composting newbie help please??

just received my nice new council type compost bin. I have earmarked a couple of places for it but will have a better look at weekend. I am assuming it doesnt have to be in sunlight all the time as there is only one half of my garden where this happens and it would be highly visible from the house that I would prefer to tuck it away a bit?

I have read up on what I can put in it so think I am ok with that but a few posts are talking about turning it? I wont have room for another as some have suggested so how physically can I turn it. Do i sort of get on some step ladders and a fork and give it a bit of a twirl. The bin appears to be about as big as i am! (slight exageration! )

 

The sun will tend to make the compost dry out and so stop the composting process, so it's probably better hidden in some unproductive shady spot where nothing can be grown.

 

L-G, with a plastic compost bin you shouldn`t need to turn the contents. They compost down naturally. As you take the composted material out through the little hatch the material above takes it`s place.

 

I'm with Dai on this. I've got one and they're great. The only thing I've had to do with mine is to make air holes, ocasionaly. I just stick a long bamboo pole in it, in several places, and wiggle it about a bit.

 

Does it really matter where it is situated in regards to the sun. On my husband's allotment his bins are in the middle of a 'field' where there is no shelter. They seem to do really well, I thought the heat helped the process work. Any thoughts?

 

You are right, DG, it doesn`t matter where they are situated, it is the heat from the decaying material that counts.