COMPOSTING!!!
It's messy, and stinky at times, but it is nature's way of turning the dead, unused, or rotten plantforms back into beneficial components. Here's what my year-round compost heap looks like:
The big trash bag next to it was one of six bags of leaves I'd gotten from neighbors. I am actually in the process of making a second cage next to the first one to put all of those leaves in. Often times, overly finicky gardeners will spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on composting equipment.
Unnecessary.
Mine's working fine (although it is a tiny bit more work than the bins with a handle that you just turn to aerate it all) and it was cheap to make ($4.00 per bin). It will take a bit longer for the waste to transform into compost than some rigs, but again... $4.00 < $350.00.
Step 1: Buy, salvage, or borrow something to make the cage out of. I bought bug screen that was designed to keep critters out of people's radiators on cars. You can use hog panels, chicken wire, or any other wide range of materials. The stouter, the better. But it also helps that it is made of something that can breathe. If you decide to use something like an old trash can or a 55 gallon drum, I highly recommend that you drill many holes in the sides of it so that the necessary air can circulate through your composting materials.
Step 2: Find a place for it. You'll want it far away from your house and garage. It has a tendency to attract bugs (there are natural remedies for that too), and can get smelly if you don't have a good ratio of green to brown, and the right amount of moisture.
Step 3: Build it! Simple enough, right?
Step 4: Load it up. Fill it with table scraps (but keep anything fatty or sugary out of the bin - those things don't break down well, they'll make the heap even smellier, and it will attract more bugs and animals to your yard). The stems from broccoli, moldy old bread, grass clippings, untreated wood (like twigs that fell off a tree into your yard), dead flowers, leaves, old newspaper (preferably those that have been printed with only black and white ink, and with ink that doesn't contain lead), coffee grounds.... there's TONS of stuff that can go out to the heap that would otherwise end up in a landfill.
Step 5 (this is the part where the work comes in): About once per week (or up to once per month if you're feeling lazy), go out, disassemble your rig, and use a hay fork to turn your pile up. Just kinda stir it around. Once it's all mixed up again, reassemble the ring and fill 'er back up again.
Step 6: If you live in an area that receives little moisture, you'll need to add some water to the heap every so often to keep it moist and working. But don't overdo it. If it gets too wet, the pile will get a really pungent strong odor to it. If it gets too dry or if you don't turn it often enough, the insides of the pile will grow a white powdery mold. If this happens, your pile won't decompose properly (or at all, for that matter).
By using this method, in 6 to 12 months, you'll have good, happy compost to work with. There will be nutrient rich, dark colored matter in the middle of your pile (and throughout it) which you can then use to fertilize your plants and lawn. And those three bananas that you forgot about on your counter for two weeks didn't actually go to waste afterall!
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