Ever tried composting in winter? We have. And it took a good five years to turn our slimy kitchen scraps into valuable compost for our garden. If you don't have five years to waste, make a note of these easy winter composting tips.
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
Winter composting can be, well, gross. You start with a heap of kitchen scraps, eggshells and coffee grounds. Your heart fills with hope as you envision rich black compost come spring.
Your efforts echo those of countless gardeners before you. After all, composting is an ancient art, recycling organic materials back into the soil.
Suddenly, though, the cold hits. And in our neck of the woods, winter temperatures often hover at -40C, which is also -40F or more out.
Everything freezes solid. The decomposition process slows down like molasses on a frosty morning.
So you start to wonder. Is composting in winter even possible?
In short, yes, it is. In fact, it's entirely doable—with just a little more know-how and some cool strategies (pun intended).
If you like to recycle your food scraps, you may think that composting in winter is impossible. Perhaps you assumed that working a compost pile is something you can only do during warm weather.
Well, think again. This guide explains how it is, in fact, possible to continue composting all year long, even through the coldest, shortest and darkest days of winter.
Winter Composting Woes
Trying to compost in winter is especially tricky if you live in the far north, as we do.
Not so long ago, I was just a hopeful composter with a Canada Goose parka, a toque, my son's ancient Sorel winter boots and an ice cream tub full of stinky kitchen scraps. Facing the icy winds of winter blowing across the lake and onto my frozen compost pit.
I was trying to decide if there was any point in tossing these scraps onto our pile or if I could just curl up in front of the wood stove with a good homesteading book instead. But then I felt guilty. After all, I had just spent a week teaching my kids how to compost in our homeschool. So out I went.
Reasons to Avoid Winter Composting
You may want to stop composting in winter for a few reasons. For instance, you may want to avoid bringing kitchen waste to your compost bin or pile when it's freezing outside. Or the neighborhood dogs like to root around in your compost and strew last night's salad remnants across the clean snow.
Yet, as we learned when we moved off the grid to our northern home, life doesn't stop when the thermostat plunges below zero.
And if you can get the hang of winter grilling work for getting dinner on the table, you can surely make it a priority to continue adding to your compost pile. Plus, if you dress properly in warm clothes and good boots, there is no excuse.
Just because it's winter doesn't mean that the first step in the composting process — collecting kitchen scraps — must change. "Our composting routine in the winter is the same as in summer," said Anne Mauney of FANNEtastic Food. "We keep a small countertop bin inside to put our compostable items in. Then, when it's full, we bring it out to our large backyard compost bin and empty it."
Best Winter Composting Tips
Before you start composting, do some planning and preparation and keep your eyes open for winter composting tips. This will help you get set for success with composting your kitchen scraps, even in the coldest months.
Get an Easily Accessible Compost Bin
It may be the case that your bin isn't as easy to access in winter as it is for Anne. You may have a big yard and can't get to it when snow or ice is on the ground.
"Move it to a more accessible spot," said Kate Garland, a horticultural professional at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. For those with a tumbler composting bin that sits on legs, that's an easy fix. You can drag it to a different spot.
However, that may only work for some. For instance, when you decided to start composting, did you create a compost pile in your yard using wire fencing or wood palettes secured together? If so, you can't really move those.
Instead, go ahead and create a temporary winter compost bin that is closer to your house. Garland suggested using a trash can where you can place your food scraps.
Choose a Compost Bin on Wheels
One of the best winter composting tips I've heard is to choose a bin on wheels. That way, when it warms up — and you can access your permanent pile more easily — you simply have to wheel the bin to where you want to empty it.
Use an Old Chest Freezer
If you lack space for an extra garbage can but have plenty of room in your basement's chest freezer, consider using that instead. Garland said to store kitchen compost in zip-top plastic bags or reusable containers in the freezer until spring thaw.
That makes it easy to remove them from the freezer and empty them in the backyard compost pile. And soon it will be ready to spread in your own potager garden.
Learn the Winter Composting Process
Besides the challenge of getting to your compost pile in winter, composting in cold weather requires another level of understanding about the whole process. At its simplest, it is this: things don't break down as quickly in cold temperatures, if at all.
That's because organic material needs heat for the decomposition process to happen. Learn more about hot composting if you're ready to accelerate your composting efforts.
It helps if temperatures get above freezing during sunny days. However, when temperatures drop at night, your compost bin loses all the heat it might have gained during daylight.
Even so, there are steps you can take to make it easier for the organisms in the bin to continue doing their job of breaking down kitchen scraps and yard waste, albeit at a slower pace than in other seasons.
Compost Smaller Pieces in Winter
Whether you're composting pumpkins after Halloween or tomato plants after the first frost, it's always a good idea to break items up before composting them. In winter, this is even more important.
"We cut up waste into smaller-than-usual pieces," said Dan Morris of Fire and Saw. He does this because he knows the smaller pieces will help the decomposition process, even when the outdoor temperature is cold.
Garland from the University of Maine approves of this technique. "By cutting food waste into small pieces," she said, "you're increasing the surface areas that the micro- and macroorganisms have to work on breaking things down." In other words, giving them smaller pieces to work with makes their decomposition job easier.
Build it Bigger
While the items in your compost bin or pile should get smaller in cold weather, the same doesn't hold true for the compost pile. Bigger is better because the microbiological activity generates heat. And more compostable material means more heat. So heap up that compost pile when the snow flies.
Create a Compost Lasagna
Proper composting practice requires you to add even amounts of green and brown material to your pile or bin. You'll do this by layering greens and browns just like you might with ingredients when making lasagna.
The so-called greens are the food scraps from your kitchen. The so-called browns — sometimes a color other than brown — are there to balance the moisture level.
A moist compost smells terrible and won't decompose easily. Ask me how I know this.
Also, the browns provide food the microorganisms need for decomposition. Whenever you add greens to the compost, add a layer of browns.
What are some browns you can use?
- Dried leaves.
- Wood chips.
- Grass clippings.
Some paper and cardboard products also work for those browns. For example, you can use paperboard egg cartons. You'll want to rip the egg cartons into small pieces — assuming you have no plans to recycle them into eco-friendly toys.
As another option, use paper from your cross-cut shredder. We do this. We access our private road from a winding, two-lane highway that ends where the ice road up to the Arctic tundra begins.
We must haul out all our waste that we can't compost or burn. And the dump is a 40-minute drive away.
Remember to add only uncoated shredded paper if you do add shredded paper. Anything coated with plastic or synthetics will not break down during the decomposition process.
Winter Composting Tips and More
Although it may seem like it in February, winter doesn't last forever. Once spring rolls around, collect all the greens and browns you kept over the winter. Then, add them to your regular compost pile.
If you ever doubt the value of composting — in winter or at any other time of the year — consider this U.S. Department of Agriculture stat: food scraps and yard waste make up 20% to 30% of the waste stream.
By composting, you keep these materials out of landfills. Plus, if you pay for garbage pickup, you'll save some money, too, by producing less trash. And best of all, you'll have oodles of nutrient-rich natural food to add to your backyard garden.
This article originally appeared on Food Drink Life.
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