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How to Compost when its Freezing Outside

November 14, 2020

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We all want to do our part and compost as much as we can. But how do you continue composting in winter, especially if you live in the freezing hinterland that is Canada? Does composting even work in winter? And what about when it’s minus 40?!?!

If you are looking for someone who understands what it’s like to try and continue composting during six long months of winter, you’ve come to the right place. I live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, so I know what it’s like to trudge through 2 feet of snow to the compost bin.

By the end of this post, you’ll know how to winter compost, how it works, and what fellow Canadians do when the temperature is unreasonable.

If you’d rather watch than read, watch this video below on winter composting.. .

Can You Compost in Winter?

Yes, but it’s probably not what you think. Even though a large compost pile will create a substantial amount of heat, the average household compost pile will freeze during a Canadian winter.

Translation: Nothing is happening.

But don’t let that deter you. You can still put all of your household scraps on the compost pile all winter long. When the weather warms up in the spring, the decomposition process will start again and your pile will continue to make black gold.

Before I had a fancy compost bin, I threw my household compost straight on my garden area over the snow all winter long. Sure, it was a bit gross when the snow melted, but I just lightly worked it into the soil as soon as the ground was dry, and the bulk of it decomposed in around 2 weeks.

As long as you don’t throw in any bones or meat (and you shouldn’t be anyway!) rodents shouldn’t be a problem.

Related: Compostable Newsprint Pots

How do you take care of a compost bin in winter?

The secret? Do nothing, except add your kitchen scraps to it.

You don’t need to worry about having too many green items in it, because chances are, you loaded up your compost in the fall with lots of browns (leaves, garden waste, etc.) If you’re really worried, you can always turn your compost in the spring as soon as it thaws out.

You also don’t have to worry about mixing the compost in with the snow or scraping snow off, or anything like that. Just dump the kitchen scraps on the compost bin, and let Mother Nature do the work in the Spring. Done.

Want to see our compost bin out of pallets? Here’s how we made it.

But what about when it’s FREEZING!

I’ll admit, I don’t really want to trudge out to the compost bin in -40 either. In that case, you can keep a large plastic container just outside your door to dump all of your compostable items in. They’ll freeze, and when the temperature is slightly more reasonable, move that frozen block of future compost to the main composting area.

Some people do this method the entire winter, and never go to the main composting area. Whatever you decide is fine, as long as it eventually goes in the compost bin.

Can’t I just Compost Indoors?

Sure! I personally don’t, because I have toddlers, and things could get messy very fast if I’m not careful. If you can compost indoors, you have a couple of options.

The first: Grab a large plastic bin with a lid and store your compost in there. After every week, sprinkle the contents with a thin layer of peat moss or soil that you’ve either saved from your garden or purchased from a store. You’ll eventually have to empty it out, but you can go a lot longer between those times.

The second: Give more advanced techniques, like vermicomposting or bokashi composting a try. I personally haven’t tried them, so I won’t go into them, but they are two good ways to make your scraps into compost a lot faster.

Will you give winter composting a try? Any tips to add?

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

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Filed Under: Uncategorised Tagged: compost, composting, winter, winter gardening

About Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

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Welcome!

Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

P.S. First time gardener? You'll want to download the quick start gardening guide below!

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Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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Oh friends, if any of my nice, curated photos sums Oh friends, if any of my nice, curated photos sums up how this last week went, I think it's this one.  Babies crying, trying to stay calm, outwardly looking like it's all under control, but feeling very overwhelmed.⁠
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This post isn't gardening related, so feel free to scroll by if you're here only for the gardening content.⁠
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Thankfully it's January, and I keep reminding myself that the Internet will not break if I don't keep to my self-imposed posting schedule.  But it doesn't make a week full of teething-and-not-sleeping baby any easier. ⁠
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Felicity slept through the night for the first time ever last Monday, then proceeded to punish us with frequent wakings and terrible sleep until Saturday.  And as tough as this is in regular times, in Covid times its extra frustrating because I don't have my village.⁠
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I can't just call up another Mama friend and go for coffee at her house.  I can't take my son out for a Mommy-and-Dominic date because everything he'd want to do isn't really much of an option.  There's no playgroup or play place to just drop in on.  And forget just taking everybody out to get groceries just for a change of scenery.⁠
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A lot of you who follow me do so in part because you are also juggling life with very little people through this strange time.  I hope that in occasionally sharing my struggles, it makes you feel better about your struggles. (You're struggling too sometimes. . . right?)
Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth deg Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth degree, do you just wing it, or are you somewhere in-between?⁠
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I tend to plan it all out, and then when I actually get out in the field, so to speak, the plan changes a little bit. ⁠
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If you need a garden planner that's both pretty & practical, my garden planner is available in the ebooks section.  It's only $9 and has lots of upgrades from the previous planner.  Use code CANADA if you're Canadian to account for the exchange.⁠
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P.S. You can see exactly what you're getting in the video--no surprises. ⁠
P.P.S  I get my planner bound and printed at a printing place.  Lots of people just print their own and put the sheets in a binder.
Are you gardening in containers this year? When y Are you gardening in containers this year?  When you're shopping for vegetable seeds, look for varieties that have names with words like patio, tiny, small, etc.  While lots of vegetable varieties will do fine in a container, you'll have an easier time with ones that are specifically bred for that situation.⁠
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I'm living the pepper dream in this photo. While I'm living the pepper dream in this photo.  While these ones are a bit on the small side, who doesn't want ripe peppers in July in zone 3?!?! ⁠
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Over the years I've gotten better at growing peppers, and I promise I'll spill my secrets in February when it's actually time to start them.  Until then, get yourself all or one of my four favourite varieties: ⁠
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Here's how I try to narrow it down.⁠
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🌤️ Short growing season like me?  Try and prioritize varieties that have short dates to maturity.⁠
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🥒 Do you care whether your vegetables are heirlooms or hybrids?  Heirlooms are the kind that have been around for 50+ years and you can save seeds from.  Believe it or not, this year we're prioritizing hybrids for some of our garden.  The Hermit @mgsraney is obsessed with production this year, so anything that's going in "his" greenhouse better be able to produce a lot.  I'm using more heirlooms in my "glamour garden" as we call it, because I want things that are pretty and I can save seeds from.⁠
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Last week we started thinking about our plans for Last week we started thinking about our plans for cut flower gardening, now this week we start thinking about plans for our vegetable gardens.  Unlike cut flowers, there's not as many vegetables that need to be started ridiculously early.  However, it's still fun to plan and dream and get your thoughts sorted.⁠
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I'm curious--what size of garden do you have to work with?  Are you on an acreage or farm, city backyard, or do you have a couple of pots on an apartment patio?⁠
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As for me, I have quite a mix.  I have my container garden on my backyard deck, the small cut flower garden in my yard, then vegetables in raised beds.  We also garden at my Mother-in-law's acreage, so there's a giant garden over there where we're figuring out how to grow food on a larger scale.  Then finally, sometimes my Mom grows things for me in her garden if I'm nervous that I'll ruin them in my own garden--call it a backup garden if you will.⁠
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I hope you've enjoyed this week of chatting about I hope you've enjoyed this week of chatting about the best flowers to plant in a cut flower garden.  There's so many options, these 5 that I talked about all week don't even come close.  If you need more help creating a small cut flower garden, I created this plan intended for a raised bed (but you can plant it in-ground too.⁠
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Head over to my insta links page on my profile, and you'll see the button to click on that will take you directly to it.⁠
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