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Composting over Winter in Cold Weather

By Oberon46
February 24, 2014

Composting can be a challenge in Alaska, where the weather is cool in summer and very cold for a long time in winter, but I think I have finally found a wonderful solution so I won't have to pitch out my kitchen scraps all winter and will have a hot compost ready for spring. Note black compost bins buried in the snow.

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Avatar for NorthernGardener
Jan 28, 2017 5:39 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Roxanne
Nome (Zone 4a)
Happy gardening to all..
I agree composting in Northwest Alaska during the winter (Oct- May) is a challenge.
But I have found a few good solutions that work for me.
I have a worm house in my entryway, which works great for most of the compostable kitchen scraps.
I also puree all my egg shells and they LOVE them.
By planting time (mid-late June) I have some beautiful worm castings, which I mix into all beds and I also sacrifice a handful of worms to each raised bed and each compost bin, knowing winter will be the end of them. That said, this spring while emptying one of my compost beds I found a live worm!!
Poor little guy.
What worms do not like or can not manage to transform (onion, coffee grounds, citrus) gets put into my greenhouses to over winter. I water it well and cover it with black weed cloth. Keeps moisture in and makes heat.
It may be cold but when the sun shines along with the black material it does a great job of composting. By planting time it is prefect compost.
Gardeners get to stay in their beds all day.
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