I have a 16' by 16' by 4' fenced in area with shade cloth on the inside that I grind all my leaves (lots) every fall and put in there. I also get kitchen scraps such as coffee grounds and leftover parts of veggies. It is loaded with worms and they over winter fine here in North Alabama you can actually see steam coming off the compost pile on cold mornings. I made it to get rid of the leaves but now the girls have a place to get worms to go fishing.