So just mouved to a bigger place ,and a way cooler landlord...The dude sais if I take care of the lawn and generally upkeep outside I can start a vegetable garden next spring...So naturally all the grass klippings from the lawn and all the raked leafs are thrown on the compost pile... This is preety much as far as I got...What do I do with this huge pile? Do I add anithing? I think I am sopposed to mix it? I am completely clueless...How do I take care of it so it will be ready next spring? Also next spring do I put it on top of the soil, till it in or burry it underneath? Thank you , surfpunk.

Oh yeah, I also put all my food scraps in it, no meat though , but eggshells and other vegetable waste matter...

anyone at all?

Composting is easy. By itself, a compost pile will cook in about a year. You can hurry that along using several techniques.

The most basic step is aerating the pile. This is done by turning the pile with a fork or using a specialized tool. The more you turn, the faster your pile will cook.

Another speed-composting technique is to make the components as small as possible. If you have access to a shredder you could shred the pile as you turn it.

Adding manure would speed things along as well. Manure can be substituted with finished compost and/or garden soil.

Start a second pile for next season and let the original cook until it finished. Finished compost will have an earthy smell and most of the components are broken down to where they are un-recognizeable.

I hope I have not over-complicated the issue. The bottom line is simply this: Compost Happens. Good luck.

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you can put small amounts of paper in ther too for aeriation and it will break down

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When adding manure to a pile 1 to 2 shovels full is all that is required.

How to Make Compost, a Composting Guide

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Just my 2cents, I've read somewhere about compost piles that they can be finicky about what goes in them. Like you want to stay away from too many grass clippings, and limit the amout of eggshells, there is a ratio to keep with carbon:something(hehehe) I believe it's stuff like vegetable peels etc...so like for carbon use news paper and stuff, and keep a good ratio of those things because it could throw it outawhack if you mix too much of certain stuff. Don't quote me i just remember reading something on those lines, just make sure you keep a even ratio of material in there that you need for a good compost. Good luck!! Happy Holidays!!! Hope this all made sense

A composting system can be as simple or as complex as you prefer. An optimal mix of wet and dry materials will result in faster cook time. A simple pile of nothing but grass clippings will cook in a year.

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holly crap, I havent checked out this site in 2 months and all of a sudden this thread looked a bit familliar, thanx for all the advise guys, however the real problem is how to prep the soil for a garden... do I just till the loan and mix in some compost and minour with it?

turn add paper and manure, this will help it along, do you have a proper compost bin.

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