Spring through fall is generally considered gardening season. For most of us, winter is a time to take a break, do some planning, and dream about next year’s garden. But what about composting? Should we continue to compost through the winter?
Should I Continue Composting in Winter?
If you continue to create food waste through the winter, then yes, you should continue to compost. Why send all those valuable nutrients to the landfill?
This is one of our compost piles – it is surrounded by, and therefore insulated by bales of hay.
According to Colorado State Master Gardener, Joan Nusbaum, “A working compost pile has four basic needs to encourage adequate working conditions: air, water, carbon and nitrogen. Bacteria that decompose organic matter need air and water for survival, carbon for energy and nitrogen for protein. Heat is actually a by-product of the chemical process of breaking down the materials”.
Tips For Winter Composting
While heat is a by-product of the chemical process that is occurring, warm weather does help to speed decomposition, and cold weather will slow or even stop it. There are a number of ways that you can help to keep some heat in your compost pile during the winter to prevent decomposition from stopping.
- Volume helps to generate heat. A small pile will not do the job; building a pile that is at least one cubic yard in volume is recommended.
- Shredding helps to speed decomposition by giving decomposers – microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes – more surface to work with. In winter, it helps if you can create an ideal habitat for these microbes.
- Adding nitrogen-rich items such as fresh manure or blood meal will also help to speed decomposition, and adding a layer of carbon such as chopped leaves will help to insulate the pile.
- Wait until spring to turn your pile. Turning it in the winter will cool your pile even further.
- Build your pile in a sunny location.
- Use a compost container or keep your pile covered, and insulate it by surrounding it with bales of hay, or bags of leaves.
Another of our compost piles. This one is in a container. The snow helps to keep it insulated and it is located in a sunny location.
In general, compost piles begin at ambient air temperatures, increase to about 110°F-160°F, and then gradually drop back down over a period of several weeks. These high temperatures speed decomposition and kill weed seeds and diseases.
Compost Thermometer
A compost thermometer (like this one) can help you to find out what is happening in your compost pile, but if the temperature is lower than ideal in the winter, don’t fret. You may just continue adding your kitchen scraps to the top of your pile. They will likely freeze there, and then thaw on warmer, sunny afternoons. This freeze/thaw cycle will actually help the decomposition along.
In the end, I guess I’m not a purest. My view is even if your entire pile freezes solid, don’t fret, all will be well come spring. Everything will thaw, and the microbes will return in full force to quickly decompose your pile.
What tips do you have for winter composting?
More Organic Gardening Posts You Will Love
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Hay vs. Straw in the Garden: Which is Better?
To learn how to build a garden that builds healthy soil, be sure to check out my eBook The Art of Gardening: Building Your Soil. You really can become a better gardener, and you really can grow healthy, nourishing produce. It’s all about the soil! Click here to buy now.
Sources:
http://elpasoco.colostate.edu/hort/hort_docs/Winter%20care%20for%20compost.pdf
http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/cold-weather-compost
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/horsecompost2.htm
Photo source
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Pat says
I’m going to have to make a path through the snow back to my compost pile!
Susan says
YES!!!
Kimber says
So glad to read this, I have been adding all my kitchen scraps to the compost pile all through winter, with the same thought… It will thaw and decompose eventually. I do however have a question: on warm winter days , should I be watering the pile?
Susan says
I rarely do, but if it seems dry, it would be a good idea. Sometimes if it’s snowing, I remove the lid to allow the snow to add moisture to the pile.
Kimber says
Well that raises another question, I don’t have a lid on mine, I built it out of wooden pallets, it had direct contact with the ground and three permanent sides plus a removable front gate. I got the idea from Pinterest, should I build a lid? Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions! I’m new to gardening and really appreciate any help I can get. I live in Colorado Springs, if you know of any good local gardening groups I would love to hear about them. ????
Susan says
There are many ways to keep a compost pile, and yours is just fine. A lid could keep the pile from drying out in the heat of summer, but I doubt that that would be a problem the rest of the year, unless it’s very dry where you live.
