A compost pile, sometimes viewed as an unsightly, malodorous heap of garden debris, is fast becoming a gardening status symbol. Autumn, with its windfall of leaves and other organic litter, is a good time to start one and begin reaping its benefits.
The finished product, often described as ``brown gold,`` is regarded as a priceless soil additive that makes lawns, flowers and vegetables grow better; but many home gardeners have frowned on the idea of having a compost pile in their yard for varied reasons.
But with environmental pressures, particularly the banning of garden wastes from overburdened landfills, composting is the sensible alternative to bagging them for disposal. Suddenly it has become fashionable to recycle
(compost) your garden litter, and first-time composters are discovering the natural benefits of what generations of serious gardeners have known all along.
Do not be deterred by misconceptions that it is a lot of work, unsightly or perhaps smelly. It need not be.
The pile can be as simple or elaborate as you like and can be put in an out-of-the-way corner of the yard or screened by shrubbery or decorative fencing.
If the yard is small, some kind of enclosure to keep refuse neatly contained is advisable. A concrete block or fenced enclosure may look neater, but it will not be much more efficient than a simple mesh wire enclosure or, where space permits, a pile sprawling without any retaining provision.
If you prefer, you can buy ready-made composter bins that are efficient and attractive enough to stand in the most visible part of the yard.
The effort put into composting is up to you. Merely adding layer upon layer of leaves, grass clippings, frost-killed flower and vegetable tops and other organic debris is all that is necessary to start your pile working.
There is no need to worry about offensive odors if the accumulations tossed on the pile are restricted to organic wastes and do not include table scraps, some of which, however, are good composting additives. But it is a good rule to mix layers of leaves with other plant residues to keep the leaves from packing and inhibiting aeration. Decomposition can be hastened by occasionally adding soil and fertilizer between the layers of litter, applying a commercial compost activator, watering the pile during dry spells and turning it over occasionally with a spading fork. However, if you let nature take its course, the results will be just as good, although it will take longer.
Where a conventional pile is impractical, much of the garden litter can be salvaged through ``direct composting.`` This simply means working the litter right into the soil instead of putting it on a pile.
For example, you can rake the leaves around ornamental shrubs, trees and hedges and between the rows of perennial beds, then turn the leaves a few inches under the soil. The decomposing leaves will enrich the soil, and the spading itself will have a beneficial effect. After there is a freeze, additional leaves can be used to mulch these plants.
Also use leaves to cover garden areas where you intend to make late plantings of woody nursery stock and spring flowering bulbs. This will keep early frosts from penetrating the ground until you finish planting. Rake the leaves aside when planting, then replace them as a winter mulch.
By far the best way to use even more prodigious amounts of yard refuse, including leaves, is to compost it directly in the vegetable plot and areas set aside for summer annuals. To do this, dig trenches in the plots about 2 feet deep and as wide as you like, piling the dirt between them. Then fill the trenches with leaves and other plant refuse, sprinkle some fertilizer over all and cover with 6 or 7 inches of soil.
Within a week or so, the plant residues will be compacted by the initial layer or soil. Add more soil as the residues continue to settle to keep the trenches full to the top. By spring they will have decomposed sufficiently to be mixed with the soil in the plot, thus improving its texture and fertility for the new growing season.
All plant litter will d