Composting in Winter: 4 Tips for Success

[@freedomflyer6650]

Here in N Georgia the Temps real never get that cold and my compost pile is always breaking down real fast. Everytime I add kitchen waste I always throw in a hand full of leaves. I'm blessed to have so many neighbors who add there kitchen waste to our compost bin.

[@GardensThatMatter]

Awesome Freedom Flyer! Thanks for the comment. Sounds like you have some great neighbors. We love hearing stories like this.

[@PleasantPrickles]

Thanks for the great tips! I’m obsessed with my compost piles! Happy composting,! 🌱🌱🌱

[@ClimateChanged2020]

Peace and love to all my fellow permaculturists! I want to thank you for this informative video! I've learned so much from KZbin thanks to people like you! I've mulched my entire zone 5b quarter acre suburban property with maple wood chips one year ago in March. Currently I have 7 hugelkutlur beds under 1 year old. This year I plan on planting hoarde of comfrey. I appreciate you reading this! Sharing video now ☮️💚🌱 HAPPY GARDENING

[@GardensThatMatter]

Thank you for the love. You are right, KZbin is great for sharing other people's stories and advice. We learn from others too. I am pleased to hear about your hugelkultur beds and comfrey plan. We have tons of comfrey. We are considering creating some hugelkultur beds this year too. Who knows, maybe we will make a video of the adventure. Thanks for watching and sharing the video. Happy Gardening to you too.

[@d.b.sorensen5464]

Year round compost? Get a quick tent and a couple of geobins the compost working will actually help keep the green house warm enough to keep many salad greensgrowing all winter!

[@annalll8236]

I'm going to try that, thanks for the idea

[@timothywilliams1359]

In Ohio (between Zones 6 and 5) I compost out in the open in big piles. No bins, no containers, and no tarps. I let the rain and snow keep the piles good and wet. I start a new pile in the fall with what I clean out of the garden, and then add green and brown layers throughout the winter and early spring. Throughout the summer, I will have collected many large bags of grass clipping, then many bags of mulched leaves in the fall, as well as pine needles. I gradually mix all this together with kitchen scraps to form alternating layers. I know the piles generate at least some heat, because snow always melts from them long before it melts on the ground. I turn the piles over about every three weeks. My method probably takes a little longer... maybe 15 months to completely compost a big pile. But it works well as I have several piles going at once.

[@UrbanGardeningWithD.A.Hanks14]

If you have a greenhouse, you can put a composting bin in there. The sun will keep it warmer during the day, and the heat that it produces will add more warmth to your greenhouse at night. Win/win situation all around.

[@MichaelJosephJr934]

I take my compost for a walk on nice days

[@carybradley3968]

Excellent!!! Thanks so much! You answered all my questions about keeping compost in our new winter garden. Excited to find your channel and blog. Thank you!!!

[@foxdencollective]

I'm a first time winter composter, in our 6b/7a region of the east cost, U.S. and this was excellent information! Thanks, and just subscribed to your channel. Cheers!

[@hijinx841]

I have a plast prefab bin with a lid and vent holes Next year I`m going to make one of the ones that you make with the chicken wire. I just want to thank you for your channel.

[@GardensThatMatter]

Hey hijinx, I think you will like the wire bins. We have a plastic bin, too, that we got before we switched over to the wire. We still use it to put super smelly and high protein stuff in (like dairy, oil, and peanut butter crusts from the kids sandwiches). The plastic bin is a little more scavenger proof. We like the wire bins for a number of reasons, the best reason being they are cheap. We can buy a roll of wire and make several bins for less than the cost of one plastic bin or tumbler. If you decide to go with wire, make sure you get "welded" wire and not "chicken" wire. Chicken wire is too flimsy and you will have to support it with t posts or some other stakes. The welded wire will stand up on its own. If you haven't watched our "Quick Start to Composting" video playlist on our channel, here is a link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pKPFhZaPgraLr7s Part 2 explains how we make the wire bins. Thanks for watching our videos and for your comment. Happy Gardening.

[@spoolsandbobbins]

Super helpful videos! Thank you for making them. We have 3 large bins going, two with horse manure that we sourced, free of herbicides. The lid has frozen on the one as it has cooled down, so we’ll see what it’s like in March/April when everything thaws. I hope to keep the other 2 hot for a while to get some good compost on our vegies this spring. God bless from Nova Scotia

[@GardensThatMatter]

Nova Scotia, wow. So happy we are able to reach beyond the United States. Thank you for sharing Heidi. We wish you much success. And God bless you too!

