I work with two 4 feet x 4 feet bins, that is 16 square feet and 4 feet high. Does that equal 16 cubed? It has been a long while since I have studied math. Well, anyway, it is about all I can do in one afternoon to build up a batch.
There are a lot of ways to make compost and I have tried a lot of them. But my favorite is to rapid compost. It maybe more work, or at least harder work but the result is that at the end of two weeks you have dirt instead of grass clippings. And with all of the rain we have had so far this spring, we have had ample grass. (In contrast to last year when we went for weeks without having to mow.)
I use horse manure because I have a friend that has extra and needs a place for it to go away to...so it comes to our farm. Now everyone says that horse, hog, and hen is hot. Yep, that is true but if it is composted with the right stuff if makes a fine composted soil rich in nutrients.
I will spare you the photos of the ingredients. But I start with a layer of manure and then I add in a layer of grass clippings that have dried out a day or two. After tossing in another small layer of manure, I take the pitch fork and stir it up a bit. Layer after layer until I get the bin filled up.
Yesterday, it was extra work because I had broken apart a pile the day before and had it in both bins. So I had to empty one bin before I could start rebuilding it. And in the process of building up layers, I would have to go rake up the grass clippings.
When I got finished, Hubby covered it up with a tarp for me just in case we got some unexpected rain. A hard rain could ruin all of my hard work. That was the problem with the original batch, it was too wet. That was entirely my fault, I was in a hurry and mixed too much green grass in with manure that had been rained on. While you must have moisture to cook compost, too much will cause it to go cold.
I am sure there is a more scientific name for how the compost heats up and breaks down the grass and manure but "cooking" is a good term. When you turn compost over from one bin to another, it should be hot. Steam can literally rise out of the bin. This heat is what makes the matter break down and it is also what kills the weed seeds.
Tomorrow, being day two, I will go out and turn it over into the empty bin, mixing it up as I go along. The mixing helps to break apart and aerate That will take me about an hour. We will do this every two days for two weeks. Or until the contents turns cold, which signals that it is done. This rapid approach is a great way to make a lot of compost over the season. And this year, I want to use every bit of it I can make. My garden soil is beginning to need some building up. I have grand visions of lots of veggies side dressed in this black gold.
There might be some easier ways but I actually enjoy watching my compost bins "cook" and it pleases me tremendously to use a completed batch of compost. I consider the work good for me, and so long as I can work hard like this, I am happy. Some days Hubby and I work together, other days I do it by myself, and yet on others he does it by himself. To a gardener, this stuff is well worth the work, plus the exercise of shoveling it good for us and I get a great tan in the process.