Garden Spot by Larry Sotnick Composting - the secret is in the mix Remember when we used to discard mayonnaise jars and tuna fish cans into the garbage? Newspapers, magazines, and everything else simply went into the garbage, were taken to the curb, and got dumped in that proverbial town called "some- where else." What if all the waste we generate in our yards - the leaves, grass clippings, and those annoying twigs and branches that always appear on the ground after a wind storm - could be accumulated in a small area of your yard? What if we didn't have to bend and tuck and rake all this material into little plastic bags or brown municipal recycling bags? And what if, by simply keeping all these organic materials in a somewhat organized pile, we could in three or six or nine months' time have an elixir that could substantially improve plant and turf heath, as well as ward off insects and pests from plants? A magic elixir from our garden and even kitchen waste - too good to be true? Not so. The decomposed organic matter that is the result of successful composting is referred to as "black gold." Making a simple compost pile can be easy, can afford us a little needed exercise, and can reap grand rewards ... and it's not hard to do. In fact, it's kind of like an elementary school science project we can conduct in our own backyard. Larry Sotnick is owner of Sotnick Landscaping, Monroe. He has been in the landscaping business since 1976 and resides with his family in Monroe. He can be reached by calling (732) 521-0778. How do we start? First, find an area of your yard approximately 5 feet by 10 feet where you can set up a working compost pile. It doesn't matter if it is sunny or shady. It can be near your shed or where you presently store clay pots or garden equipment. Keep in mind you'll need to get a wheel barrel full of your raw materials into the area and be able to use a pitchfork to mix your pile. You could put a simple pile in an open area and plant four or five attractive plants in front of it to camouflage it from view, or set up lattice fencing in front of it with some attractive honeysuckle or clematis vines growing up the lattice fencing. Just what can you throw on this pile? Well, it's really very easy. For the purpose of composting you can use organic raw materials. These materials are broken down into two categories. Green, or nitrogen-based debris (such as grass clippings and weeds), are the first category, and the second category is brown, or carbon-based debris (examples of which include dried woody vines and branches, fallen leaves and bark, straw, shredded newspaper, and wood chips.) How do we assemble this waste? By alternating or mixing layers of green, nitrogen-based material with brown, carbon-based material, you will speed decomposition and avoid the stigma of the "smelly" compost pile, which simply comes from an abundance of green materials fermenting by themselves. By keeping bags or an extra area of brown-carbon material, you can ensure you don't let your grass clippings dominate the pile. To speed this process along, you must have two other essential ingredients besides carbon and nitrogen - oxygen and water. Nitrogen, carbon, oxygen and water are the elements of a successful compost pile. It is a good idea to have two adjacent 5-foot by 5- foot areas for constructing your pile. While you fill one up, you'll need to turn it, preferably with a composting pitchfork, weekly. By having a second 5-foot by 5-foot area you can store leaves or carbon materials to mix in with your weekly grass clippings. Or if you simply want to transfer one pile to the next, assuring good aeration and mixture of green to brown ingredients, the second area makes this easier. You can use normally discarded kitchen waste in your compost pile also. Coffee grinds, vegetable and fruit peels, and fish scraps are excellent green nitrogen sources. These kitchen leftovers must be mixed and covered with brown carbon sources. Bury these kitchen scraps 6 to 12 inches under the pile to discourage neighborhood animals from picking into your pile. Don't discard any meat or dairy products into the pile because they will interrupt the necessary chemical decomposition of the pile. Once you begin the brown and green layering process, almost by magic millions of micro-organisms will begin to break down the materials. In fact, if you turn the pile and it gets sufficient air and moisture, the internal temperature should get to between 130 and 150 degrees. This is when your pile "cooks" and your "black gold" develops. It is recommended that your pile be at least 5-feet by 5-feet in size because with the right combination of oxygen, water, nitrogen and carbon this size can generate temperatures needed to "cook" your pile. In this new millennium we have become enlightened to the fact that our resources are not limitless. Some of the simple things we do can add up and even have an exponentially positive effect. Starting a compost pile can benefit our environment, can be fun to do, and its "black gold" can be extremely beneficial when added to plants, flowers, and problem turf areas. For further information, you can refer to a book called Composting by Liz Ball.