One of easiest ways to go green

If you can, use a mix of "brown" materials (which provide carbon) and "greens" (which provide nitrogen).

• Add an inch or so of soil. Sprinkle with water. Repeat.

The pile needs air to keep it "working." If your composter doesn't have air vents, stir it regularly.

Size is important. If the materials are too small, the pile can compress and have poor air circulation. If materials are too big it will take longer to compost. Break twigs and chop leaves with a lawn mower.

Keep your compost consistently moist but not soggy.

Fertilizer isn't necessary. But if you have little or no green material, you may want to add an organic source of nitrogen (such as aged manure, cottonseed meal or blood meal) or a high-nitrogen fertilizer to help materials break down.

Adding small amounts of garden soil (1 inch for every 8 to 14 inches of compost material) will boost microbial activity.

Compost is ready to use when it's dark, crumbly and has a nice, earthy smell. That can take several weeks to several months.

Mix completed compost into the soil before planting annuals and vegetables or spread a layer of compost on top of the soil around perennials, shrubs and trees.

• Plant trimmings• Grass clippings • Vegetable and fruit scraps • Lake plants

• Leaves • Straw • Wood chips • Woody material • Coffee grounds and tea bags • Aged manure • Sawdust (should be no more than 10% of pile)

• Pet feces (can transmit disease) • Meat, bones, grease or oils • Eggs, eggshells or dairy products • Diseased plants • Weeds that have gone to seed (the pile may not get hot enough to kill the seeds) • Ashes (can rob the pile of nitrogen) • Any plants recently treated with herbicides

A simple cylinder of galvanized chicken wire, hardware cloth or perforated plastic can be a composter. One or twice a month, lift off or undo the enclosure, move it a few feet away and turn the compost back into the cylinder.

Ideal for small yards. A "tumbler" composts quickly, especially if you turn it frequently. For quicker compost, process one batch at a time.

Among the larger, more ambitious bins, this bin allows for good air circulation. Place material in first bin for 3 to 6 weeks. Remove slats and turn material into middle bin for another 4 to 8 weeks. Allow compost to cure in final bin.