1) Green - vegetable trimmings, and plant trimmings.
2) Brown - dead leaves and grass clippings
3) Soil - make sure it is free of weeds.

-You can chop your trimmings fine to speed up the process......and keep the can on top of something to catch leaks. You can periodically turn the can, or mix the contents with a shovel to speed things up. The mix should be moist, but not wet.

-Hope this is helpful.

-David Mason

I turn whenever I remember/feel like it, maybe once a month, when I think the neighbors won't notice. (I live in a highrise with closely packed balconies, and they think I'm weird enough without seeing me root through a "trash bucket".) It produces a small bucketful of finished compost every time I turn, probably because of all the coffee grounds. The inner container is pierced with airholes on sides and bottom and is propped up on small "feet"; I leave the top off with a sheet of newspaper to cover. That's inside a slightly bigger container which is unpierced with loosely closed lid, mostly because I was afraid of the box getting too hot when the late sun falls on it and cooking the worms. So I thought I would provide an air space buffer. It also keeps the compost juice from leaking onto the floor. It has never smelled; once in a while the ants come and explore it but then move out again.

This year my garden center is going to stock the official sort of compost worms, so I might try those. Will they get along with my regular ol' worms?

"How about gras clippings to start a compost in a rubber maid tub in my shop? the grass never went to seed, its kept cut short.Does it have to be kept drained or can it sit in the juice?"

The only problem with grass is that it sticks to itself. You have to be really careful to mix it up well with other stuff so it breaks down and doesn't just sit in a clump (everything will break down eventually, but clumps take a LOT longer to break down). Also, only grass=too much green=sour smell. This is very easily fixable--just add a brown (it sounds to me like you intend to use freshly mowed grass, which is a "green," and as you already know greens and browns need to be mixed). My favorite thing to mix with grass is shredded newspaper, because it's so easy to mix in equal parts of paper to equal parts of grass. If you don't have any newspapers lying around, go get some freebie newspapers from stores. Or shred brown paper grocery bags, add used paper coffee filters, and even dryer lint (not fabric softener sheets, just the lint from the lint trap). Cardboard will take longer to break down, but will also work.

My biggest compost tip is to shred things and cut them up small before adding them--really speeds up the process! : )