Wine and beer yeast and a good hops plant makes life worth living no matter what.
(A few cases of whiskey makes a good cache of cash, too).
I recently started using liquid seaweed, molasses, and emulsified fish to wet down my compost pile. Wow. Talk about breaking stuff down fast.
I try to compost about 3 cu/yds of material a year. It makes a world of difference in the garden.
/johnny