Oh, how interesting. I just looked up average rainfall for Colorado Springs, and it’s actually quite low. And you get most of your rain in the summer. So, in your case, you may want to monitor the moisture of your pile and water as needed. There are inexpensive moisture monitors that you can purchase at garden centers. The probe is only about 8 – 10″ long, but it should still be helpful. As far as a cover, a tarp of some sort may be helpful, but I would still monitor the moisture here and there.
Joan @ The Chicken Mama says
Wow! I’d love to see some steam coming from my compost pile, but I think mine’s frozen solid. I only put chicken and pig poop and straw on my pile. All the kitchen scraps go to the animals. Is there some kind of compost recipe I should follow? I never know if I should put more or less straw in or add leaves. It’s kinda a mystery to me! Thanks for the info – found you at Homestead Barn Hop.
Susan says
Hi Joan! With compost, you want both nitrogen (greens) and carbon (browns). Your manure is a green, and the straw and leaves are browns, so you’re doing great. If your pile gets too smelly, or seems overly wet (more wet than a wrung out sponge), then add more browns. If your pile is just sitting there (once spring arrives) and not decomposing, you need more greens.
Abbi says
I do still add to my compost pile throughout the winter but I think it always freezes. That’s okay as far as I am concerned. It seems to decompose pretty well from the process. I have never been very scientific about making my pile but still I get some lovely compost from it.
Susan says
Absolutely!!!
Little Mountain Haven says
Great post. I’m still a terrible composter, something I hope to remedy this year. I’m still adding some scraps into the pile, although most go to the chickens. We have problems with elk, deer and bears (in the spring & fall) that get into ours, especially in the winter so I’ve been hesitant in the big compost pile and have been putting scraps into our tumbler.
Susan says
I think that giving the scraps to the chickens is just as beneficial!!!
Matt says
I love composting! We have an 8 X 8 pile built with hurricane fence. We fill it to overflowing every fall with as many leaves from the neighborhood as we can scrounge (my neighbors love us because they just toss their leaves in our pile and don’t have to bag them). Starting with the first mowing, we begin mixing in grass clippings and have a nice pile of compost to spread by the end of the summer, ready to start the process over again.
Kitchen scraps go in all year around.
Susan says
I sure wish there were more people around like you. Can you imagine how much less stuff would be sent to landfills?
Alica says
I built a compost bin out of pallets…it’s three sided, with the front open for ease of access. It consists right now of mostly leaves, straw, chicken manure, old pumpkins, and a few kitchen scraps. (in the cold weather i get a little lazy about carrying my scraps out, as it’s a good distance from the house) Obviously now it’s not doing much. However…in the summer I also have trouble getting it hot! Any suggestions? In the summer it mostly consists of kitchen scraps, garden waste, some grass clippings, and the bedding from my chicken pen, which is straw mixed with manure.
Susan says
Hi Alica, My suggestions would be to make sure the pile is large enough and not too spread out. Also make sure that it is moist.
Anna@Green Talk says
I just keep throwing in the greens during the winter. I think the rodents are quite happy although I have a rodent screen. 🙂
Jackie Patti says
Yes, we “compost” via feeding it to the chickens. Through winter, their own waste composting keeps the coop warmed and we throw down fresh straw whenever things get a bit ripe. Then by spring when we clean it up, it’s pretty much composted enough to go right on crops.
But even before chickens, we composted in winter. Sure, it’s slower, but… any pile of organic stuff is going to turn into compost eventually, without paying any attention to carbon:nitrogen ratio or anything else.
Some years, we have “composted in place”, which basically just means putting scraps directly in the garden.
I’m of the opinion that people make it too hard. Bugs eat garbage and produce humus and that works without me having to turn things or do much of anything.
Anna @ Northern Homestead says
Great info on composting in the winter. Yep, everything would freeze solid here. Thank you for linking up at Green Thumb Thursday, do not forget to come and link up this Thursday again!
