How many people have compost piles?  

my dad composts right in the garden spots. It is funny sometimes to see plants spring from the compost before he has turned it over to plant again.

I have a compost pile where I compost all the big stuff - the prunings, lawn clippings, newspaper, cardboard . . .

And I also have a smaller compost bin where I compost food scraps and smaller things that fit. Mostly I do it this way to keep my scavanging fat dog out of the compost . . . she will eat anything and is such a menace :-)

My father composts directly into the garden. He digs a long trench in the part of his garden that is fallow and tips the food scraps into it, then covers them up and hey presto . . .

I use the pile method. I have a small mountain in my backyard where everything goes that can't be recycled or thrown out. This pile has been there for over ten years. I throw clippings in there too. I use lime to sweeten the soil. Every so often I'll turn it. I need to fence it so that critters don't dig around there. I use the soil I make for everything. If it goes in the garden I add phosphorus and nitrogen along with some peat. I mix it in before planting in the spring. I test the soil to make sure its at the proper levels. Its kind of fun to make soil with all the things most people throw out or burn.

I usually practice segregation. We do compositng right in the garden for leaves and cuttings from plants. I also have a container for smaller volume of composting like those from peelings of fruits and vegetables where I cut them into small pieces for faster compositing. I usually use clay pot. In few weeks it will turn in soil which I use for planting.

I do both. My garden is very small, so I compost around the edges when I can, and turn the soil whenever the crop is harvested. I also have a small area near the back door that I continually dig in food scraps as well as a few leaves, grass clippings and so on. It has very good soil finally and I use that to start seeds with.

I started a good compost setup when I lived in MN several years ago but like you, I'm not living there anymore so don't know how it turned out.

I'm renting here now and hope not to be here long, so I can't do a real compost pile here. I started saving my vegetable scraps and such in a large coffee can and I've been adding a bit of water to it.

I've got a milk jug that I water my plants from and I put some of that 'water' in it too. My houseplants are definitely perking up from that.

Coffee is great too. I dump the used coffee with filters in another large can and I'm going to work that into the dirt that I'll be planting some vegetables in. Worms love the coffee too.

Oh, I add my eggshells to the coffee too, since they'll break up and work easily into the soil too.

I compost in many different ways. I'll avoid the usual methods already mentioned.

I have seen people who put organic scraps in the plastic boxes that kitty litter comes in from the store. They seal air tight so there isn't any stink.

The organic material will turn to liquid. This can be mixed with water or applied directly to the soil.

Worms are a great way to compost. You can buy them by the pound. They will eat the organic scraps and give you what is known as black gold in return.

Yard waste like leaves can be turned into the soil to amend growing areas as well.