[@chrisgale5634]

Composting is great fun!

[@cobaltwolf4986]

Thank you :] This really helped!

[@GardensThatMatter]

Happy to help.

[@Monkey_PNut]

thank you need the advice and reassurance of doing the right thing

[@heathercontois4501]

You can keep a compost bag in the freezer,but if you keep fresh vegetable scraps from food prep on a separate bag in the freezer you can periodically boil it all for veggie broth and either can it or measure into bags and freeze for soups.

[@HolyPineCone]

Nice video. I might look for someone in a colder climate though. Sometimes, though very rarely, a day in June here might look similar to the "winter" in this video 🙂

[@charlesbale8376]

Thanks for sharing, this was very useful.

[@heathercontois4501]

We also dug a ditch into a garden be and buried out compost from inside every few days and it really helped our garden bed during winter.

[@livableincome]

I did that last year, but found the raccoons and possibly rats discovered my fenced in garden beds were a good source of edibles. They would dig it up and toss it around no matter how deep I buried it. On a positive note, some spagetti squash self seeded in there and I got a massive number of free squashs this summer.

[@heathercontois4501]

@@livableincome that's awful, but the volunteer veggies are definitely a plus.

[@erkut67]

Thanks for clear explanation

[@madelinelundberg6645]

Thanks for the helpful video. I just started composting and will keep on working on it during the winter.

[@GardensThatMatter]

Great to hear Madeline. Thanks for the comment.

[@sashamarshall8796]

Thanks for the tips!!

[@raymondharris7226]

This was awesome, Thank you so much...

[@WwolfnickwW]

Great video ty for the info

[@Jack-lo1uc]

I like the way you say Snoow 🤣

[@erector5953]

In am living in Quebec, Canada , the temperature go to -30 °© plus the wind but my compost is still running on . The trick is to isolate the mass with triple tarps and snow on the top. Also I use my homemade EM-1 ( bokashi bran) that is bakers yeast's and fermented rice jus (LAB) .

[@spoolsandbobbins]

Smart! I’ll keep that in mind, thanks!! From Nova Scotia

[@kristenhealey460]

Do u put a cover on the compost with snow underneath for top layer? Or are u saying no cover for compost and just add snow on top? Sorry I'm new to this, going to be trying out this year an would like to continue into the Winter. I'm in NH 5B we have really cold winters

[@livableincome]

Hi fellow Canadian. If you can do it in Quebec, I can do it in Van.BC. Thanks for your tips.

[@livableincome]

@@kristenhealey460 It would be snow on top of tarps as insulation. Snow inside would defeat purpose of getting it hot.

[@hebrewoutdoors1851]

Hi I love love love your vedioes I live in zone 6a and the winter can be very unforgiving lol in your videos you spoke of worm composting indoors can you please do a step by step video about indoor composting with and without worms thank you so much for your knowledge it's very useful and informative...thank you brilliant by the way

[@kristenhealey460]

I second this suggestion!! :-)

[@danahoover1216]

Thank you so much for you're wonderful content. And also ur voice is so soothing i actually listen to u at night when going to sleep. Hehe. Relaxes me. Xoxo dana from pa zone 5b

[@mariaolivo4590]

Appreciate the info

[@koots13]

You want to know what else works for insulation when you collect bottles . I have my Composter where I pile my bags of bottles and cans . The bags of my Recyclables crate Pockets of air that have help keep everything happy .

[@BrickTop06]

I like the cover idea for winter but snow itself is a great source of nitrogen. What is worse? Excessive moisture from snow vs the positive benefits from the snow itself...

[@nohomo4774]

I think the problem is more that snow will make it difficult for the compost to keep hot.

[@arooobine]

I don't think the nitrogen content in snow or rain amounts to much. Better to keep it out. That said, if you conver your compost with something waterproof, then snow around it can be an insulator and keep it warm.

[@ezyjack826]

enjoyed the video and the great info. I'm using plastic palettes for my bin. they are about 4 ft sq. do you think I'll have useable compost in a year?

[@jasonwilson7998]

I can only use a tumbler as well. Cold climate..Northern Colorado. Let's say my composting was a sucess, and I'm still in Winter. Garden isn't even close to being ready. How can I store the finished compost? In a plastic bin with a lid? Thoughts?

