Hi nhrdls, you questions are good ones and reflect the searchs you have made. Good on you. As you will come to realize, there is no single right way and very few wrong ways to compost. My opinions are. (1) What you suggest with the solar oven will likly kill many seeds but avoiding weeds that have matured to seed might save labor and browns in the form of paper and cardboard are easy to find. (2) I think the majority of those who microwave do so to speed up breaking the food down . Freezing access food for later use serves double duty,stockpileing food plus causing faster breaking down. I wouldn't reccomend the solar oven because I don't think it adds value and might actualy dehydrate and extend time required for it to rot. (3) Ahh,finaly something I have actualy done several times. Doing as you describe imo avoids some heat generated as the food starts to decay. I'm in Tx and I notice you are in zone 9 where summer temps are high to begain with. BTW posting your zone will help those answering your questions and giving advice. In addition to "staging food" in the compost bin I often seed near finished compost with worms if the compost is to be stored for later use. I would like to suggest a composting arangement I believe well suited to adding material to a small bin at regular intervals. Construct your bin so a spade or fork can remove material on one side at ground level. Occasionaly pull material from the bottom and place it on top. That alows checking progress,airating the bin and seeing if moisture,brown or green % needs reduced/increased.

Try your local Dollar, Family Dollar store or such. Google "granite ware" also if all else fails. You can use a deep skillet and remove the plastic handle. Their sometimes called a chicken cooker/fryer. Most sets of pot and pans come with a large pot. I am not talking about a 10" deep soup pot.

I'm still using my Tulsi after 7-years and have purchased two other solar ovens - a Sun Oven and a Hot Pot Solar Cooker. They each lend themselves to different uses. I like the electric back-up of the Tulsi so the food will maintain a food safe temperature, which is important if you have intermittent clouds in the area or you can't refocus it as often. The Tulsi has more cooking space, so I can make a number of things at the same time. Loaves of bread bake best in the Sun Oven because there is more height in that oven than the Tulsi. The Hot Pot Solar Cooker is basically a big bowl with a glass lid, so it's great for soup, chili, stew, or cooking a whole chicken.... I recently added the dehydrating, preparedness, and turkey roasting package for the Sun Oven to extend the use beyond what I was already using it for. About the only thing I would caution using a solar oven is to purchase 2 heat resistant 5-fingered gloves, like Ove Gloves, in order to have better control when opening and closing the units, than using hot pads or oven mitts. I also wear sun glasses when getting in and out of the ovens. Reflection of the sun could damage your eyes. When you move food from the oven to the house, sit it on a tray or a rimmed cookie sheet. Spilled hot liquid will fall into the tray or cookie sheet. Check your local public library and see if there are any books on Solar Ovens for more information. I've never heard of one catching on fire, but I suppose anything is possible no matter how unlikely. You need to move it every 20-40 minutes to track the sun, so it's not left unattended for long periods of time. I place my units on a Craftsman metal rolling tool cart and lock the wheels when in use. I use bungie cords to secure it to the top. This will up and out of the way and should help to keep curious pets or wildlife away, and if it's a windy day will help keep it on the cart. Lots of hints and tips since I first posted: -Bake small whole potatoes in a thin black sock. Make sure the potatoes are more-or-less the same size so they cook evenly. I bought black socks for this exact purpose. -Sprinkle a small amount of sugar or brush on a little honey/water on chicken to help it brown. Otherwise it's a little "anemic" looking since it won't brown in a Solar Oven. A sprinkle of paprika or herbs will also improve the "look". -Food cooks faster when the humidity is low, and slower when humidity is high. -ALWAYS preheat your solar oven before adding food. -You can make a whole pan of hard cooked eggs WITHOUT water. Place the eggs in a black enamel pan (no water) and place a lid on the pan. Put in a preheated oven and "cook" for 30-minutes for large eggs, or 35-minutes for extra-large. -Avoid cooking broccoli, cabbage, and sprouts in your solar oven. They develop an awful odor. -In the winter when it's a little more difficult to attain baking temperatures, you can add a few bricks to the oven when pre-heating to help heating and to maintain the heat. -To aid in browning the tops of loaves of bread and to lessen condensation in the oven, buy dark bread pans. Buy them in sets of 2. Use one upside-down as a cover. Secure it over the other pan with binder clips. -If what you are cooking requires constant high heat, refocus the unit to track the sun every 15-minutes. -When using it in the winter, add a layer of insulation on the outside of the unit. -I painted the outside of quart canning jars (which are made of tempered glass) with heat-resistant spray paint (the kind you can use on a bbq grill). I can use them for cooking a variety of foods - grains, legumes, soup, etc. - or use them for heating water in the Sun Oven. You can secure a sheet of foil over the top with some holes punched in it so steam can vent. You can also spray paint a canning lid and ring with the same paint. Punch some holes in the canning lid so steam can vent, and just loosely place the ring over the lid to keep it in place. -Grainlady

ive never tried to post a video or a link before. i hope i can delete this if it doesnt work. if your reading this and theres no link or video,im sorry . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpyggANIPdc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeA3C9lZL2E&feature=relmfu http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcJvZ47UlWs&feature=relmfu http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXlyo2pkJHQ&feature=relmfu