What about winter composting?

Things in your compost will certainly slow through the winter, but there’s no reason they can’t survive. There are some keys to keeping up your compost throughout the winter, if you happen to live in a cold climate: insulation, placement and preparation!

Trench composting uses the grounds natural heat to help it out, but you can help seal in the heat with a black overlay, and barrels are fairly easy to add insulation to by means of foam and black coatings. You can help by placing your trench or barrel in the sunniest, least wind-swept area possible. Finally, making sure your compost bin has a healthy mix of microbes—which themselves make heat—will help keep things warm through the winter.

Composting indoors

If you’re really worried about your compost through the winter, or live in an apartment with zero outdoor access or space—you can still compost indoors! Since you don’t have the power of the sun, free-range insects, and fresh air inside, you’ll need a little oomph to get the job done.

The ideal compost method for indoor use is vermiocomposting, where you use the power of hungry worms to do the decomposition work for you. You can also purchase a composting bin with a bioreactor, to help get the job done. Indoor composting typically must be done on a smaller scale than outdoor, and it can require a little more work—making sure it is aerated and not too wet—but it’s certainly a labor of love!

 Bonus:

Listen to this Green Divas In The Garden podcast about urban gardening…

Infographic via Organic Lesson | Images via Shutterstock

Listen to the latest Green Divas Radio Show—and other green and healthy living podcasts—daily on GDGDRadio.com (or get the GDGD Radio app)!

[dynamic-sidebar id=’Custom Widget 2′]