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Winter Composting/ It can be done!

As winter arrives and dropping temperatures and snow drifts make the walk to the backyard compost pile seem ever longer, the incentives for composting start to fall away. While it is true that the rate of decomposition in your compost pile can slow as the temperature drops, adding new scraps won't hurt... The heat from the pile, as well as the insulation from the new layer of fall leaves can keep the decomposition going well into the winter months. Even if new scraps are added in cold weather, the inevitable freezing and thawing that the pile is subjected to will help break down the scraps. On days when it is warm enough, continue to turn the pile as usual; aeration is as vital to the success of the pile as ever.

If getting out to the compost pile seems too arduous, Mark Cullen (writing on Canada's Canoe Network website) recommends putting a large trash can with a tight-fitting lid outside the door. Kitchen scraps can go directly into the trash can, alternated every now and again with a layer of sawdust to help absorb excess juices. The cold weather will keep the trash can from smelling, and the tight-fitting lid can work as a back-up on warmer days. Once the snow has melted enough for you to get back out to the compost pile, the trash can can be emptied into it.

Another option for winter composting is vermicomposting. A bin of worms can easily be kept in a garage or basement (so long as the temperature stays fairly stable and does not drop below 50 degrees F). If the vermicomposting is done correctly, it will not smell, and will provide your housebound plants with nutritious worm castings throughout the winter. In warm winter zones, vermicomposting can be an important tool in the battle against year-round pests. Sucking pests (like whitefly, blackfly, aphids, etc.) do not like the sour taste that runs through the veins of plants fertilized with worm castings. Providing your garden with a steady supply of home-made worm droppings can save you a lot of money as well, since they can be quite pricey when purchased from a nursery.

In any case, continuing to compost through the winter will pay off in the spring and summer, when your garden will be assured of ample compost to go around.

For more on composting, including a professional landscaper's testimonial about what it can do for your garden, please click here>>
  Projects/ An Introduction to Vermicomposting with Pam Hart  

This past summer, I was thrilled to receive an invitation to the home of legendary Cambridge, MA gardener Pamela Hart, where I would be able to witness the miracle of Vermicomposting face-to-face.

Up to this point, vermicomposting had been the last frontier for me: a fad I'd been hearing about for a long time, but had yet to witness. Something about it seemed too good to be true; it didn't smell, it made the kitchen scraps and junk mail disappear, and the end result of the process was purported to be one of the best soil amendments a gardener could wish for. Pam Hart seemed familiar with my feelings of disbelief`, and very obligingly took me on a tour of her own vermicomposting facilities.

I include photos of the experience here for other non-believers. Coming up soon will be a step-by-step guide to making an indoor vermicomposoter.

Where regular composting in a backyard composter relies on a variety of aerobic microorganisms to break down the waste, vermicomposting is a more mechanical process that relies more exclusively on worms. Unlike the breakdown process which occurs in a regular compost pile, which requires a certain amount of volume in order to function properly, vermicomposting can be done in a much smaller space. As a result, a vermicomposter is portable (it can be brought in for winter), and can be successfully maintained even in the very small space given apartment dwellers.

A vermicomposter basically provides a good dwelling place for worms. It must be dark, free of worm-killing toxins, and fairly stable in temperature; ideally staying between 55 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Ms. Hart keeps her worms in two different bins. On the right is a commercially available bin (The Amazing Can-O-Worms System), which is designed to make it easier to harvest the worm "castings" left over from the decomposition process.

    

 
The Can-O-Worms exploits worms' tendency to start eating at the top, and work their way down. Food scraps and paper waste are put in stackable trays. The red wriggler worms are placed in the top tray with some starter bedding. After they eat their way through the bedding in the top tray, they move down through holes in the tray to the next tray of refuse. Each time they move down, they leave the tray they just left transformed. Instead of rotting vegetables, what remains is a pile of harvest-ready worm castings which can then be placed directly on plants in the garden. (pictured at left is the Can-O-Worms tray in which the worms are eating paper scraps).  
An additional benefit of this system is that it facilitates the harvesting of the "worm tea;" the liquid byproduct which can be used as a liquid fertilizer for plants. Ms. Hart recommends diluting this mixture before putting it directly on to plants. The liquid flows to the bottom of the bin, where it can be poured out from a spigot.  

Fortunately for those of us on a budget, purchasing the $100.00 Can-O-Worms is not a pre-requisite of vermicomposting. Hart also demonstrated a much less finicky worm bin that she built herself from a 25-gallon plastic tub. By drilling holes for aeration, and providing the worms with adequate bedding, they will live very happily in this tub. Hart adds new kitchen scraps and printer-feeder scraps on a routine basis, and every now and again harvests the castings.

Harvesting the castings from the homemade bin is a little trickier than harvesting from the commercially produced one since the worms and castings and refuse are often all mixed together. Worms strongly dislike light, though, so an easy way to keep the worms from being exported along with their castings is to set the bin out in the light for 10 minutes so that the worms crawl down to the bottom of the bin. The castings can then be harvested from the top.
It is probably advisable to mention that the worms typically used in vermicomposting are not your standard earthworm. Long-time vermicomposting hobbyists have discovered that red earthworms, also known as "red worms" or "red wrigglers" are the most effective worms for vermicomposting. Hart got her first handful from a friend, and from there her colony has grown. They are also available for shipment from a variety of sites. Check out the vermicomposting section of HowToCompost.org for reliable vendors. Special Thanks to Pam Hart for her invitation into the world of vermicomposting!  
 

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