[@mamakaka73]

I bought a big bin, made holes so rhe gew doesn't accumulate and I thriw my stuff in. In the spring Il empty the bin in my chicken wire system. ( I do add shredded paper from the office too)

[@cats6745]

Hello....I am in SE Michigan and am just beginning to start composting again. (moved) But it is like 27 degrees outside right now. I want to compost all year long and love the video i just watched (very helpful), but I am just begging now in winter.....so...should i start with the indoor/garage composting, then move on to the outdoor bin in the spring? or should I set up my outdoor bin now? I hope you understand my question and am glad I found you...Thanks for your videos...

[@wmluna381]

I am in SE Michigan, zone 6A. You can try drunken composting in 3-mil contractor bags, storage bins, or large garbage cans. No holes needed, just shove a 3"-6" diameter pvc pipe with drilled holes into the middle or make a ziptied 1/2 or 1/4 inch hardware cloth air tube if you have it on hand. I have one going in a double-bagged 42 gallon contractor bag set up. I couldn't find 55-gallon bags. This was a one and done set up completed in one day, so not a "working" bin/pile. It's been outside for over a week (same temps you're experiencing + snow) and it's maintaining 70-110 temps on the inside. Not super hot, but relative to what's going outside, that's still pretty hot! I take the temps a # of times a day with a glass candy thermometer I got for $5. Lol It's a bit of an experiment after I read an article on it somewhere. That's why I wanted to keep it as super cheap and low effort on the try out. My setup is insulated all around on the outside (nothing fancy at all), plus over top, and I put material in btw the bags to create an air pocket. Plus some cardboard underneath the bag to protect it from the cold-suck of the bare ground. I want to keep it from freezing as much as possible. I tied the inner bag around the tube with a release-able knot and the 2nd bag partially hoods the pipe from excess precipitation and I tie it in a way where the 2nd pipe is exposed on the vertical front side so air access is always there. My materials were layers of chicken poop I scored for free on Craigslist, free leaves, old soil, and home food scraps (veggies, eggshells, coffee grounds mostly). I had some left over DIY 'done' compost from over the summer and I took some particles from a rotting log, sprinkled that over the top, poured the drunken compost tonic over it with some hot water and called it a day. I did not mix or premix liquids or solids in any special ways. I'm kinda lazy that way. 😆 It's not attractive, I will grant you that, but if you have an out of the way place, it will do. My bag is literally in an area where raccoons, possums, and skunks traverse and has not been messed with to date. It's also away from eyes that could be readily be offended. I layered and insulated the to where I tried covering up as many smells as possible. My final layer was the chicken poop, compost, and wood. I ran out of leaves, but that would have worked as well. I just tried to avoid food scraps in the very top layer. I will continue to monitor it, but I am pleasantly surprised so far. My 'pile' ended up small because it became too heavy to carry to its final resting spot. It is ~18"x18"x18" and shrinking a little now. I wanted to add 6 more inches at the top. I don't intend to turn or manipulate this pile. So far it does not smell rank at all. In retrospect, using a 42-gallon bag inside a 55-gallon bag would have worked better. I wasn't able to maximize the full space of the 42 even if I wanted to. Definitely add more materials if you're able. "Regulation piles" are 3x3x3', after all. The black of the bags also helps absorb the sun when it's out, so I always pull away the outside insulator cover when it does. Or spray paint the outside if you're insulator cover black if it can take it. If the temps are a decent above freezing, I pull down the "hood" and leave the air tube exposed. 3-mil thickness or better bags are essential. I would not do this with regular garbage bags. If you're making a bin or bucket, say, to place inside your garage or house, adding a layer of Alder pet shavings/bedding or clean (non-pressured treated) sawdust can act as a brown layer after you add fresh scraps *and* it can keep down smells. Once you start composting, it can turn into a big problem. Even garbage you used to freely throw away has working potential now and it becomes too important to let go. I keep an interim collection container handy, but I don't know why I never thought of staging items in the freezer until I was ready to go outside with it. That's a great idea. HTH

[@simonveberic]

What about turning the compost in winter? Is it advisable?

[@GardensThatMatter]

Hi Simon! If it's not frozen solid, turning your pile may speed up decomposition. Oxygen from fresh air and the mixing of materials will invigorate the bacteria and bring the interior heat back up (even in winter). If you're not in a rush, you wait on turning and let fungi take the lead. Most fungi will be more active in cooler temps, but turning the pile breaks up their network of "roots" (mycelium).

