i use the winter to my advantage,when it frezze,i spread it all out on a tarp about a inch thick and let it kill off any larvae that might be there,your can has to have a few holes in bottom to filter air threw the soil,when i turn my soil i add a little oatmeal in layers as i refill the can,i also use Em1 to feed on the compost in the mix ,all good stuff,as far as a recipe,keep 1:1:1 and your all good,the amends is were it at,but start with ideal measure of your soil compost and air products,coots has a pretty good mix,i dont like it cause it is mainly peat moss base,pro mix is peat moss also,i just dont like either cause it turns to mush after a year and my base plan is to keep it live and fluffy,same with perlite,dont like it forms into hard balls and just degrades as does the peat,folks say dont use wood chips cause it hold nutes,yes it does,but in turn for me that is less feeding and water from the moisture and stored nutes in them,anyway that how i roll ,i got 2 gardens at the moment and planting my third today,i dont have time to pamper my weed along with my gardens,kiddie playground wood chips is the happening for me and in 4 months of triple digit weather the chips are my savior