On Sun, 4 Nov 2007 08:38:45 -0800, SteveB wrote:
We recently moved out in the country. Nothing to do but we had to make a
compost pile. I admit, it's a handy place for garbage we would usually put
in the can for a week. Yech!

Does it work? How much work is it? How often are you supposed to turn it?
Do you keep it wet? Do you get enough compost to justify the work?

I am a slob gardener -- which means I do just enough to get the job done,
but I don't try to make work for myself. Years ago, I used to
do heap composting, and yes, it worked, and it worked nicely.

Now I mostly do trench composting -- dig a trench between a couple of
rows in the veggie garden, toss in materials to be rotted (disease free,
as this method doesn't produce hot enough temperatures to kill spores).
and cover with a little soil. When you run out of trench, dig another.
Let rot. Replant next year.

Suggested reading: Rodale Complete Book of Composting if you want all the
whys and wherefores and how to do it just rights. Suggested reading
otherwise: http://compost.css.cornell.edu/Composting_homepage.html

Yard waste just gets mulched with the mower; branches get hauled out
into a little bit of woodland to rot on their own.