By Chris Reinolds
Composting can be as simple or as complicated as you make it. From piling green and brown things in a corner of the yard
Compost bins need aeration, like this metal mesh enclosure. (Photo: Bureau of Environmental Services, Howard County, Md.)
to buying that perfect compost bin, you’ll generate the same end result. Those of us who turn and nurture our piles can expect more compost in a faster time period, but regardless our gardens will benefit from a little or a lot.
Roberta's, a no-frills pizzeria (Photo: Sommer Saadi.)
By Sommer Saadi
New Yorkers have gotten pretty good at finding new places to grow plants: rooftops in Brooklyn, abandoned rail lines in Manhattan, and now they’re conquering the tops of old shipping containers.
At least Roberta’s pizzeria in Bushwick, Brooklyn is giving it a shot. The pizzeria is housed in a former garage and tucked between rows of old, gritty warehouses and industrial factories. The wood-paneled walls match the wood picnic-styled tables, and prominently placed at the front of the restaurant is the bright red, wood-burning oven duly named Roberta.
But in the back yard is where they keep the main attraction.
Your first reaction might be YUCK. Composting is not for the squeamish among us.
The definition alone is enough to turn you off: the aeorobic decomposition ofbiodegradable organic matter, performed by aerobic bacteria, yeasts and fungi and in the later stages, assisted by ants, nematodes and worms.
Organic gardening expert Howard Garrett describes compost as “nature’s own living fertilizer.” It can be bought at the store or for the environmentally conscious among us, made at home.
By 
Barbara Kessler
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