As fall approaches, it is time for us to consider how we can compost our kitchen scraps all year long.
For many, living in snowy areas of the world makes the thought of composting during the winter seem difficult at best.
However, there are a few things you can do to reduce your landfill footprint year round while getting rich fertilizer ready for your gardening efforts next spring.
Here are a few different options for winter composting: Compost indoors with worms Compost outdoors with worms Compost outdoors with traditional methods Composting with worms indoors is, to me, the easiest option for the average household.
However, many people have a reasonable sized piece of land to work with, and perhaps a lot of waste from the land itself.
For those people it is possible to compost outdoors both with and without worms all year long with a little extra effort.
Let's look at the first option: Composting indoors with worms.
To get started, the first thing you need is a bin for your worms to live in.
There are many different types of worm bins you can build using nothing more than a rubbermaid bin and a drill.
There are also many, many bins on the market from manufacturers such as the Can-O-Worms, Gusanito Worm Farm, Wriggly Wranch, and others.
These pre-made bins are meant for indoor home use; they're nice to look at, relatively easy to harvest the worm castings from, and reasonably priced.
I personally have my Gusanito bin in my pantry and my worms seem awfully happy.
If you choose to build your own indoor worm bin, here's a simple method for doing it.
Choose a rubbermaid or similar bin that is opaque; worms don't like the light and they won't appreciate a see-through bin.
Drill several holes along the bottom of your bin for drainage.
You will use the lid of the bin to collect any extra liquid.
Use small wood blocks or something similar to allow the bin to rest just an inch or two above the lid; this allows any extra liquid to easily flow out of the bin and into the lid.
A worm bin consists of both bedding materials and food materials for the worms.
After much experimentation I have found that coconut coir or peat moss are the best materials to use as bedding.
These materials offer good airflow while helping to keep out flies, so they are my choice.
You also may use shredded paper, but I recommend shredding it finely before use to also assist in keeping out pests.
So, now that you have your bin it's time to make a worm lasagna.
You will add a few inches of moist bedding, dump in your worms in a nice pile, add another inch of moist bedding, add your kitchen scraps, then two or three more inches of moist bedding on top of that.
I like the lasagna method because it encourages the upward migration of the worms towards the food and allows you to simply layer more food as you go.
On the top of your top layer of bedding, generously sprinkle ground cinnamon.
Cinnamon is a natural insecticide, and will be unattractive to flies.
This bin I've just described is an open system, or a bin with no lid.
I have found that it's easier to keep worms where they belong if your bins do not have lids.
Worm bins with lids will often result in condensation along the interior walls, which means wandering worms.
A bin with a lid also will have much less airflow for your little buddies, and they need to breathe, too! To collect food for your worms, keep a small receptacle near the sink for daily use.
Then it is wise to keep a larger receptacle in your freezer; this will keep flies away and also help to break down the food for the worms when it thaws.
Then, weekly, toss the entire contents on the top layer of your bin, and layer again with 3-4 inches of dry bedding.
If you want to combat the risk of flies even further, you can thaw the kitchen scraps on the counter and then blend them in a blender or cuisinart.
This makes the waste both easier for the worms to process more quickly, and it is also difficult for flies to find a nice sticky spot to lay their eggs.
A well maintained worm bin should not be stinky.
If you are getting some unpleasant odors it means that you are overfeeding the worms and they can't keep up.
Stop feeding until the smells go away and it's clear that the worms are making good headway on the scraps they already have.
Now let's talk about outdoor worm composting.
It may seem insane to think that worms can survive an arctic-like winter in the outdoors, but they certainly can if you give them what they need: warmth and food.
First you need to find a spot on your property where you're going to build your worm compost pile.
After you take a rough measurement you will need to find a good number of straw or hay bales to build the walls of your system (try craigslist).
Stack them in twos along the border of your planned worm bed.
Then it's time to build another worm lasagna.
Start with cardboard along the ground to act as a false bottom to your "bin".
Then start adding layers of yard clippings, leaves, food scraps, and manure.