[@simonveberic]

@@GardensThatMatter thanks for the advice! 👍

[@travelofftradition]

@@GardensThatMatter Hi Thanks for the detailed video. I have one question: how often we should turn the compost if needed like once in a week or once in 2 weeks?

[@jraitsev]

When you cover the compost aren't you depriving it of air supply? Please share your thoughts on that

[@skinnyWHITEgoyim]

I tried piling compost in big piles just on the ground uncovered and doesnt heat up or break down as fast as the piles i have in my bins made from pallets that are covered with tarps. The oxygen is added when you turn the pile. As long as its not an airtight container it'll break down much faster if covered.

[@livableincome]

This was very helpful. Thank you. We have a smallish tumbler and I've been wondering what I will do when it fills up. Our winters sound similar but sometimes colder than your's in the Pacific North West. I will experiment with an insulated compost. The ones you have there look like leaf mulch piles with compost in the middle. Am I wrong?

[@annenorris8350]

I have a plastic compost bin with air holes in it and a top. It has a door at the very bottom where you can take compost out. When the bin wasn't full I used to stir it, but now it's too full for me to do that. I put a cup of lime in it every once in a while. I have a mix of food scrapes and cutting from the yard and other brown matter. My question is, will it produce compost without stirring it? I live on the coast of NC and our winters are pretty mild and our summers hot and humid. Any insight you could give me would be appreciated. I haven't taken any compost out of the bin yet.

[@GardensThatMatter]

Hi Anne. Thanks for the question. The answer is yes, it will still produce compost without stirring (turning), but it will take longer. We have a plastic bin too (along with several wire bins) that sounds like yours. We turn ours (occasionally) by picking the bin straight up over the pile and setting it down next to the pile and then replacing the material back into the bin, making sure the material that was on top and outside edges is now on bottom and center, and the material that was in center and bottom is now on top and sides. This is much easier than trying to stir the material inside the bin. Turning the pile provides a nice flush of fresh air (microbes in your pile need oxygen) and allows us to regulate the moisture in the pile. If you do have some finished compost at bottom, you can harvest and store it for spring, and just put unfinished material back into the bin, which might give you some room for more material. Usually when we have a bin that is completely full, we avoid adding more fresh material to it and just let it do it's thing, giving it a turn occasionally. Then we start a new bin. We have 3 full bins right now, and we are planning to start a new one today. But we have a huge garden and need lots of compost. We understand many people only have one bin (and only need one), and in this instance, I would probably harvest the finished compost at bottom to make room for new material. Whichever way you choose to do it, it will work. The question is just how much compost you want and how fast you want it. I hope this helps. I am so happy you sent this question. I am always pleased to hear about other North Carolinian composters. We are in Western NC. Good Luck.

[@annenorris8350]

@@GardensThatMatter thank you so much for your response, I will try to move bin and place compost materials back in there with the new on the bottom. Glad to know you are in NC also!

[@livableincome]

@@annenorris8350 This info was helpful for me too. We had ours for five years and it didn't do anything. Now I know how to fix it. Also have to wrap that little door firmly in place with duct tape. Racoons discovered how to lift it open. Self serve! 🦝🍽🍹

[@Cultivatinggratitude]

i am trying this method for the first time here in zone b6 this year, can i use plastic around it as insulation, with a lid like that?

[@loriezweifel3364]

We get -40 for weeks at a time, can I still do this? Suggestions?

[@geod3589]

do you need to put your compost pile on something like a plastic tarp or directly on the ground?

[@emilymccaw4222]

I’m new to composting. We live in a very dry (semi-desert) area. I’m confused as to how much moisture I need to add to my compost

[@mikalalarson543]

Thanks for the video; it was very helpful! Do you recommend purchasing a compost thermometer?

[@GardensThatMatter]

Hi Mikala. We don't necessarily "recommend" a compost thermometer. We composted for years without one with good results. We do, however, think a compost thermometer is an incredibly useful tool, especially for people that want to "nerd out" over compost making (like me), and for people without a lot of experience who really want to learn what is going on in their pile and know it is getting up to proper temperature to kill seeds and pathogens. A compost thermometer isn't just handy for compost alone, we use ours to get a read on our garden soil temperature in the spring to know when the soil is warm enough to start sowing seeds and planting. They are pretty cheap too. Here is a link to the one we have. amzn.to/2Lg80y9 Hope this helps and thanks for the question.

[@mikalalarson543]

@@GardensThatMatter great, thank you for the response! I'm all about nerding out over compost, so I just purchased a thermometer :)

[@GardensThatMatter]

@@mikalalarson543 Woohoo.

