Winterizing Your Compost Pile
Many people assume that the cold temperatures and snow that winter brings makes composting impossible. The fact of the matter is that composting is possible year-round, although maintenance is more important in colder months.
According to Eliot Coleman and Cathy Bray, authors of Four-Season Harvest, a compost pile is similar to a fire in the way it works, only the process is more microscopic than pyrotechnic. With a little care and attention, you can keep that burn going all winter long.
Key Ingredients to Your Compost Fire
- Feed the Fire: In this case, your food and yard scraps (although in winter you won’t be mowing your lawn much), which composters call “greens,” will break down quickly because of their high nitrogen content.
- Keep it Burning: Drier materials like leaves, dried yard trimmings, straw and hay (called “browns”) will break down more slowly and control the “burn” in your pile. In winter months it is important to make sure that your pile has plenty of this kind of fuel. Instead of paying for collection, keep your leaves someplace dry and add them throughout the winter.
- Breathing Room: The bacteria that eat and break down your compost need oxygen to thrive. Without it, they die and anaerobic bacteria takeover, causing your pile to begin to rot. That is not a process you want to start, so be sure that your pile is either turned periodically or that you use hay, wood chips or shredded newspaper to let your pile breathe.
- Moisture is Key: OK, so the fire analogy starts to break down at this point, but water is essential to the decomposition process. Compost piles should be moist, and many sources say that you should shoot for “damp sponge” consistency as you wet down the pile. Like a fire, though, too much water will kill your composting process, so monitor your pile accordingly.
Let it Burn
The best way to account for lower temperatures is to keep your pile covered and moderate the air flow. While you can’t cut off all air, wood slats might work better on the sides of your pile than, say, chicken wire. Cover your pile with a tarp, and be sure to weigh down corners to keep it in place, but don’t forget to check the moisture levels periodically. While things may move more slowly in the winter, a properly managed compost pile will reach temperatures of 140 to 160 degrees at its center, which is more than enough to keep your food breaking down throughout the season.
Feed the Worms
If the prospect of heading across your yard to manage your compost bin in the dead of winter doesn’t appeal to you, but you’re cool with worm poop, you can also try indoor composting with worms. Whatever method you choose, with a little effort and care, this winter should give you a great batch of fertilizer when spring finally rolls around.
- U.S. EPA(11/06/2008). "Create Your Own Compost Pile" Wastes - Resource Conservation - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Composting http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/rrr/composting/by_compost.htm.
- (11/06/2008). "Nine Steps to Hot Composting" Earth 911 http://earth911.com/blog/2007/04/02/nine-steps-to-hot-composting/.
- Coleman, Eliot. Cathy Bray. Chelsea Green Publishing(11/06/1999). Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long
As of June 17th 2011 we have upgraded our comment system to use Facebook comments.
The below comments are closed and are listed for historical purposes.
Sally
posted on November 29th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Can anyone answer my questions? I thought I was composting in my 4′ x 4′ composting bin next to the house resting on clay ground at a slight slant that drains the sprinkler or rain water well. However, I did not have enough to feed it to make it hot. I have been feeding the pile garbage for 5 years and am getting compost. I had observed the worms when turning the compost, and knew they were eating some of the garbage.
But it finally dawned on me this week that I actually have a vermicompost pile with them finishing the garbage completely within a couple of weeks. I live in Dallas Texas where the winter is mild except for a few freezes, seldom under 10 f. The summer can go over 100 f. for as much as a month.
Should I just keep doing as I have done or try to make the worms happier?
My worms are red and 4 to 6 inches long. Should I add more of a different kind?
I cover the top with several inches of leaves and some shredded paper. Is that enough food and insulation from the weather?
Would it be better if I did not disturb the worms by turning the compost and moving it from on half of my 4′ x 4′ square fenced bin every time I put in another bucket of garbage? When one side is empty of worms and garbage, I dig up the composted dirt at the bottom and start filling up that side until the other is finished..
Would it disturb the worms less to put the bin on a galvanized wire platform. The worm compost would fall through the wire and I could scoop it out. Would that allow it to freeze or get too hot in summer? My husband it not ready to let the worms in the house.
Are ashes from the fireplace ok every week or so in the winter?
Thank you for helping me keep my worms happy in their production of vermicompost!
richard hyde
posted on December 1st, 2008 at 3:25 pm
good selection.