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Choose your composting methods and site

Decide between hot composting (fast, kills weed seeds and pathogens, more work) and cold composting (slow, low effort, less sanitising), or run both. Size the bays from your audit.

How

1. Hot compost needs a pile of about 1 m x 1 m x 1 m (3 ft cube) turned every 1 to 2 weeks; it can give usable compost in about 2 to 4 months plus 1 to 3 months curing.
2. Cold compost uses a small heap or bin that is rarely turned and takes about 6 months to 2 years.
3. Plan at least three bays: one filling, one heating or curing, one finished. This lets you always have a pile in each stage.
4. Pick a level, well-drained spot with year-round access, near a water source and not right against a fence.
5. Plan a separate covered store of browns (dry leaves, straw, shredded card, untreated wood chips) so you can always cover food scraps.

Do these first

• site-1

Sources

1. Hot vs cold composting. University of Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture, accessed 2026-11
2. Composting At Home. US Environmental Protection Agency, accessed 2026-11
3. HGA-01027 Composting in Alaska. University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service, accessed 2026-11

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