Here is a link to the FREE pdf of the second edition: http://humanurehandbook.com/downloads/H2.pdf. It will answer all of your questions in more detail than I ever could! But to answer your one question, you usually fill one pile for a year and then let that pile sit for year before you use it. Then it is good to go. Here in America, they actually use municipalities composted human waste to grow many vegetables (including strawberries), but they don't tell anyone!