Annie @ Montana Homesteader says
I just came in from taking some kitchen scraps out to our compost pile that is frozen solid. I was just thinking how I wanted to figure out a way to compost next winter that won’t freeze and found your post! I’m pinning it so next fall we can use some of your tips as we prepare for winter!
janet pesaturo says
Nice post – thx for sharing on HomeAcre Hop. We try to keep our piles going all winter, and it usually does freeze solid, but I am amazed at how quickly in spring that it heats up. I guess you are right, that alternate freezing and thawing helps speed things up.
Kristel says
I’m a lazy composter. Though I compost year ’round I just throw it all in and wait until it’s ready, not paying much attention to it. My pile is primarily kitchen scraps, leaves, and some alpaca and donkey manure/straw mix from the neighbors. I saw an idea I’m considering for the summer and wondered your opinion. It’s to place a pvc pipe into the middle of the compost pile with the other end sticking out. The idea is to bring in air this way instead of turning it. Do you think this would work very well? Or, would it at least be better than not turning the pile? Turning the pile is my least favorite chore!
I’m also wondering if all animal manures are equal, or if some are better than others. Is it ok as long as it’s an herbivore?
Sorry, I know this isn’t exactly on the topic of winter composting. I’m tired of winter and thinking about spring!
Susan says
Hi Kristel! Well, I tend to be a lazy composter myself. 😉 I’m not sure that the PVC tube would be worth it. It would have to have holes in it all the way down, right? And then the compost would just end up in the tube, I think. Even if it stayed clear, I’m not sure it would do a lot. If you love experimenting, though, go for it and see if it makes a difference. I only turn my pile a few times a year and it turns out just fine.
Different manures do have different values. The one I think is the best? The one that’s available to you. Not necessarily just herbivores, though. Chickens are omnivores and their manure is great. No dogs or cats, of course, but you know that.
Ian says
I have an “in ground” composter. I drilled holes in the sides and bottom of a 60 gallon barrel and buried it so all but 10″ are sticking out if the ground. I surrounded the top with firepit bricks and got an old disc blade for a lid.
I add kitchen waste to it year round. In the winter it freezes solid but is big enough that I don’t run out of room. Summer time the level drops a bit and maggots, worms, etc help the process till fall when I shovel it out and till it into the garden. Then it has all winter to finish up and I start the process again.
I started it as a waste reduction and there are benefits for the garden too.
I want to get another bin, prbly an Earth Machine for yard and garden waste. If I do that and fill it from spring to fall would it be best to empty it in the fall or spring?
Susan Vinskofski says
Really, there’s no right or wrong time to add the compost. For us, fall is when we do it. We have no-dig garden beds and in the fall we add about an inch of compost to the top, and then cover that with mulch to keep it from eroding over the winter. The important this is that you ARE composting and building soil.
Ian says
The stuff that I spread out from the food waste bin and the other pile is not fully composted. I spread it out as a way to make the yard look better and keep mice away.
In the spring I will get it tilled again.
Ian says
I’m thinking that this method is a form of sheet composting.
Ian says
I’m going to get an Earth Machine compost bin in the spring time and use it only for grass clippings, leaves, and garden waste. The in ground one is perfect for kitchen waste because the bricks and the lid keep 4 legged pests out of it.
As I said, I plan on spreading it out and then rototilling it in. Before winter for sure with the good waste bin but also the earth machine if it’s the smart thing to do.
Susan Vinskofski says
Yes, that will be great!
Ian says
So if it’s spread and tilled in the fall and tilled again in the spring it will be well broken down?
Susan Vinskofski says
Most of it should be, but even if some is not, I don’t see that as a problem.
Ian says
Excellant. After we take off the garden I throw grass clippings onto the garden until the grass quits growing for the year. Then spread everything out before I get it tilled for the year. When we did our yard they just used regular top soil for the garden so it needs a lot of organic material added to it to make it better.