Manure is the key ingredient in an outdoor winter worm bed, as it generates a lot of heat as it decomposes.
Again, check on craigslist in the garden section for horse or cow barns where you can go load up for free.
Once you have the bed built up, add your worms.
Once they have dived down into the materials, drape a black tarp over the entire thing.
The tarp will both retain moisture and collect heat from the sun when it appears during the winter months.
If you decide to try a winter worm bed, make sure that you have enough worms to process the materials.
A good rule of thumb is 1 pound per square foot of surface area (though you could probably get away with less).
You also need to be dedicated to periodically checking on your worms.
Buy a compost thermometer or a remote sensor thermometer so that you can make sure that the temperature of the worm bed is between 55-77 degrees Fahrenheit.
You can follow the same idea as with indoor worm composting and collect your food scraps in the freezer.
Then take the container outside weekly and bury the contents in the existing worm bedding.
There is one commercial outdoor worm bin that I've seen, and I must admit that it's intriguing.
It's called the Worm Wigwam.
This unit is a flow-through system which allows the harvesting of castings from the bottom, and it also has a heater which makes it ideal for outdoor winter worm composting.
Unfortunately, it is quite expensive at around $600.
If the cost is not prohibitive to you, then by all means give this unit a try.
Outdoor winter composting without worms can work in much the same way as with worms.
You can build the same sort of insulated pile, being sure to add plenty of manure to generate heat.
The only difference is that you must aerate the pile frequently (whereas worms will do this naturally).
This means that at least weekly you will need to get bundled up and head outside with your shovel to turn the contents of your pile manually.
Oxygen is needed in the decomposition process, so this is a must-do if you choose to use this kind of pile.
With any kind of composting system, to succeed during the winter you must prepare during the summer/fall.
Make sure you get your system built and up-and-running before the temperature dips too low.
Otherwise, you may be tempted to just stay in your jammies all winter and forget about the whole composting thing until spring.
But being green is a year-long affair, so be prepared in advance so you can continue to do your part for the environment and create the organic fertilizer you will need for next year.
For many, living in snowy areas of the world makes the thought of composting during the winter seem difficult at best.
However, there are a few things you can do to reduce your landfill footprint year round while getting rich fertilizer ready for your gardening efforts next spring.
Here are a few different options for winter composting: Compost indoors with worms Compost outdoors with worms Compost outdoors with traditional methods Composting with worms indoors is, to me, the easiest option for the average household.
However, many people have a reasonable sized piece of land to work with, and perhaps a lot of waste from the land itself.
For those people it is possible to compost outdoors both with and without worms all year long with a little extra effort.
Let's look at the first option: Composting indoors with worms.
To get started, the first thing you need is a bin for your worms to live in.
There are many different types of worm bins you can build using nothing more than a rubbermaid bin and a drill.
There are also many, many bins on the market from manufacturers such as the Can-O-Worms, Gusanito Worm Farm, Wriggly Wranch, and others.
These pre-made bins are meant for indoor home use; they're nice to look at, relatively easy to harvest the worm castings from, and reasonably priced.
I personally have my Gusanito bin in my pantry and my worms seem awfully happy.
If you choose to build your own indoor worm bin, here's a simple method for doing it.
Choose a rubbermaid or similar bin that is opaque; worms don't like the light and they won't appreciate a see-through bin.
Drill several holes along the bottom of your bin for drainage.
You will use the lid of the bin to collect any extra liquid.
Use small wood blocks or something similar to allow the bin to rest just an inch or two above the lid; this allows any extra liquid to easily flow out of the bin and into the lid.
A worm bin consists of both bedding materials and food materials for the worms.
After much experimentation I have found that coconut coir or peat moss are the best materials to use as bedding.
These materials offer good airflow while helping to keep out flies, so they are my choice.
You also may use shredded paper, but I recommend shredding it finely before use to also assist in keeping out pests.
So, now that you have your bin it's time to make a worm lasagna.
