Facts About Cold Weather Compost As Revealed By Organic Gardening Magazine

Compost is one of the vital ingredients of the organic gardening. This is a chemical free fertilizer and does not pose any hazards to the human body and nature. Compost is prepared by the various natural microorganisms.

This article is purely based on the facts revealed by the organic gardening magazine. In this particular guide, we will discuss about the tips and tricks that you must know and implement in order to prepare cold weather compost. Cold weather generally slows down the decomposition process but it is possible to maintain warmth inside which indicates that the microbial activity is taking place inside the pile.

Microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes are responsible for most of the decomposition activity that occurs in a compost pile. The decomposition process is exothermic which means that heat comes out as a byproduct of the microbial action. In cold weather, the microbial action is decreased and due to this delay occurs in the decomposition of the compost pile. At this time, you should focus on how to create an ideal habitat for the microbes so that they can be able to foster and decompose the compost to organic matter.

You should feed the microbes with their required balanced diet that is a mix of carbon and nitrogen rich materials. The things rich in nitrogen are kitchen scraps, fruit and vegetable peelings, houseplant trimmings etc. You can also add eggshells and domestic waste products such as tattered newspaper etc. The things that are rich in carbon are straw, fallen leaves, sawdust etc. You can also add ashes extracted from the fireplace or woodstove which enhances the calcium, phosphorus and potassium content of the finalized compost.

Layering is one of the important tasks to be performed during the cold weather to maintain the decomposition process. You can just add the ingredients to the compost pile in the warm weather. But in winters, you need to add layers of brown ingredients to the green materials. The layers help in insulating the piles and trap the heat inside.

You must also water the compost pile on a regular basis in the winter because the required moisture is not maintained in the compost pile due to winter winds and low humidity.