How to Winterize Your Compost

I woke up this morning to a freezing house 

 Every fall, my boyfriend and I see how far we can make it before turning on the heat. We pile on the blankets, wear sweatshirts over long sleeves, and never get out of bed without socks on. All to avoid an extra $30-$40 on our electricity bill. What can I say, we're cheap!

I had been planning to bring my worms inside fairly soon, but I assumed I would do it closer to the end of the month. When I got outside I started to get worried for my little guys.

My winter lettuce was covered in a fine layer of frost, the garbage can lid was frozen shut and the walkway was a slippery ice skating adventure. If it was 52 degrees inside, I couldn't imagine how cold it was outside.

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year and it would appear that we only got about two weeks of it this year. The leaves only started changing colors and now they're freezing off and falling to the ground before I even get a chance to enjoy them!

A quick jaunt down to the river confirmed my suspicions that winter is upon us. 

The hills already have snow! As pretty as they are, I was definitely looking forward to a few more days of being able to start the car in the morning without having to pry the door open with a crowbar.

I was afraid to check my compost, because I was sure the worms would be dead.

The garden tool I use to turn the compost was frozen to the lid. Not a good sign.

I had to dig deep to find the worms, but they were there. You can't tell from the photo but they were wriggling around so I knew they hadn't died. Phew! I decided to move them inside right away. Vermicomposters are actually meant to be kept under the kitchen sink. Since I made my own vermicompost rather than buying one, its a little too big for that. I decided to put mine in the laundry room.

As you can see my vermicompost is just a blue medium sized tupperware bin with holes poked in it for air flow. I switched to a vermicompost when rodents started getting into my large traditional compost. Plus, this size is ideal for a small two person home. They don't smell at all and I get an astounding amount of dirt out of this thing.  I keep kitchen scraps in the white pail on top of the compost and feed my worms a little bit each day. The white pail has a carbon filter at the top to keep bugs from getting in and any smells from getting out.



These things are the best!


For those of you with a more traditional compost, use the following guidelines to winterize them!

1. Keep it Sunny

If your compost only gets a few hours of sun a day, you'll want to move it to a better lit location. The heat from the sun keeps the worms warm.

2. Insulate 

 You'll want to get a hold of some dry material like straw or hay to insulate your compost. If you compost is only a wire cage or just a pile with a tarp over it you can actually position hay bales all around to keep heat in. For a plastic composter (like the one pictured above) add hay to the top and cease "turning" your compost until the weather warms up.

3. Add Hot Materials

If you want your compost to keep "cooking" when temps get really low, make sure to add a lot of "hot materials" such as manure (horse and/or chicken). I've also read you can use seafood scraps but I personally prefer to never use items that will attract pests. I also do not have access to manure, and don't really have a compost big enough to justify using it. I like to use coffee grounds as my source of "hot" materials.

Do you have a compost? What do  you do to keep it going through the winter? Let me know in the comments!


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