  every few weeks. If you don’t
  choose to turn or can’t do it, don’t worry. The
  decomposition will just be slower.
  
• Compost is ready to use when it turns dark and becomes
  crumbly. Finished compost will
  have lost much of its original identity and will have an
  earthy smell. Normally, it takes
  five to eight months to finish compost, depending on the
  material used and the heat and
  moisture available during the composting.

When the compost is ready, apply it to garden soil at
about 4 bushels per 100 square
feet, or 2 inches deep over the area.