You will add a few inches of moist bedding, dump in your worms in a nice pile, add another inch of moist bedding, add your kitchen scraps, then two or three more inches of moist bedding on top of that.
I like the lasagna method because it encourages the upward migration of the worms towards the food and allows you to simply layer more food as you go.
On the top of your top layer of bedding, generously sprinkle ground cinnamon.
Cinnamon is a natural insecticide, and will be unattractive to flies.
This bin I've just described is an open system, or a bin with no lid.
I have found that it's easier to keep worms where they belong if your bins do not have lids.
Worm bins with lids will often result in condensation along the interior walls, which means wandering worms.
A bin with a lid also will have much less airflow for your little buddies, and they need to breathe, too! To collect food for your worms, keep a small receptacle near the sink for daily use.
Then it is wise to keep a larger receptacle in your freezer; this will keep flies away and also help to break down the food for the worms when it thaws.
Then, weekly, toss the entire contents on the top layer of your bin, and layer again with 3-4 inches of dry bedding.
If you want to combat the risk of flies even further, you can thaw the kitchen scraps on the counter and then blend them in a blender or cuisinart.
This makes the waste both easier for the worms to process more quickly, and it is also difficult for flies to find a nice sticky spot to lay their eggs.
A well maintained worm bin should not be stinky.
If you are getting some unpleasant odors it means that you are overfeeding the worms and they can't keep up.
Stop feeding until the smells go away and it's clear that the worms are making good headway on the scraps they already have.
Now let's talk about outdoor worm composting.
It may seem insane to think that worms can survive an arctic-like winter in the outdoors, but they certainly can if you give them what they need: warmth and food.
First you need to find a spot on your property where you're going to build your worm compost pile.
After you take a rough measurement you will need to find a good number of straw or hay bales to build the walls of your system (try craigslist).
Stack them in twos along the border of your planned worm bed.
Then it's time to build another worm lasagna.
Start with cardboard along the ground to act as a false bottom to your "bin".
Then start adding layers of yard clippings, leaves, food scraps, and manure.
Manure is the key ingredient in an outdoor winter worm bed, as it generates a lot of heat as it decomposes.
Again, check on craigslist in the garden section for horse or cow barns where you can go load up for free.
Once you have the bed built up, add your worms.
Once they have dived down into the materials, drape a black tarp over the entire thing.
The tarp will both retain moisture and collect heat from the sun when it appears during the winter months.
If you decide to try a winter worm bed, make sure that you have enough worms to process the materials.
A good rule of thumb is 1 pound per square foot of surface area (though you could probably get away with less).
You also need to be dedicated to periodically checking on your worms.
Buy a compost thermometer or a remote sensor thermometer so that you can make sure that the temperature of the worm bed is between 55-77 degrees Fahrenheit.
You can follow the same idea as with indoor worm composting and collect your food scraps in the freezer.
Then take the container outside weekly and bury the contents in the existing worm bedding.
There is one commercial outdoor worm bin that I've seen, and I must admit that it's intriguing.
It's called the Worm Wigwam.
This unit is a flow-through system which allows the harvesting of castings from the bottom, and it also has a heater which makes it ideal for outdoor winter worm composting.
Unfortunately, it is quite expensive at around $600.
If the cost is not prohibitive to you, then by all means give this unit a try.
Outdoor winter composting without worms can work in much the same way as with worms.
You can build the same sort of insulated pile, being sure to add plenty of manure to generate heat.
The only difference is that you must aerate the pile frequently (whereas worms will do this naturally).
This means that at least weekly you will need to get bundled up and head outside with your shovel to turn the contents of your pile manually.
Oxygen is needed in the decomposition process, so this is a must-do if you choose to use this kind of pile.
With any kind of composting system, to succeed during the winter you must prepare during the summer/fall.
Make sure you get your system built and up-and-running before the temperature dips too low.
Otherwise, you may be tempted to just stay in your jammies all winter and forget about the whole composting thing until spring.
But being green is a year-long affair, so be prepared in advance so you can continue to do your part for the environment and create the organic fertilizer you will need for next year.
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