How to fire up a cold composter in winter?

Are there any sure-fire ways to get a composter cooking when it's sitting outside in the winter?

It's filled to the gills with a good mix of browns and greens. There are plenty of microbes in the bin thanks to some manure (rabbit, chicken, cow), worm castings, and remnants of the previous compost batch. The final layer was about 6" of shredded office paper, in which I buried about 5 lbs of soaked alfalfa pellets. Before putting in the shredded paper I aerated the pile with a Yard Butler and discovered several fat and happy worms munching away just an inch below the surface. Typical daytime temps are between 30 and 40, with night time temps in the teens and 20s. The pile's current internal temperature is 45, as is tonight's air (it won't last, believe me).

Worms are nice, but I'm impatient. Any suggestions on how to get things cooking?

What size unit?
You seem to have it all. If it really is balanced and moist, I'm afraid there comes a point where the unit is like food in a freezer- no matter what, there's too much heat lost. Try a blanket!

Big sheet of black plastic might help?

Doug

Amazing. It's 30 degrees and snowing, but I just peeked at the thermometer and it's 80 degrees inside my composter.

Ahhhhhh! Sounds perfect to me!! Good job! Samantha

Thanks. Temp outside is 20, composter's holding at 100.

How will the worms do in those temps? Do they go underground?

Julia

There ya go Pirate. Just took a little longer, eh? I turned a pile last week and was also getting discouraged but after a few days more it started to warm down low.

They'll either go underground or move toward the walls of the composter until they find tolerable conditions. I suspect there's a warm core of 100+ degrees, surrounded by a layer of worms, surrounded by cool materials. The composter's the only object outside with no snow on it.

Outside temps today are in the mid-40s; internal composter temp was 65. I just now aerated it and turned over the top third, so we'll see how hot it gets this time. Tonight's forecast: 36 degrees and rainy.

FYI, my composter is a SoilSaver Classic with a capacity of just over 11 cubic feet. It sits about 3 feet from the south side of my house in an area that's mostly sheltered from the wind.

In light of your comments, and a mild day forecast for tomorrow here, I dumped out my "county recycling program freebei" composter (the cylinder/sheet of black plastic with big holes). It was doing better than I thought down under, just hard to tell from the top. But I'm going into winter mode with it, I've spread that out in my 4 by 8 bin; it'll get some rain tomorrow, then be topped with eight leafbags full, in the bags, as insulation. The bags are open for rain and a handful of urea in each. When its all moist, I'll ask hubby if I can use a precious tarp and cover the whole shebang, to keep it moist, warmer, and keep me from fooling with it and do "better' things with my time . This way, it'll have max exposure to a 50 degree heat source: the ground. and when the sun comes out, max surface to the sun warmth. Pirate, you've picked a good spot for the winter for that compost. Compost takes patience, esp in winter.

Patience? Bah, humbug!

I compost using leaves, hay and horse manure. I get my composters (the county freebie and old leaking watering troughs) heated up, regardless of the outside temperature, with cottonseed meal (or cornmeal which heats up slower.) I cover with black plastic.

I'm hoarding scraps for the composter that I've requested for Christmas. Here's a question that I haven't seen a answer to yet: can you put cooked vegetables in the compost? Most of our vegetables are steamed with no sauce, no salt, and very little butter or margarine. Should the compost be limited to raw foods only?

Cooked veggies are fine. Just avoid putting meats, dairy products, or carnivore poop into the compost pile, because they can introduce nasty pathogens into the soil that can be taken up by your plants.

I did get my composter for Christmas - yeah! It's a tumbling composter. Today I filled it with leaves, spent annuals and kitchen scraps that I have been saving. I'm wondering about adding chicken manure. I have a source for this, but it would be fresh.

Chicken manure is supposed to be very hot. How long would this take to compost? Can I put in fresh manure or do I need to let it age before adding it.

Put it in now, fresh! Perfect to get things going, and will be six months old by July. Watch the moisture- leaves now can be very dry, and if that manure gets it hot, it can cook out the moisture. Otherwise, good luck. we'd love to hear how it goes. We want to hear you get facefuls of steam when you open it.

Never use black plastic to cover a compost pile. Insects can find a way out by going to the light. Also clear plastic lets the light shine through so it heats the pile not the plastic. Plastic also keeps the nitrogen from escaping in the form of ammonia vapors.

I couldn't resist the urge to do *something* productive outside today.

