How to Store Compost Over the Winter
A compost bin is a great way to store compost in the winter. If you do not have a compost bin, building one will provide you with a location to keep your compost protected until the spring gardening season. Composting with a bin is still a chore during the winter when the bin is located several yards away from the home, and a trek through inches or feet of snow is required to visit the bin as often as necessary. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Plywood
- 2-by-4-inch lumber pieces
- Carpenter's square
- Tape measure
- Miter saw
- Nails or screws
- Hammer or power screwdriver
- Hinge fixtures
- Plastic sheets
- Sawdust
- Buckets or small, plastic bins or totes
Instructions
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Constructing a Compost Bin
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Use plywood and 2-by-4-inch boards to make a compost bin. Make the bin any size you want by constructing a box frame out of the pieces of 2-by-4-inch boards. Use nails or screws and a hammer or power screwdriver to construct and a miter saw to cut the lumber and plywood pieces into the sizes necessary.
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Cover all but one side of the frame with plywood.
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Use the open end as the top of the compost bin and cut a piece of plywood to serve as the lid.
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Measure the opening to get the correct lid size, attach hinge fixtures if you want, or just set the lid on top of the bin and place a heavy object on top to hold the lid on.
Preparing the Bin for Winter
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Line the compost bin with plastic sheets. Use several plastic sheets to prevent the compost from touching the wooden bin; this will prevent the bin from rotting and provide an easier means of cleaning out the compost bin.
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Fill the bottom of the compost bin with a 1-foot layer of sawdust. The saw dust will absorb liquid and prevent the compost from being a wet, gooey mess at the end of the winter. If sawdust is unavailable, wood chips and dead leaves will help to absorb some excess moisture.
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Keep a bucket or bin of covered sawdust close to the compost bin. Each time you place a layer of compost material, cover it with approximately 3 inches of sawdust.
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Create a temporary compost bin closer to your house so you avoid lengthy trips back and forth through the snow and cold. Use plastic bins, totes, or buckets filled halfway with sawdust as temporary compost bins that you can keep, covered, right at your back door.
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Tips & Warnings
Consider starting a worm compost bin inside your home, basement, or garage. With only a little bit of compost placed in at a time, the worms will devour the compost before it has a chance to produce odors.
