Your neighbors are using two different composting systems: cold
composting and hot composting. Both yield compost, but hot
composting produces it faster than the cold method. To cold
compost, simply toss ingredients in a pile or other enclosure,
and then wait a year or two for them to break down. Turning the
pile, which means moving the materials from one spot to another
to mix them up, is optional, although tackling this task once or
twice a year will speed up the decomposition process. Hot
composting takes more time and energy to prepare but produces
finished compost in about 3 months. It also lets you produce
more compost per year in the same amount of space. Hot
composting gets its name because all the microorganisms busily
breaking down materials generate heat within the pile. Reprinted
from The Veggie Gardener's Answer Book Copyright 2008 by Barbara
W. Ellis, with permission from Storey Publishing. Photo credit:
Seabamirum I've got two neighbors. One just piles up his
clippings, and the other one is alw