I've composted for years in a single black bin with no holes. Lately I've experimented with ag pipe wound down through the muck to allow for gas exchange and I think I want to get a new bin and fix the pipe internally. My tips:
NEVER add water, this produces evil, smelly, unusable slush. It gets all the water it needs from the veggies and grass.
A shady spot on bare earth works best. Some sun is ok but they generate their own heat.
No meat scraps. I've stopped adding egg shell too because it doesn't break down as fast but egg shell is generally ok.
We compost all vegetable kitchen scraps (cooked and raw) including things like bread/pasta. If I think something is too salty I won't chuck it in. Avocados sometimes have to go through twice.
I layer vege scraps with grass clippings and sometimes leaves. These compress over time. Once a layer of scraps is really breaking down and starting to stink, that's when I cover it with grass or whatever. Some people use newspapers but I don't.
Stirring it up to allow some gas exchange is ok but I rarely do it. If the compost I produce smells, it means I need to stir it up to get some oxygen in there and/or I haven't allowed enough time for it to process.
Compost should come out smelling like soil and be slightly moist and spongy. I guess it depends what you're putting in.
Be prepared for tomatoes and pumpkins to sprout from your compost! Whenever I use it I get volunteers which I stake up and eat. The best tomatoes are the ones you grow yourself. The kids get into it too.
I sometimes add horse or cow shit into the mix to get some bacteria going. I've never added worms - don't worry they'll get in there - but there's no harm in doing this.
Depending on most of the above, 6 months in the minimum I would wait before using it.
A lot of native plants and trees don't like the richness of compost to save it for your flowers and your fruit/vege garden. It's also great as a mulch or to help prepare a garden bed (gets the bacterial processes happening in the soil).
Man that's awesome advice, thanks so much.
I've read people suggesting putting some ag pipe down the middle as you said, how would that work exactly? Does the pipe need to have holes in it and then pop out one end of the bin?
No water, got it. I did read not to put it somewhere with too much sunlight, I'll avoid putting meat in there, is dairy ok? I figured bread/pasta is ok, I want to chuck as much food waste into it as possible.
So regarding the set up, did you start with the brown stuff at the bottom (i.e. grass clippings, leaves, etc.), then food scraps, then soil? I assume once you start you don't add any more soil, just add food scraps then clippings/leaves on top like layers? How full should it be to start with?
I think I will drill holes into it and also get a bin with a lid that locks, that way I can lie it down and roll it around if necessary to get some gas exchange, that's what some of the guides recommended.
I've already got a vege garden going so more than happy to plant sprouts, I'll use the compost for the veggies/roses.
Just curious, how many people live with you? Just wondering if one bin is enough for a family of 5! Are you able to get all your scraps in there without it filling up?