hi roby
I put kitchen scraps on established beds throughout the winter, after/before the annual type veggies are growing in them. That way it doesn't matter if critters scrounge for stuff. ALso later in the summer fruit rinds/meat and stuff attracts hornets. So during the summer I either throw kitchen scraps on the beds I am making for next year(the piled high ones), or throw them in the round compost bin that came with the house--the birds eat stuff(I'm happy to feed the birds), the hornets can eat it without getting in the way. I don't mess with that bin(probably sounds weird), it's a pain to deal with, and stuff leaches out the open bottom and since it's next to my raspberries I figure some of the "tea" gets to the roots--the bin is indeed surrounded by happy bushes and plants. And there's potatos growing in there too from rinds.
I do separate out eggshells and coffee grounds from the kitchen scraps. The coffee grounds I throw down around plants all through the year. The egg shells I save up and smash well and throw them in new beds on the bottom layer, put in the hole when planting transplants, and around perenials in the spring when there is lots of rain to leech them down.
One thing about kitchen scraps in summer when it is dry is that they take a lot longer to break down, so they would build up kinda "garbagy" and smelly--I know that's a just a personal ick factor

In the winter with the rain and freezing they break down much faster. I do like to compost right on the growing space as much as possible, because of leeching(we get a LOT of rain outside of summer).
I suppose I could pick up the mulch and put the scraps underneath on the soil where it is moist. But I like the way I do it. When I have chickens they get most of the kitchen scraps, bones, leftovers(more feeding the birds!).
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