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.