Composting is the natural process whereby organic matter breaks down into a state in which it can improve soil texture and moisture retention while feeding the soil microorganisms essential to plant growth and health. Nobody has too much compost, particularly in Northern New Mexico, where soils are often low in organic matter. So adding compost to your yard several times a year can in the long run make a big difference in how your garden grows.

If you're planning on making a compost heap for the first time and live in a housing development, be sure to check with your neighborhood housing association to see if it permits compost heaps in its neighborhood — some associations don't. The reasons usually given for such prohibitions are that (1) compost heaps smell bad and (2) attract unwanted animals. But a properly made and maintained compost heap won't smell bad. In fact, it will hardly smell at all. And it won't attract anything but birds — looking for all the worms your compost is nurturing!

Some folks won't build compost heaps because they've been told they'll have to turn them repeatedly in order to let air into the pile. Turning a heap speeds up the composting process, but left to its own devices, a properly made heap will rot down in 6 months to a year without having been turned. Furthermore, a properly made heap — one that isn't overwatered, and that contains proper proportions of carbon and nitrogen — will be naturally well-aerated. Worm Lovers Alert: If you add live worms to your compost pile, don't turn the pile too often. Otherwise, it can heat up too much and kill off the worms. Turning your pile once a month should be plenty.

Another way to get past the heap-aeration hassle is to use a commercially available rotating compost bin: you turn the handle and the drum rotates, aerating the compost within. Drawback: such bins are usually too small to yield a significant amount of compost. They also overheat and dry out easily in our northern New Mexico climate. If you purchase such a bin, set it in a place partly shaded from the afternoon sun, and check it every couple of days to make sure it isn't drying out. You can also paint it white to reflect away some of our fierce summer sunlight.

The Three Bin System: True compost fanatics often set up more than one pile. When I was in Switzerland years ago, I saw a triple bin in a farmyard. Its sides were made of three wooden pallets held up by metal stakes that had been driven into the ground. The outward-facing side was open. The farmer would fill the first bin to capacity; then she would move the contents of the first bin to the second bin, aerated them in the process. Next she would start refilling the now-empty first bin. When it was refilled to the top, she would move the contents of the second bin to the empty third bin, the contents of the first bin to the second bin, and start filling up the first bin again. This way she was assured of a continuous supply of compost in various stages of aging.

If three bins seems like too much, don't despair — even one compost heap can make a difference to your garden!

What To Add To A Compost Heap

Good compost is made up of five components: carbon materials, nitrogen materials, air, water, and beneficial microbes.

Carbon Materials: Carbon materials are dry and fibrous. They are slower to decompose than other compost additives, but their fibrosity helps aerate the pile and improve the texture of the final product. Carbon materials can include:

• wood shavings and sawdust from untreated lumber