30 January 2011

Composting in the Winter



This is an addition to a series of vlogs that EcoDeaf members did on composting (see Composting tab for others), showing that this easy and fun hobby has numerous benefits: it is good for the earth and to our gardens which bear fruits for us to eat. In this post, Summer explains the process of composting- starting with her kitchen, bringing to compost tumbler, then ending up with a rich "compost" pile. She explains how composting is still do-able during winter months. We hope this vlog will help other EcoDeaf members will join us and start getting ready for the upcoming gardening season.

9 comments:

  1. Great vlog. I'll keep that in mind whenever I get into composting again. Would love to grow my own fruits and vegetables and know exactly what's I'm eating.

    ReplyDelete
  2. you go girl! i still compost even though i'm not sure if i'll have a garden this summer. i just cannot bring myself to throw fruits, veg, tea bags, eggs in my trash ever again. it's almost like throwing money in trash! ouch. even if i'm not gardening, i'm still spreading it out on my soil, increasing the nutrients there and reducing pests and weeds and reducing the amount of trash that goes to the landfill. thanks for the inspiring vlog :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Excellent v-log! Besides dumping buckets of compost in community gardens and local farm, I don't have the full composting experience. I wonder how people manage it with the snow during the winter and I look forward to having my own backyard to carry on the sequence of composting experience. I agree with the benefits of composting even if there's no plans in having a garden.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I see, Anthony, you pose a good question.. maybe I should vlog about my compost under the snow :) I'll do that soon then!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Please do! So we and the Eskimos will learn something new about composting under the snow! Namaste

    ReplyDelete
  6. crap! decided to do the video sat morning, but then it rained and melted away all the snow :( will have to wait until it snows again.... but basically i use a similar black plastic container to Summer's- just open it and shovel the food & leaves i've saved up. the leaves, i saved them near my tree where it doesn't snow much.
    i have another pile where the stuff is mostly composted, i just leave it out in the open and let snow fall on it. it needs to be quiet to break down a little more before i spread it on the garden.
    sorry i don't have a video for now... but that's how i do it in the winter/snow.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for your kind thoughts and explaining how to compost food with the snow. We're going to have snow until March 15th or until April. You can have a truckload of snow if you want to do the video sooner than next winter! But it probably would not be a good trade off with the carbon footprint in mind. ha, ha.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I live in Utah and I continue to compost all fruits and vegetables. It is making incredible progress. I started back in June 2010 and it is nearly 3/4 full. Every week, I turn over the compost to accelerate the decomposition process. It makes a lot of difference. Kudos to you for creating a vlog!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great vlog, Summer! Obviously you are in an area where the ground doesn't freeze so here are my tips on composting for those who live in the northern climate:

    * If the compost bin is a bit far from the house, use an old trash can as a bin for your winter compost. There's a trash bin in my garage for this purpose. I recommend a medium kitchen trash bin because it will be HEAVY when it's full! There will be no smell because it will be frozen solid!

    * As soon as the spring thaw occurs, dump the contents in the winter compost bin to the regular compost bin. There, it will compost over the summer.

    * To prepare for the next winter, move the contents in the compost bin to create a compost pile and cover it with tarp. That pile will be ready to use for gardening by the next spring.

    By the way, you can compost dairy and meat (without bones) if you have a bin that will keep out animals.

    Cheers to composting! =)

    ReplyDelete