Here is what I remember I have in it now:

Some composted manure I bought
Peat moss
A little bark mulch
Some kitchen scraps of vegetables, egg shells, coffee grounds, etc.

I have no access to grass clippings as right now our yards is weeds or dead (hopefully sod next spring), I have a lot of tree branches and possibly leaves I could put in come fall, but I don't have a chipper and can't afford to buy one. I have access to cardboard at work but no decent way to shred it, save by hand. I want to get a small paper shredder to start composting old statements and such (I know no shiny papers). I want to get some manure, but I don't want to stink up the car and everyone giving it away is FAR away. Gas prices may be going down, but not by that much.

Also, how often should I water and what is the best method? It stays a bit moist in the center for a couple days in this almost 100 degree heat, but I thought it should be more moist. Can I put worms in it and expect them to stay?

Sorry for all the questions, but I want to get this to work. I know it will require work and I'm willing to put in the work. Thanks for the help in advance.

Just keep putting stuff in, and you will have compost by the spring.

The common rule is that the pile should be as moist as a squeezed-out sponge; usually rain, snow, and the moisture in the stuff you put in will take care of it, but if I'm piling up a ton of stuff at one time, I usually water for a little while after each several inches. Sometimes I don't water - not of this is an exact science, and please don't make yourself crazy trying to get everything someone's idea of "right".

*coffee shop used coffee grounds (sometimes a 1/2 garbage bag)
*hay sweepings from a feed store (a mix of straw, alfalfa, etc. and not a huge weed problem)
*rabbit manure - might be surprised that someone near you has rabbits & manure for free - in contractor bags no stink in the car
*tell all your friends you're collecting for compost & they'll save you their juicing pulp, canning waste, etc.
*household paper: facial tissues no makeup, toilet paper rolls, paper napkins, cereal & cracker boxes,
*more compost ingredients: deck & floor sweepings, hair from hair cuts, gutter clean out

If you cover the pile it will stay moist longer - old carpet, plastic tablecloth, etc. works

volume is key - won't get heating up until at least a 3' x 3' x 3' pile -- make it 4' around & you'll get it going in a few days with the right combination of ingredients.

worms: they'll stay once the initial heat up is done & finish the composting for you. Often present in a manure pile at a farm and even under small rabbit hutches in town. If you don't intend to get a hot pile going the worms will stay as long as there is vegetative matter for them to eat. They move on or die when the compost is done. These are not earthworms that dwell in soil. In spring you'll still have some there, but not the same quantity.

Be careful about accepting grass clippings because of what may have been used on the lawn for herbicides. If you have friends who have green lawns & don't use chemicals you're set.

If you want a hot pile & don't have the manure to heat it up, you can try adding the cheap dog food. I got the idea from Barbara Pleasant's book on compost and it does work. I only make hot piles if I'm in a hurry, energetic, or have lots of materials gathered up. Otherwise cold piles are fine & the plants don't mind how the compost was made.

In spring I think you'll still need organic fertilizer added to your beds, but over time the soil won't need it. Fertilizer is on sale in fall & keeps over winter if dry.

You can make a simple mesh bin now (maybe on the place you intend to garden), and wait for nature to provide a nice mix of green grass and leaves anywhere from August to November. Your grass may be brown now, but some neighbors water their grass, and some even shred leaves AND throw them out. I had a guy four houses down who each fall shredded his oak leaves, bagged them for collection, and I made good use of them.

I guess I have gotten a little wrapped up in one guys version of composting. I've been told not to use more than a handful of coffee grounds a week in the pile. The pile I have is built in a 3 sided pallet composter. I definitely need to to better about watering, it dries fast in the almost 100 degree heat lately.

I also need to make my pile bigger, right now it is only about 2ft x 2ft x 1.5 ft at most. I really wish I had a chipper, but for now I will settle with what I can get free from other sources.

Thanks all for the help!

I made frames from 2" x 2" treated lumber, staple-gunned hardware cloth to them, and wired them together, leaving a "door" in front so I could get at the pile; the door has the hardware cloth only up to 3' - the rest are 4' - so I can throw stuff in without opening it up. I have had open piles in the past, and the bin works better (IMO) as the top surface stays flatter and doesn't shed the rain. It also helps with keeping animals away.

I don't have a chipper; there are certainly times when I wished I had one, but mostly it's not an issue. I don't put woody stuff in the compost on purpose - some slips in anyway - but cut up branches by hand and let the pieces be mulch wherever they land. I use hand clippers, big loppers, and hand saws, mostly, although I have a chain saw for the big stuff. Then again, I live on a suburban lot in eastern NJ - if I lived out in farm or mountain country with lots of trees, I'd have a big chipper.

I use little hand clippers to cut up the weeds before I put them in the compost so they'll break down faster. It probably speeds up the process somewhat, but even if you put them in the bin whole, they will decompose. As kimmsr says, compost happens, and it happens whether we have a bin or not, or water or not, or turn it over or not. If you had a pile of only coffee grounds,or only paper, it would eventually turn to compost no matter what you did.

Take a look at some of the recent posts in this forum - there is one about using up a lot of cardboard, and another about composting in the Dust Bowl - there may be something you could use there.

It's supposed to be enjoyable; if it's not, rethink the whole situation.

Plan to save leaves this fall and use them to layer with your kitchen scraps all winter. In spring use the rest to mix with grass clippings - yours or, preferably, your neighbors, and leave yours on the lawn to feed it!

There's really no practical limit to coffee grounds in the compost, they're almost balanced already in terms of C:N.

Happy composting!

Grass is more of a favorite, since wet used grounds can compact the pile more than is desired.

I am trying to get enough compost to start square foot gardening next spring. I have a TINY pile going as I am not sure what to add.

Here is what I remember I have in it now:

Some composted manure I bought
Peat moss
A little bark mulch
Some kitchen scraps of vegetables, egg shells, coffee grounds, etc.

You know you do NOT have to compost "composted manure" Or peat moss, right?

Plus you should never buy anything to put into a compost pile. What is the point - Just buy the compost.

Consider reading up on "Lasagna Gardening". You could put some of the materials you mentioned right into the garden bed.