But I make no great effort in the composing process itself. What leaves aren't used as mulch beneath trees just gets piled deeply in fence rings to save space and occasionally have some wood ashes thrown on to reuse them (washed in to mix a bit), plus more-decomposed yard rakings on occasion, as much to add some abundant decomposer microflora as to save the organic matter. In less than a year it's fine as coarse mulch and in year or two it is nice and granular. These are oak and pecan and southern magnolia leaves, kind of slow to break down.

The food-related items and garden debris are composted in 25 gallon nursery pots (about to go to 45 gallon) with leaves or pine needles or rakings or old compost thrown on to eliminate smell and flies. A hardware cloth square at top keeps birds and any vermin out. I generally top the 25-gallon pots when nearly full with 6 inches or so of old compost, stand on it to compress (or use another filled pot to do so) and then or later on grow a crop in it for a season. Tomatoes, pepper, even radish. By the end of that summer, after some chemical fertilizing and watering and high southern heat, everything is nicely rotted and worms are usually present, though it may take some mixing (pine needles are often still recognizable as a layer, though rotted, and some raked twigs will persist, as will bones of course).

It frugal and its easy for me.

Rock on brotha------

JB