Composting at home can be that simple. Fallen leaves, grass clippings and household scraps from vegetables, fruits, egg shells and coffee grounds are all you need to create a healthy compost pile in a corner of your back lawn or garden. Sawdust, manure, hay and straw also are good composting materials.

Nitrogen, carbon, water and air to promote the microorganisms that work to create compost.

Nitrogen comes from fresh-cut grass clippings or weeds without weed seed heads; carbon comes from fall's dry leaves or chipped branches.

You can create compost in a ready-made, tumbling-bin container found at garden centers or in gardening catalogs, or you can simply form a stand-alone pile of composting material.

Good maintenance will keep the pile from smelling, say local Virginia Cooperative Extension agents. But much of that smell is the earthy, musty smell associated with rich organic material. A little lime can be added to keep down the smell, but turning the pile frequently often speeds up the decomposition and prevents obnoxious odors.

Composting keeps the landfills from filling up so fast, and it produces happy, healthy plants.

THE BIN

To make a compost bin:

* Fashion heavy-gauge wire into a circle or square, using metal fencing stakes for vertical support.

* Stack cinderblocks to form a three-sided bin. Leave the front open so you have easy access to the compost.

* Use pressure-treated lumber to create a bin the size you need. Allow 1-2 inches of space between the slats so air gets into the material and helps with the decomposition.

MAKING COMPOST

From the extension service's free brochure: Making Compost from Yard Waste.

1. Locate your compost pile on a well-drained site that would benefit from nutrients running off the pile.

2. For aeration and drainage, put down a 3-inch layer of coarse plant material such as small twigs or a wooden pallet.

3. Add 8-10 inches of leaves and waste from your kitchen. Do not add fat or meat because they will attract animals. Chopping or shredding material helps it break down faster. Run your lawn mower over leaves or grind them in a chipper or shredder.

4. Add 2-3 inches of fresh grass clippings or fresh manure. Or, you can substitute a nitrogen fertilizer such as bloodmeal.

5. Add a thin layer of soil to each layer to provide the pile with microorganisms.

6. Moisten the pile as you add leaves and other dry material.

7. Mix thoroughly. Shape the pile so the center is lower than the sides to help water flow to the pile. Keep the pile moist but not wet. The pile will begin to heat up and decay. If it doesn't within a few days, the pile lacks nitrogen or moisture. The center of the pile will heat up to about 160 degrees Fahrenheit, which is hot enough to kill most weed seed, insects and eggs and diseases.

If the pile smells like ammonia, it's too wet or too tightly packed.