Winter compost?

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suziquzie

Chef Extraordinaire
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So in about a blink of an eye, my compost pile will be a frozen block, and I wont be able to turn it over.
I'm talking withing days. :mad:
Do I keep adding my kitchen scraps to it all winter to just freeze on top? :ermm:
I'm thinking all thats gonna do is feed the critters, not next years dirt.
 
I don't have an exposed compost pile. Have a bin, so I add scraps all winter long. The composting process generates heat, so the bin never gets rock hard. Not sure what you should do, given you live in Minnesota. Is this the first winter for your compost pile?
 
yes it is the first year....
I had a closed bin at our old house in the city, but we didn't bring it here....
we figured we had enough land now to just have a pile...
I think we should have thought a little longer on that!!!!
 
I remember an old Outdoor Living magazine that talked about a roast being cooked in a compost pile. I must have read it back in the seventies.
Just thought I'd mention that. I assumed they got fairly warm after reading that. It didn't say if it was in a bin or not.
 
If you have done your compost pile correctly, the heat generated internally will keep it warm all through the winter. I remember my grandfather's compost piles in Utah during the winter. Deep snow and ice everywhere except the compost pile and about a foot parameter around it.
 
It is very hard for me to imagine a frozen compost pile, it just doesn't get that cold here.
Today's weather is like this, a photo I have just taken of our Ponciana tree coming into flower. Come Xmas that tree will be like a huge umbrella of green leaves where we will be enjoying our Xmas lunch-----how many weeks to go :angel:
3028538851_080f6887b4_m.jpg
 
We have a barrel my husband made next to our wood shed...a few feet away from the kitchen. I put the scraps in a stainless bowl on the floor in my kitchen. When it is filled...my husband brings to the barrel.

It is COLD here in New York State. We have no problems. We just keep adding to the barrel. Aria
 
My brother composts year round in NE Ohio in spite of freezing temps. He has wood framed compost bins that he covers with scrap pieces of Tyvek to keep the heat in and excess water out. The bins are open front with the side walls angled from about 36" high at the back wall down to nothing over 4'. The bins are about 4' wide. He's been composting year round for about 15 years, and actually has some customers for his compost since it's more than he can use. He also composts horse manure since his wife has 3 horses on their farm. He manages to kill all the seeds in the composting process.

That's all I know about composting.
 
One thing you can do is cover the pile with a plastic tarp, weighted down around the edges with rocks, bricks, wood - whatever you have kicking around. This will definitely help to keep the heat in, as well as intensify things on cold yet frigid days.

As far as adding additional scraps throughout the winter, you may want to hold off on that since, while still "cooking", your pile may be cooler throughout the winters you have there in MN & thus will take a lot longer to process fresh stuff. As you mentioned, you don't want to end up starting a critter buffet.
 
I would definately keep adding to the pile - even if it is in the open and uncovered. Keep turning it when it is not frozen solid. The pile will generate it's own heat and while it might still freeze, the more you add to it, the better the chances that it will continue to break down!

Good luck! I get a lot of frosts here in New Zealand, but the compost keeps working.

Using an indoor (barn or garage) worm farm is also a good idea. If you need more info on worm farming let me know.
 
I would definately keep adding to the pile - even if it is in the open and uncovered. Keep turning it when it is not frozen solid. The pile will generate it's own heat and while it might still freeze, the more you add to it, the better the chances that it will continue to break down!

Good luck! I get a lot of frosts here in New Zealand, but the compost keeps working.

Using an indoor (barn or garage) worm farm is also a good idea. If you need more info on worm farming let me know.

Hi from up-over Tim; welcome to DC. New Zealand seems to be my idea of a somewhat idyllic place. Temps in my area range from 100F(38C) to 0F(-18C). Humidity in the hot weather is usually over 80%. I’m partial to low humidity and cooler weather 0C to 24C. Any place with a climate like that down your way?
 
Hi from up-over Tim; welcome to DC. New Zealand seems to be my idea of a somewhat idyllic place. Temps in my area range from 100F(38C) to 0F(-18C). Humidity in the hot weather is usually over 80%. I’m partial to low humidity and cooler weather 0C to 24C. Any place with a climate like that down your way?

Well we are in the high teens to mid 20's at the moment, and it is pouring with rain!

Where I live we can get down to a chilly -5 in winter, although that only usually lasts a few hours! Humidity is another story. We get a lot of rain across most of the country so we can be quite humid in summer.

Across the country the weather varies greatly. The north is warmer with tropical rainforests, while the south has snow capped mountains!

I am familiar with NYC weather - having spent a bit of time there over the past few years.
 
Here is the scoop on compost.
You make your pile....you really need 3 cu ft to have enough MASS to make it work right. Let it get wet and cover it over. let it "cook" for two months. In that two months the temps will raise to between 160 to 180 degrees. It is the thermafiles that has all the nitrogen tied up. At those temp it kills all the weed seeds. You are best to have two piles working at a time. One cooking and one you are putting your wast in. After two months you can use the starter pile. I never put any portiens in my piles. If you do your asking for skunks, raccoons, stray dogs.ect. A skunk will visit you every night if he finds food until there is none left
I get all my compost from a local horse boarding barn by the dumptruck load. I do all my gardening in raised beds and use NO dirt. It is a little work to get started but after I get them built and filled I don't weed,
till,turn,hoe or get my feet muddy. If you like new potatos it is very easy to grovel your potatos in the soft compost :cool:
Mystry
 
I 'm just a few weeks into composing in a tumbler I fabbed from a 55 gallon vinegar drum purchased off Craig's List for $25. So far it is a learning experience. My main concern is keeping moisture levels right. It does not knock you back when I open the hatch leaving me to think I have happy microbes in there.
 
Hi Porthand,
There is no need to "tumble" your compost. Listen to what I will tell you. If you throw a , lets say banna peal, in the yard,will it rot. Of corse it will, the only way to keep it from doing so it put it in an air tight container.That is all your doing with compost. You are "rotting" your compost. The biggest thing it the mass. It needs to be 3X3X3 or one cubic yard. It needs that "mass" to produce the heat to kill the weed seed and diseases in the compost. I have a few tumblers that I use to test for the city I live in. You do not have to tumble, stir, turn or touch for that matter your compost once you let it get wet and cover it. Nature will take care of that. In my opinion, just mine now, those tumblers are the product of someone creating a market to sell tumblers.
Mystry
Tennessee Master Gardener
 
Oh, I agree the tumblers on the market are pricey to be sure (some over $300). I have less than $35 + a few hours into mine. At this point what i do not have is volume. It is just me contributing so just a few pounds/ week and shredded paper generated from my desk.
Our county is offering vermiculture classes with a starter bin and worms next month. I am looking forward to getting started with my own "herd".
 
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