Depending on the kind of litter you use, you can put the cat droppings in compost also. But not if you're using the clay stuff. There are other materials, such a corn and newspaper pellets that can be nicely composted, along with the animal droppings.

If you buy bags of manure from the nursery, you'll find that it has no scent. It probably is also neutralized, as is just about any bagged product. But if you mix some into your active compost you can reenergize it and get the compost cooking hotter.

Years ago I took the Fort Worth Zoo's docent training program. I have been a professional naturalist for years, but I wanted to see what they were teaching the docents, so I took the course. At the end we each had to do a presentation that we worked up, and didn't need to be zoo related. One fellow was an ardent gardener and a master composter. He had a system with a 4' x 4' bin of hardware cloth (that heavy metal screen with 1/2 inch sized mesh) in the middle of which he placed an upright 3-4" tube also made of hardware cloth. The combination of regular water and the air that got down that tube combined with the anaerobic activity meant he had the hottest fastest compost I've ever seen. It was a sight to behold!

If you have the dollars for investing in a compost tumbler, you can have the cadillac of compost systems. It's kind of like a big cement mixer with a lid and air vents. You open the door, pop in the new vegetation, close it, then crank the handle a few turns to move it all around. Every day you go out and tumble it and regularly add water.

I'm sick to death of having this stupid cold. As I write this I want to spring up from my desk and go do all of my yard work, but I still have a few days of recuperation to go. Maybe just a little mulch today.

By the way, Howard Garrett is on the air right now, and I paid particular attention to his description for killing off Bermuda in the garden. He said you have to mechanically remove it (dig it out) then when the soil is ready put down a thin layer of finished compost, or even better, he said, worm castings, because they're so uniform. Put at least seven layers of newspaper down on top of that, then put two or three more inches of mulch. If Bermuda comes up through it, pull it out, or spray it with vinegar and orange oil with soap in the mix. (I think I've mentioned this before, but visit his site for the recipe). So maybe that is something to do today--go put out the worm castings and newspaper on the beds I dug last week. (Don't hit plants you want to keep with the vinegar mix, it kills foliage).

SRS