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General Composting Tips:
How do I minimize trips to the compost pile and keep it from smelling: kitchen bins have a replaceable activated charcoal filter to reduce odors. If you dump it out a couple times a week and rinse it out good after emptying then we don't really notice any smell. I have in the middle of summer seen nats so I take it out more often in July and August.
Should I get a bin? You only need to buy a bin if you have a pretty small yard, otherwise some chicken wire and metal fence posts are recommended as they give you most of the same benefits for cheap. They are however, convenient is some cases. See bin vs tumbler below.
How high should a compost pile be? You should not create a pile or pile a bin more than 3 feet high. The heat generated by the resulting microbes in addition to the suns heat could hypothetically be a fire hazard. Spraying all piles weekly or bi-weekly, is recommended as this will accelerate the process and remove this risk.
I don't want to deal with flipping the pile: Well you don't have to, it will just take longer to create finished compost, but it will shrink and break down pretty quickly without flipping it. If you don't like the smell and/or are attracting unwanted attention from pests then spray it down, flip it with a pitchfork every time you add to it.
What else do I need to add to compost? Brown materials like leaves sticks and even untreated cardboard. Adding brown or dead materials help achieve the optimal ratio of 20 to 1 carbon to nitrogen ratio. This translates to roughly a 2 to 3 to 1 ratio of brown to green as green materials as all living materials are made up of a significant amount of carbon.
Flipping or aerating the process makes it aerobic, which is faster, less smelly, and reduces pests further. It also helps to ensure that more co2 and less methane is produced during the process.
build a leaf pile or bin next to your compost pile. A 5ft wide 3ft high chicken wire bin will store a lot of leaves. The chicken wire will keep the leaves from blowing all over your yard. Placing it next to the compost bin will give you a convenient way to add already decomposing leaves to your compost pile. The leave eventually also turn into a rich compost on its own. It creates a compost called, leaf mold, which is compost and not really mold, however this takes 2 years. When you think about it this is biomimicry at its best. Leaves fall from trees in the forest, they decompose and feed the trees.
Bin vs tumbler. I say bin, but this is up to you. For a large yard you don't need a bin, but I find mine great for storing compost to finish off and protect it from uv rays and hard rains for future use. If you get a tumbler you must tumble it. Otherwise I find it breaks down faster in a bin. Both retain heat to accelerate the process, both aerate, but a bin touches the ground which brings in earth worms. If you are going for biomimicry then the bin is your choice. Earth worms aerate and loosen(flip) the soi. They also convert compounds to raw fertilizer. If you ever buy worm castings then you realize that you are buying worm poop. Which should be and can be free with a little time spent on your part.
Larger Yard Tips:
Smaller Yard Tips:
A tumbler or bin are ideal here: This keeps the material hidden and reduces the smell. You may need to use untreated cardboard if you lack enough leaves. You can put a leaf bin or garbage can with a cover to make adding leaves easier, and to keep them from blowing back on your lawn. Leaves in a bin also turn to compost on their own but can take up to 2 years.