My neighbor bought a chipper. He's gathering pine and cedar needles, chipping up elderberry branches and other yard debris and wants to know the best way to compost and make good rich soil for growing organic vegetables and flowers.

He's well on his way to making garden gold. Now he'll want to add some green to all that brown, and pile it up. Here's the formula.

50% Brown Material (the chipper stuff)-Carbon
25% Green Material (fresh grass clips, green leaves, weeds without seeds, fruit
and vegetable peels, coffee grounds)-Nitrogen
25% Soil or compost. This will introduce micro-organisms to the pile and speed the decay
process.
Water. Keep the pile as moist as a wrung out sponge.

Never add meat or fish scraps, dairy products, or cooked food.

Building Your Compost Pile
Layer the brown (carbon), green (nitrogen) and soil. Add water to dampen as your build your pile. Continue your layers of brown, green and soil like layers of a lasagna. Build your pile until it is 3-4’ high.

The more time you put into your bin, the faster the results will be. You may want to turn your compost pile once a week to speed the decay process, but you don’t have to.

Composting does not smell if it is done properly. If your pile is creating odors, add more carbon material.

Now, maybe he'll share with you, if you share this info with him!!

Happy Gardening!