Maintain a moisture level of a damp, wrung out sponge and allow for good air flow into bin.
Continue to add materials to your bin and maintain moisture level.
To start, you will need: A receptacle for the compost, a good convenient spot to compost in (preferably backyard), a bin in the kitchen for easy scrap collection, a tool to help turn the pile and a set of gloves and pruning shears.
The best site for composting is somewhere out of direct sunlight, a place with good air circulation, on bare ground, away from large trees, away from animals and very accessible site.
Do’s
Choose only food scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds, leaves and grass clippings, tea bags, newspaper and corrugated cardboards, garden waste and manure.
Don’ts
Don’t use meat and fish waste, no dairy products, no large wooden chunks, no heavy cardboard and don’t include items that contain herbicides or pesticides. No human waste either.
Turning the compost over can be done once a week or so. Keep mixing up the different kinds of organic material in the pile. Once these are properly done, the compost distributes generated heat, eliminates most odors and aerates the pile.
More tips
Designate a compost bin, chop scraps into smaller pieces, use starter soil, cover bin when possible, add some manure when available, maintain moist pile, cover food scraps with “brown” and balance kitchen waste with dry garden waste.
Source: Power Point presentation of Aric Bickel