[@yoriichi3347]

I'm using compost activator it decompose faster.

[@ainulhudamallick3181]

Which activator do you using ?

[@yoriichi3347]

@@ainulhudamallick3181Activated EM-1

[@yoriichi3347]

@@ainulhudamallick3181 that's my problem too so that's why i stop making compost instead i use Bokashi Compost method it is faster than traditional composting.

[@yoriichi3347]

@@ainulhudamallick3181 dr teru higa

[@yoriichi3347]

@@ainulhudamallick3181 Dr. Teruo Higa create Bokashi compost search it.

[@lilwadd91]

Can we compost paper plates, news paper, paper mails?

[@GardensThatMatter]

Yes. With paper plates, you want uncoated ones. The plain ole flimsy white uncoated paper plates. The coated ones have wax and gloss (heavy metals) and you definitely don't want foam plates. With newspaper, the plain black and white newsprint is fine. You don't want to compost the glossy ads, coupons, and other inserts. Same with paper mail. Plain paper mail is fine, but avoid anything glossy. Envelopes are ok too if you take out those little plastic windows. One last thing. It is better to shred paper when possible. Paper when wet will mat, which won't allow good air flow. Shredding paper at least lets you mix it easier and makes smaller particles for the microbes to munch on. Hope this helps.

[@sunshinegirl2070]

Hi there I am new to all of this and I really want to reduce the waste that my family and I produce including my pets. So with that is there any possible way (other than burying their waste) that I could do to efficiently dispose of their waste such as a compost bin solely for animal waste...is this possible and could you please help me understand if so? Also if it's possible and a good idea could I use their leftover unwanted dog and cat food along with it?

[@GardensThatMatter]

Hi sunshinegirl. This is a great question. Here's the scoop. Yes, you can compost pet waste in a separate bin BUT (and it's a big but), you do not want to use this compost in your garden or around any food crops (vegetables, fruit trees or bushes). Dogs and cats are meat eaters, and compost made from meat eating animal's manure has an increased risk of pathogens. This is not the same as compost made from horse, cow, or chicken manure because they are not meat eaters. Well, technically chickens are sort of meat eaters because they eat bugs, but we are talking about animals that eat protein from other animals. We have a compost bin that we use solely for dog and cat poop (and litter) located way far away from our garden and our other compost bins. We try to make the pet manure bin as hot as we can by adding additional nitrogen sources (grass clippings, green plant waste, blood meal) in an effort to kill off as many pathogens as we can. And yes, the excess pet food can go in the bin as well. Kitty litter is a bit tricky. Many conventional kitty litters are clay based with some artificial ingredients. I wouldn't recommend putting this in your compost bin. However, there are more and more natural litters on the market that are made from plant sources like corn. These are fine in the compost, but always check the ingredients before composting to make sure nothing artificial or synthetic is added. One other pet waste option that we are planning to experiment with is bokashi, which is an anaerobic method of composting that ferments waste rather than the normal aerobic composting process. I can't recommend this method yet, since we haven't tested it, but we have read people reporting positive results. I am sure we will make a video after we test, so make sure you are subscribed to our channel. I hope this helps. Thank you so much for the question and I am happy to hear you are looking to compost as a way to reduce waste. Best of luck to your family (and pets).

[@sunshinegirl2070]

@@GardensThatMatter thank you so much for the reply! Very informative!

[@PicklesFiona]

So you don’t need wet in the winter to help with the decomposition? You said not to let snow get in...?

[@patriciarussell1177]

I thought we wanted some dampness in our compost?

[@brokencage9723]

straw bales are $8 bucks apiece. Too much for what I need.

[@wmluna381]

You can never be sure if that stuff is sprayed anyway. I stay away from it. Heard too many horror stories.

[@_m3ytr0_44]

i found a dead squirrel and i wanna watch it decompose naturally but its november and i live in canada.

[@ladynataliemarie7780]

Hard very hard to listen to... just fast and airy... simply the next video pls.... less words.. just good clear clear cheerful but less wordy...directions...

[@mikeypc3592]

How about you make your own video or watch something else?

[@wmluna381]

@@mikeypc3592 There's always one.

[@hellwithit]

Jesus lady. We don’t need a science lecture. Just get to the what you do!!

[@lovealwaysjasmine]

Is it possible to use a compost sak for a hot compost in the winter zone 7?