Where to locate a compost pile is always a dilema because you want it close enough so you can add stuff when you have it and close to the garden so you do not have to haul the finished compost a long way. A location that has a lot of standing water may prevent both while at the same time may well be a good use of an otherwise not too useful bit of space. Shade would not be a problem since the heat generated in a compost pile comes from bacterial activity, not the sun. However, if the water stands too long it could, in addition to keeping you away, waterlog your compost. The best thing to do is try it. I had compost piles in several locations here before I found one place that has easy accesss for loading the bins, was convienient to the kitchen, and did not require moveing the finished product very long distances.

My experience is with wood chips alone [wi/o fert.] and our climate [semi-arid,mediteranian] affects the results. About 8 months ago I took delivery of a dump-truck load of chipped eucalyptus. It has all been distributed in my yard in [1] pathways .. pleasant woodsey look and feel underfoot. In some places it has already composted down to bare earth. [2] deep mulch in non-watered side yard .. mostly to give a neat appearance and control weeds. This material is about 1/2 composted down due to an unusually rainy winter. [3] deep mulch around roses to cut down on water use [we're rationed]working well, so far. [4] used as a brown in my compost pile [no-turn, slow][5] mulch around vegetables and fruit trees. I don't notice appearance of nitrogen loss/deprivation. This mulch seems to 'compost' more quickly than in the unwatered yard and much less quickly than in the pathways. I hope this will give you an idea of how well wood chips will compost. I envy you your chicken flock. No room on a small city lot, which must also accomodate 2 dogs.

.. Semi arid here. I think you're a little closer to the equator than I am but I'm about 15 miles from the ocean. I'm about 34 degrees from the equator. I get desert influences and marine influences. We can get 80 point swings in the relative humidity in 24 hours. Mostly the low humidity in the day from desert winds and high humidity at night. Rainy season is in the winter. A lot of citrus and avocado is grown around here. My bins are slightly smaller made from pallets. They get plenty of air and they are built on pavers or or thin bricks - a permeable hard base. The base allows for worms to get in - big time during the rainy season - but keeps the burrowing animals and the tree roots out. I run my bins on 18 month to 24 month cycles. I generally just feed the bin stuff once a month and cover with grass clippings and whatever. After about 3 months I start to see the volume reduce. I can keep feeding forever I think but at some point around a year, I stop feeding and just water. I've usually topped it off several times by then. During the dry summer I'll water a full bin with about 4 liters a day with a watering can. After feeding a bin for about a year, I'll just water for 6 months to a year. Right now with the cooler and wetter weather I'm getting lazy and I am only watering about once a week. The outside parts might look dry but the inside is moist enough. You've got a chipper so I'm guessing you don't have to worry about large pieces. Your arid climate means your materials aren't going to be too wet so you will have moisture issues and if you're not turning like I'm not turning, the process will be slow. I like the pavers versus a concrete base because of the worms. If you turn like I used to, you can still sweep up afterwards so less mess and loss. Yeah let air in through the walls. Keep the bins out of the wind and the sun and you'll go a long way to retaining moisture. I don't like the tarp because of the lack of air. Better a cover that will block the sun and the rain if the season starts dropping too much rain at one time. Once the bins get some bulk and age they will retain moisture better. You can always piss in them at that point and it will never touch the bottom. I don't think you'll go too far wrong with what your thinking right now. What is going to work best is what works for the way you do things. Make the process fit with the way you live and not the other way around. If that means it takes a little longer - no big deal. Once you get into regular cycles, you won't notice so much how long it takes. The compost works for you. You don't have to work for the compost. Don't fuss too much and good luck. two cents ..

The windrow gets little direct sun. I'd say max maybe 2 hours in the afternoon if that. With trees the sun is dappled and if needed I can always move the windrows around to take advantage of the greatest high temp afternoon shade. I'll keep the additional shade in mind. If I used a tarp to block afternoon sun that might make some difference but burlap bags on the windrow would not. I would agree with Rick concerning the rest of the year and my experience with a windrow but the only factor I can see that changed for me was mid August heat. All the windrows are in large part under trees and get full shade. The idea about the ice isn't even to cool the entire windrow, I know I can't provide enough to keep it that cool. While those bottles are thawing though it'll cool enough around them to allow the worms to squeeze into some a/c during the hottest part of the day. It seems like more shade, water saturation, possible ice bottles are my best options. I'm really a novice, just trying to figure this out. It allows me to make compost for free out of garbage that others would put in a landfill. I love using the worms energy to generate it instead of turning piles manually and the product seems to be higher quality. I've noticed worms in my windrow still, just greatly diminished numbers. The ones that have survived will quickly multiply based on my past experience. There may be more in the piles than I realize just based on the fact that they could be near the bottom where temps are the coolest. I've not torn through the entire thing, just dug around in spots to check. Thanks for the advice, I'll think about the shade more for next summer and also check around for misting systems that'll allow me to keep the windrows moist in summer when it dries here. Thanks again for all the feedback and I'll keep you posted. Feel free to ask more questions if something isn't clear.