The outdoor temp was a balmy 45, and the composter was cold. I fluffed the compacted contents with the aerator, dug a hole about two feet down in the middle, tossed in about 5 pounds of damp alfalfa meal mixed with 5 capfuls of Concern Compost BioActivator, then pulled all the identifiable browns onto the new greens. I covered the whole thing with colder material from the sides of the container. With the semi-finished compost nicely insulating the new materials, I closed the lid and stuck a thermometer into the pile through a side vent.

I can now look out my window and read the compost's internal temperature from inside my warm house. With the weather headed for a week of 20-30 degree temps, I'll be satisfied if the pile tops 100 degrees in a few days.

Not too bad, for a task that took less than ten minutes.

Nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada.

It's finally too cold outside for anything noticeable to happen. Come mid-March, it'll kick off again. By May I'll have a nice big pile of black gold to feed my plants, and I'll get to start all over again.

Well, its disappointing when you had your hopes up. It sounded good! I still feel its like the difference between leaving a hunk of meat on the kitchen counter, versus fridge, versus freezer. I'm trying my best to keep that attitude, don't sweat it till March. Or till a warm spell. Or till I also can't resist wanting to do something outside LOL

I know the feeling.

I gave mine a little beer, and now I feel better!
There's a critter that has tunneled into the pile to stay warm, I'll presume. He/She found the pomegranate that I had buried a few days ago, along with some spoiled apples. Glad someone is getting some use from the piles...

Hopefully your "tenant" is repaying you with some nice, uh, doots.

I've stopped adding much to both my bins in order to have it ready to use come spring. I'm only adding UCGs, filters, and more leaves now. I'll probably have to remove the filters and toss into a new batch before spreading.

We really are getting a reprieve of a few balmy days here in Ohio- supposed to reach the 50s today, then the cold returns. If the rain stops later, I'd like to get out and flip those bins today, at least the newest one if not both. It would be interesting to see what remains of the pumpkins I added in Nov.

Karen

I wonder if you'll get little pumpkins?

Pennefeather: I break up the pumpkins and trash most seeds. Few, if any, go in the compost. I try to avoid weed seeds, tomato seeds, pumpkin seeds. I don't think anything can kill a tomato seeds, I've grown lots of them in my compost bins over the years.

Karen

Pumpkin Meltaways.
I leave the seeds in my pumpkins and get babies but am judgmental on whether they may be worthwhile. First generation from a commercial patch has given me a nice few. Generations from my little mixed up patch--total guess!

I have a couple of piles that have pretty much gone dormant. They are pretty big. I have like four or five of them. The last two or three years I used to get leaves and manure off Craig's List. Now I've kind of given up. To much stuff going on. I'm going to let them rot down. I did get some grass clippings off one guy which was probably a mistake. I noticed it had sticker burrs in it only after I dumped it into a pile.

Anyhow, good luck with the composting you all!

Before we know it, Spring will arrive with warm temps & lively compost piles.
I am looking forward to another year of being involved in the gardening cycle: it's all life & death, when you boil it down.

Dean, my piles are sleeping, too. I get to laugh at myself for checking on them & the worms, as if they won't be ok without me!
But I'm really struck by the process - not only is it practical, but educational & beneficial, too.
I am hoping that I'll be able to buy a truck this year, to ensure the ability to gather components for the piles. Sure would make it a lot easier...

Composting in the warm makes it all happen and we wait for the results. And for those of us who are cold we look at that pile unchanged for 2 months then in a short month it is half the size it was and ready to feed the garden. It will happen don't worry.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/664716/ This is what we did on composting a few years ago.

This message was edited Jan 7, 2009 8:41 PM

Aha - Poetry on the Pile! I had forgotten about that one.
Thanks for the reminder, S.

kenboy, I did not understand your reasoning for not covering with black plastic. It is my understanding that light destroys the bacteria that is necessary for composing.

Ain't nuttin gonna heat up the pile today Brrr!

Sally,

Its about 20 degrees today, but when I turned the pile, it was steaming! I needed to do this before getting out of Dodge for the weekend.

penne- you go!! that's a good feeling! Emotionally I mean. But in this cold it would be nice to lay in if you HAD to.

I'd enjoy it if it were 20 degrees. We've been at about 10 below zero in the last couple of days.

This morning is probably no better then! Our new low of the year, 4. F

13F here. Once it climbs above freezing in March, my composter will kick off again. There's enough semi-composted stuff in there to get it cooking at least twice.

When May rolls around I'll empty it ... and all of my shredded winter junk mail will go in to start another batch.

I am in central Texas and I want to buy a composter. I have always composted on the ground but I want to try something else. Suggestions for what kind?