I was reading, in The Green Pharmacy, not so long ago, that phytoestrogens are completely different than toxic chemicals that mimic estrogens. "The soy supporters tout soybeans because they are high in two estrogen-like plant compounds, genistein and daidzein. Both of these phytoestrogens prevent your body from taking up the more harmful forms of estrogen circulating in your blood. They take the place of that estrogen, binding to your cells' estrogen receptor sites and preventing more harmful estrogens from binding to the same receptors. Significantly, they also protect the body from pollutants that chemically mimic estrogen. The soy supporters are right. Soy is high in genistein and daidzein, but lots of other beans are also quite high in genistein, which appears to be the more active of the two phytoestrogens." ~James A. Duke, The Green Pharmacy

The sign of a 'professional' composter must be the number of various bins they've used. Lloyd wins hands down! I used a wire mesh bin years ago but didn't like it. Too much work to pull it off and shovel all the compost back in. I've used various bins made of wood, lastly pallets. Apparently I also compost snow. I'm now just using a pile as it's easier to access and turn. Out here in the country no one cares how pretty it is as long as it's kinda out of the landscaped area. All winter I collect kitchen scraps in this 42" tall black container which we place about 20' from the house. Easier to shovel a path thru the snow to it instead of 100' to a pile. It has no bottom so after spring thaw I just lift it off, shovel into a wheelbarrow and move to wherever I want to make a pile, layering with wood shavings. My preferred method over the summer is to bury kitchen scraps and let the worms and microscopic organisms do their thing underground. Works the best for me and it's really easy.

I use an old plastic swimming pool support, a rigid material about four foot high, and have two round *bins*, each about 8 feet in diameter. It is very dry here - relative humidity is rarely above 20%, annual average precipitation is Under these conditions, a waterproof side lining is essential in keeping up the necessary moisture for compost activity. I aerate the pile by driving a sharpened metal pole into the mass, by using a bulb auger on the end of a drill, and if I have the energy, and I usually don't, I take it all apart and turn it. Usually, I just find it easier to leave it all heaped up for 18 months, adding material as high as we can easily throw it, say a mound thats 6 or 7 feet high in the middle, and soak it down with a hose now and again, and let the worms and bacteria do their thing at their own time and pace. When we empty out one of the bins, we get an 8 foot diameter by 3-4 foot high pile of largely finished, beautiful black compost. The few odds and ends that didn't break down get called "mulch". Your milage may vary. Certainly worth a try in a dry climate where a sopping wet t-shirt dries out completely in less than 5 minutes.

I use a passive/active method (dont know what else to call it). My compost bins are adjacent to the garage and I can reach them with my air compressor. There is a copper tube about 3ft long on the end of a blowgun. I will insert it and retract it very slowly on approximately a 6in grid. I will turn a new pile once and when the second heat starts to diminish, I will use the air compressor. It seams to extend the second heat. What I would like to try next is to put a tube on the end of a paint spray gun. Then I could mix a liquid fertilizer with the air for hard to compost browns like corn stalks and fall leaves. John