Making a compost pile

Every week at our new house I have 2 or 3 wheelbarrows full of weeds, bags of grass clippings, and access to as much dry hay and straw as I need - the perfect materials for making good compost. So I decided to make a compost pile, using some pallets I got for free to form a large bin.

The main ingredients: rough soil mix in the upper left, greens in the upper right, and dry straw/grass at the bottom.

These lesser ingredients are not required to make good compost, but they will ensure a rich result (from the steer manure), and help ensure the pile heats up like it should (microbes in the compost maker). Extra water is added to keep the pile moist - it should be as wet as a squeezed-out sponge.

Making the pile is easy.
1) A layer of dry material 3-6" thick. This is very important because it helps keep the pile loose and aerated, which is essential for providing oxygen for the microbes to do their work heating up the pile. If the pile is un-aerated and stays cool and wet, you end up with mold and anaerobic decomposition (it stinks!).
2) Next a layer of green material 3" thick. Weeds (avoid those going to seed), some grass clippings (not too much, they tend to clump), and vegetable scraps. Water to the correct moistness.
3) Last a thin (about 1/2") layer of dirt/manure mix, a sprinkle of "compost maker", and repeat until the pile is gone.

That's as simple as composting gets - layer some greens and browns and let it sit for 6 months. There are many technical factors operating in the background (temperature, carbon to nitrogen ratio, proper oxygenation, dozens of different microbes working together, etc) and all these can be explored and controlled if one wishes to make REALLY good compost.

Last but not least is the proper site for the compost pile. Mine is near the garden (easy to throw on weeds and trimmings) and under the branches of deciduous trees (shaded in summer so it doesn't dry out as fast and exposed in spring to the sun to warm up more quickly). We'll see how it goes.