When making compost for your garden from leaves and other yard debris, it’s important that the compost pile is aerated so the material will break down.

While compost piles are usually turned with a pitchfork, pieces of perforated PVC pipe can also be inserted into the pile to provide oxygen to the center of the pile.

Watch the video above to find out more.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Danny Lipford: That’s a nice out of the way spot for a compost pile.

Tricia Craven Worley: Well, you know Danny, this compost pile happened just by accident.

Danny: Oh, really?

Tricia: Yeah. One time I had just a lot of leaves, and I didn’t want to put them all in my compost bin, so I just throw them over here.

Danny: It seems perfect and everything, I doubt you’d want to put any of the household waste in there though.

Tricia: Well, actually by choice, I just put nothing but leaves here and the leaves and then a little bit of dirt that is attached to them it’s amazing what kind of really, really rich loam it’s created over the years.

Danny: What’s the deal with the drainage pipe? You got a drainage problem?

Tricia: Well, actually this is a really good tip. You know one of the main components of making a compost pile healthy is aeration. And this is just a PVC pipe that I bought at a home store. And, as you can see, it has these little perforated holes, and those go . . . there two rows of them, and they go all the way the length of this wall. And so it allows a little bit more air to come in through this hole that I won’t block up.

Danny: I see. I guess the wire fence over there helps in that way too.

Tricia: Yes. This is great and you know it was one of those incidental things I didn’t know how good it would be, and this is so we’ll have cross ventilation here. And you know, because the pipe is so easy to move, you can see that if I chose to allow the pile to get higher I could certainly put in another pipe.

Danny: Well, you have plenty of room for a little more debris. I’ll give you a hand.

Tricia: Okay.


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Danny Lipford

Founder

Danny Lipford is a home improvement expert and television personality who started his remodeling business, Lipford Construction, at the age of 21 in Mobile, Alabama. He gained national recognition as the host of the nationally syndicated television show, Today's Homeowner with Danny Lipford, which started as a small cable show in Mobile. Danny's expertise in home improvement has also led him to be a contributor to popular magazines and websites and the go-to source for advice on everything related to the home. He has made over 200 national television appearances and served as the home improvement expert for CBS's The Early Show and The Weather Channel for over a decade. Danny is also the founder of 3 Echoes Content Studio, TodaysHomeowner.com, and Checking In With Chelsea, a décor and lifestyle blog.

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