Leaves are the often the easiest, cleanest, and most readily available ingredient for compost.
Serious composters often have multiple bins in various stages of composting so that one is always ready.Compost, or decomposed organic matter, is called black gold because it is rich in nutrients and it promotes soil microbes that aid plant growth. Make a habit of adding compost to the soil each planting season. You can buy bagged compost, but the best source is homemade. There are as many ways to make compost as there are gardeners, but here is one easy way. Create a free-standing compost heap (literally a pile out of sight), or use a compost bin. There are several commercial bins available, or you can build your own out of wire mesh fencing and lumber and wire fencing to allow air in.
Air, Water, and Stirring
Air and water are the secrets to good composting. Keep the materials (in the next paragraph) moist and well aerated. You speed the process by turning the compost with your turning fork, basically stirring it. One ingenious method puts compost in plastic garbage cans with tight-fitting lids with air holes drilled in the tops. That way, you can roll the can to stir the material inside.
The Ingredient Layers
Begin layering organic materials such as leaves, straw, old corn stalks, weed-free and pesticide-free grass clippings, egg shells, fruit peels, and other organic matter from kitchen; just avoid meats, greasy ingredients, and pet droppings. Sprinkle with a couple of shovelfuls of topsoil or previously composted materials to include the needed microorganisms for decomposition. Just a sprinkle of fertilizer also adds nitrogen to speed decomposition. You can use organic fertilizer if you are an organic gardener.
Continue layering these items until your mix is three to four feet tall. Water between layers, but don't make the pile soggy.
Compost Does Happen
If you turn the ingredients every week or two, the compost will form rapidly. If you don't, it will form, but much more slowly. Some people rarely turn their piles; others do so religiously. Find your own stride here. Good compost has a pleasant, earthy smell. Unpleasant odor is the sign of too much water or green ingredients such as grass clippings. Turn more often, reduce the moisture content, or add dry, brown ingredients such as leaves or straw to balance the situation.
Gardening resources offer many composting techniques and instructions for building your own compost bin. We invite you to review several methods to find the one that best suits you.