Ian says
I replaced the solid steel lid on my in ground bin about 1/2 way through last summer. I got an old disc blade with notches in the sides and holes in the center. It still keeps 4 legged pests out but also allows air flow. I noticed that it dosnt smell at all and there were lots of maggots on the food waste. I’m hoping that in the spring time that happens a lot faster and that they reduce the level of the food waste. These are NOT BSF larvae, just regular house fly maggots. The bin is far from the house so I don’t care about that part! Does anybody know how much the maggots will reduce the waste? I am hoping that with the maggots and a certain amount of regular composting that I will be able to adx waste till fall when I shovel it out before I rototill the garden.
Susan Vinskofski says
I don’t know how fast they will make it happen, but maggots are definitely decomposers!
Ian says
If they can reduce it at the same rate or faster than I throw it in I’ll be happy. 2 in our household and we fill a 3 gallon pail in about 10 days. In the summer I empty it often to keep it from stinking. By the end of winter I think the 60 gallon barrel will be full but when it thaws the level will drop some and then hopefully the maggots and composting action will drop it. I did the in ground composter only for waste reduction, not with the purpose of producing compost.
Ian says
My city has a poor garbage collection service so composting kitchen waste helps keep the garage from stinking and attracting mice.
Ian says
Been a while since I was on here last! I still have the in-ground digester and it has been working as I had hoped it would.
Last fall I did 3 things different that I would like your opinion on.
1. In the in ground digester I started adding shredded paper between layers of kitchen scraps. Not a whole lot but I bought a paper shredder for confidential documents and empty the bin in the digester when it’s full. I did this hoping it would reduce the smell when it thaws and help attract more worms. Problem is that the bin is a lot fuller now than it was other years. Hoping it’s because the contents are frozen and just need to thaw and settle down which will create more available room.
2. The Earth machine usually sits empty. Before winter I filled it with layers of used coffee grinds from Starbucks and wood ashes from the fire pit (approx 1/2 a wheelbarrow). I want the ashes to compost before I spread them on the garden so I’m hoping the level in the bin drops enough that I can add grass clippings to it over summer. If it drops to about 50% when it thaws I will be able to add a good amount of grass clippings to it and it should further compost over summer.
3. I was not able to arrange a Rototiller in the fall which I usually do. I piled up all the garden waste, grass clippings, and lots of coffee grinds on the garden and just left it like that over winter. There is a big pile 3’hx5’w in the middle. I plan to level things out when it warms up and rototill. How much will that material break down/settle when it thaws?
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Ian! The paper should do a great job of helping with smell. Just be careful to not add too much or decomposition will definitely slow. It could be that things are frozen, or that it needs more green materials. I think that much of the material in your big pile of garden waste will not be decomposed but should be fine to till it in.
Ian says
Sounds great. I’m hoping that it is a good year for the garden. Seeing it this year and the previous year I definitely prefer the look of having it tilled in the fall and will try for that in years to come. Might put it off as long as I can so everything I add can be worked in and the garden left smooth. Mostly for appearance but when you have a see through fence it’s important.
What I might do after tilling is rip it up with a broad fork so it can sit over winter in big chunks. I read that that can help trap more snow.
Ian says
I spread out the pile in the middle of the garden and it was very well decomposed. I was happy about that. Also spread out the ashes/coffee grinds and only the big chunks were not broken down. Was going to get the garden Rototilled but ground is still frozen so will wait a while longer. We don’t usually plant garden till mid May anyway so there is lots of time. I am hoping that when the compost I spread out gets rained on it settles a bit because right now it has added lots of depth to the garden. When the ground thaws I’m still going to broad fork the whole garden before Rototill
Tessa says
Love this – I’m not a purist either! It will all come right in the spring. I’ve added a bit more paper to mine this year. It’s my first time composting without chickens in many years and I’m having to work a bit harder to keep the pile active. I miss the birds tilling and pooping in it! I’m curious what it will look like come spring…