A past contributor to Valley Viewpoint praised the art of composting, and like all articles on the subject started off by telling us about composting bins. His advice (and the advice of many other composters): YOU GOTTA HAVE A BIN!

And this is exactly why most people don't compost. Have you seen the cost of commercially-made compost bins? Have you tried making one yourself, not knowing if a two-by-four is a piece of wood or a two-handed screwdriver used by four people?

Here is the simple man's way to compost: 1. Find an obscure corner of your yard. 2. Screen the area with small bushes of your choice. 3. Pile composting material behind the bushes. 4. When you feel the need for a little upper-body exercise, go dig in the pile with a shovel or spading fork. Or leave a shovel in the pile and tell your kids not to play with it.

The point is, if you try to make composting an art form, you won't do it or you will quickly get tired of doing it. If you just let it be a dump for your garbage and excess greenery, it can become your private place in the world; you'll grow to love it. Every once in a while, shovel some of your compost onto your vegetable patch or rose garden. Don't sweat it if it includes an occasional half-done Brussels sprout or undigested maple leaf. They will soon go the way the Lord intended.

Granted it takes longer and you don't get the fine, powdery, high-class compost that you get by buying a bin and a shelf-full of how-to books, but there is a natural satisfaction to just dumping and shoveling. It's sort of like natural sex versus doing it by the book. You'll do it more often and enjoy it more if you don't have to stop to read about it.

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