How to keep your compost pile going all winter
Keeping your compost pile going all winter isn't hard to do at all. Many people seem to believe that once the garden stops growing, the compost pile must inevitably shrink away and die with it. Thankfully, for those who want to keep their compost pile going all winter long, this isn't true. A compost pile, after all, isn't an organic, growing thing quite like a garden is. Rather, a compost pile is heaps of stuff that was organic and growing like a garden. Therefore, so long as you have access to this was element, you have access to the materials you'll need to keep your compost going all winter. Then, come summer, you won't have to start all over again! Your compost heap will be sitting there good as new, ready for action. Let's look at a few ways in which you can keep your compost heap going all winter.
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- Firstly, let us point out that wintertime isn't the best time to actually start a compost pile. No, you'll want your compost pile nice and heaping before the cold weather sets in. It's got to have that base, otherwise you'll never get anything going once the snow starts to fall. So make sure you pay careful attention to the growth and suppleness of your compost pile during the summer and spring, when your garden is burgeoning and you have plenty of materials to get that pile nice and high.
- The main idea behind a compost pile is that you're feeding it. It's like a second pet (or a first pet, if you don't have one already) that you've got to feed every day if you want it to live and wag its tail happily. During the winter, then-especially during the winter, when it's icy out and things tend to die off more easily-you'll want to be feeding that compost pile on a daily basis. The next question, obviously, is-What should I be feeding it?
- Well, what did you feed it during the spring and summer? Some people will say, "Oh, I fed it any old thing; anything that I'd put down my disposal, any inedible foodstuffs." And that really is a great answer right there; it's the first place to begin when considering how to keep your compost pile going all winter long. Now, it's true that you're not going to have access to your own nice little blooming garden during the wintertime. You're not going to be able to feed your pet compost pile with homegrown cornhusks, tomato and fruit (etc.) rinds, withered lettuce, carrot tops, potato peelings, and so forth. However, during the winter you can feed your compost pile with the above-mentioned refuse whether it was grown in your garden or no. In other words, just because winter arrives doesn't mean you stop eating what grows in your garden during the warmer months. You simply take a trip to the local grocery store and buy your fruits and veggies from overflowing bins. To keep your compost pile going all winter, continue to eat your daily allotment of fruits and veggies, and continue to throw the scraps of those fruits and veggies on your compost pile.
- Keep in mind that coffee rinds are another great compost pile food. Compost piles just love to eat coffee rinds; so don't throw yours away; don't throw your coffee rinds in the trash, down the disposal, etc.; rather, keep them in a little tub by your coffee maker and then transport them outside to your waiting, hungry compost pile. Don't forget that your neighbors will more than likely be glad to help you keep your compost pile going all winter as well. Maybe you have bad, ferocious neighbors, and this isn't an applicable point for you. But if your neighbors are nice, neighborly people, consider asking them to save their coffee rinds, rotten fruit, rubbery carrots, dried out potatoes, onion skins, etc., in a little tub (it might be a nice gesture for you to provide the tub), which you'll pick up on a daily basis and empty onto your compost pile.
- The main point is: what feeds a compost pile in clement weather will certainly feed it in inclement weather. However, there's one last thing to consider here. You might want to consider growing your own worm factory. There are actually kits you can buy which allow you to start your own little red worm farm, as it were. This sounds disgusting; it's actually difficult to write without shuddering. Even so, if you're a seasoned compost pile person, you're used to slime and grime, and there's really no better way of preserving a compost pile than infesting it with these tiny, curvy, ringed, maggot-like, blood-red worms with pointy heads writhing about. Best of all, you can actually grow them in your own kitchen; that's right: you can grow your own little worm farm right in your own kitchen. You feed the worms the coffee rinds and so forth, and the worms turn the coffee rinds and so forth into compost for you. It's a magical process! The rinds go in one end, and nice, fresh compost comes out the other.
- Where to learn about the magic of compost worms? Gardening magazines are a good place to start; you'll want to look for something called a "vermiculture kit." If you don't have any gardening magazines, or can't find reference to vermiculture kits in the ones you do have, try online, either by using your favorite search engine or by simply visiting www.acmewormfarm.com.
- We hope this short article will get you well on your way to keeping your compost pile going all winter. Keeping your compost pile going all winter is almost as easy as keeping it going all summer. You'll basically be feeding it the same stuff, PLUS you can try interesting new techniques such as having a writhing worm farm in your kitchen. Happy compost!
