I am responding mostly to follow this topic.

The closest answer I have found is $20-$25 for 50 lbs of urea, with 46% N. I did some back of a napkin math a while ago. As I recall, 6 lbs of urea per cubic yard of leaves/woodchips mixed. It goes a long way. By spring, I have ~8 cubic yards of compost for around $3 per yard.

That's not bad for a budget of low rather than no. Might have to keep that in mind for the future. Been adding free urea when I can but I can only come up with so much.

I got nothing. It's a Venn diagram with a vanishingly small sweet spot where all your criteria intersect.

The only thing I can think of is free produce scraps from the grocery store, or juice bar waste. High in nitrogen, free (if they'll let you have it) and not as stinky as manure.

Yeah, I wasn't thinking it would be easy to find something like that. Just wondered if someone with more experience would know something useful that I don't.

If you know people who use biodegradable litter for their cats (pellet fuel, "S'Wheat, Feline Pine, or the corn cob based stuff) the urine-soaked residue is high nitrogen.

And it's fairly odor free if you haul it in a plastic bag inside a trash can.

Also, since you are a guy ... pee in the pile.

That's where my small amount of free urea comes from. There's more than one way to add spent coffee to the compost.

A lot of grocery stores don't allow people to take spent produce (liability).

You could look into your local animal shelter for rabbit/goat/chicken/guinne pig litter. Or check Craigslist or freecycle for organic manure.. Nancy

Put a "wanted" ad on cl or freecycle for manures.

Strangely, horse people, rabbit people, & chicken people sometimes have more poopy than they can use.

Jon's problem with manure is not a lack of supply but the fact he doesn't have a way to haul it.

You may be surprised at how much "composting" can happen over the winter, especially in an area where you have repeated freeze/thaw cycles.

There are organisms -- Psychrophiles or cryophiles - that thrive below 10C. They are busily decomposing the things in the heap. They do not produce a lot of heat in the process, but you might notice that your pile is shrinking.