Agree with Robertz6 - Depends on factors yet unknown. I harvest about 2,000+ pounds of finished compost/month. All with pitchfork, flat shovel and garden rake. Sounds to me like you are in the beginning stages. Figure out what you want to accomplish, first... Wood bins of any style need rebuilding, eventually. Rotating bins don't work well due to lack of volume. So recommend that you build two cinderblock bins 4'x4'x4'. Two of them - side by side (into which to turn the pile). Lay a 2"x10" form of pressure treated lumber FIRST. Lumber for sides should extend 5' to the front (not 4'). Screw 2"x6" lumber vertical @ front center of middlle side. 2"x4" screwed vertical on the 2"x10" on the end sides. To hold the front slats on the bins, for easy access. Triangle piece of 2"x10" to stabilize vertical lumber. You'll need to buy 26 half-blocks to build it correctly. Block bins are no-maintenance, for your lifefime. And costs less than one quality rotating bin w/shipping. Stagger the blocks correctly, then fill holes with sand. Recommend a 6" sloping-to-front dirt floor to the bin. Dig a trench in front of both bins about 6" deep, Sloping from sides, to front of the middle center. Dig a 12" hole in center the size of a 5-gal. bucket. Cover floors with 10-mil black plastic, including trench. Cut plywood 'floors' to fit over the plastic, to trench. For ease of shoveling the bottom 6" of compost to harvest. Yes, the wood floor will need replacing every year or two. Fill one bin with compost, watering-in each layer. I use herbivore manure layered with grass clippings/hay. Pile will need to be 2'+ thick to heat much. 36"+ is best. Must attain critical biomass (compression) to heat high. Read-up about thermophyllic fungi and what they eat. Water will collect in the trench. Put it back on the pile. Recirculated water becomes concentrated compost 'tea'. The 'tea' is as good as your compost - if used fresh. Full of nutrients (N,P,K+Micro) and microorganisms. Collect 'tea' when watering-in each layer when turning it. Pour it directly around trees & shrubs. Dilute for indoor. Screen 'tea' to use as foliar feeding with a sprayer. Purchase a 20" compost thermometer. Purchase a 48" x 42" chain-link fence gate. Place it on two 2"x4" lumber across the open bin to turn. Turn the pile at 100F-105F as it cools down. Place new materials/scraps in bottom of empty bin. Then turn old pile on top of the collected materials. Fence gate 'screens' pile material for high aeration. Microorganisms assimilate oxygen and respire CO2. CO2 buildup will kill them before the food supply runs out. Remember to put slats in both bins, to keep 'critters' out. Gate will keep 'em from getting into the bin from top. Use diluted black molasses with pet food to heat new turn. Recommend you view the following link for more info: http://www.compostinfo.com/tutorial/index.htm Happy Composting

What you feed is dependent on your soil type, i.e. if you have clay, rocky, rich, etc... how fast your soil drains and what minerals make up your soil. i.e. is it high or low pH, calcium/magnesium based... generally you can tell your pH level by your water hardness, soft water means low pH, hard water means high pH. You can always add organic manure, mulch, peat moss etc... you're only going to have 1 shot at preparing that bed. I always toss in lime (calcium/magnesium grit) in mine because I'm in the North East, and a healthy dose of the cheapest 12-12-12 fertilizer when making a bed. Then each season I mulch and a couple times a season I add the slow release fertilizer in pelletized form because it's hard to burn with those granules. I'm pretty new to clems, but from readings, where they do best (i.e. england, northwest US etc...) they like a rich soil (high organic and nutrient) and plenty of water, as long as it drains. So fertilize away as long as you have good drainage, if you have clay, dig down with organics as far as you can, even just a bag of mulch mixed in to increase the organic matter can help (although not too much non-decomposed matter as it can rob nitrogen initially).

It sounds like you are doing everything right. Henryi is very prone to wilt. It probably was clematis wilt that knocked your plant back. Cut back all the dead foliage and keep it watered and it will probably grow back. If you lead the vines to the cyclone fence they will climb without any help. You can guide the vines out more horizontally to get a better show. The clematis will grab onto the fence and wrap their leaf petioles around it and hold on. Any tomato or rose fertilzer is fine for clematis. Two or three inches of mulch around your clematis will help keep the moisture in. I wouldn't fertilize your Henryi as it is already stressed from the wilt. Clematis can take a couple of years to get established. Hopefully in 2-3 years your clematis will be full of blooms.

Nothing to be embarrassed about - none of us was born knowing all this stuff :-)) Many folks have no clue or even no interest in gardening until they purchase their first home.....then everything changes!! Lawn care specifics tend to be somewhat regional in nature but some are more or less universal. Cooler climates - like your zone 6 - sponsor cool season grasses or those that will grow well in spring and fall (and even to some degree in winter) but prefer to go dormant in summer. As long as they get a small amount of water, they can tolerate being quite dry all summer, just to spring to life again with fall rains and cooler temperatures. The other universals: - mow high (2.5-3") and often - water infrequently but deeply. None of that 5-10 minutes a day automatic sprinkler stuff. 1" per 7-10 days delivered all at the same time. - avoid weed' n feed fertilizers. They are huge contributors to pollution of groundwater and streams and dangerous to pets and small kids. Use an organic fertilizer and spot or hand weed, if necessary. - Invest in a mulching mower, aka 'grasscycling'. This type of mower minces up the clippings into tiny confetti-like pieces that you leave in place to decompose and add back nutrients to soil. A mulching mower can pretty much eliminate the need for any other fertilizer. - practice tolerance. Lawns tends to be monocultures and so are prone to both disease and pest infiltration. And by pests, I mean primarily weeds. Hand weed the worst and tolerate the rest.