Coffee grounds are supposed to have nitrogen. Try stopping at a Starbucks to see if they have some to give away.

used coffee grounds are a great compost item for nitrogen. So is urine. Grass clippings too.

"Lots of wood chips, and leaves(not "fall"). "

By that, do you mean the leaves were still green on the branch? Are there also a lot of smaller twigs and branches that were still alive?

If the above are true, you may have more nitrogen than you realize. You say you have access to an organic sheep/cow farm. Do you have access to sheep/cow manure? Both of those are a fairly good source of nitrogen.

Yes everything that we chipped was growing. We have added a small amount of fallen leaves and some old firewood that was semi rotted. Maybe we will need more carbon?
Thanks for your help. I am trying to understand what is in a N/P or C class. So, I may need to raid some leaves?

Yes, I believe I do have access to the manure. I haven't asked yet but when I buy beef in bulk I get it from a org. farmer nearby.

Thanks,
Tricia

You cannot "jumpstart" the digestion process of your compost material, the bacteria that do that simply need enough Nitrogen to use to make the protein they need to chomp on the Carbon you put in. When they are working fasr and furious they will generate heat and how much heat is generated depends on which stage is the most active. All you can do is try to be sure the mix is close to the optimal 30:1 C:N ratio as possible and that the mix is not too wet which is really the most common problem with a compost pile that I see, too much moisture.

I mostly agree with Kimmsr.

Whether you need to be concerned about too much moisture depends on how humid it is where you are and how much water you've been adding. It's very dry where I am, so I have the opposite problem.

You don't really need to consider the P (or K) when trying to get your compost to decompose. It's really just a matter of the Carbon and Nitrogen.

The optimal ratio is 30:1, but I never try to calculate it. Instead, if it starts to stink, I add more high carbon (fallen leaves, wood chips, shredded paper, etc). If it's not heating up, I add more nitrogen (coffee grounds, grass clippings, manure, etc).

I also add more water as needed. You may not need to add water, and may need to try to keep it drier. The goal is to have it as damp as a wrung out sponge.

The other thing that can help is letting air get to it. If the bin is small and has air holes in it, it may get enough air throughout without any help. I have to periodically turn my compost (or stir it with a bulb auger).

If it's not getting hot, you probably don't need more C. You either need more N, more water, less water or more air.

One other thing to consider is that even if it doesn't get hot it will still decompose. It will just take longer to do so.