Composting Outside in Minnesota Winters?You may be wondering if it is possible to compost outside in a Minnesota winter. Well, at least I do. What can I do in the wintertime in regard to composting?
One of the best things I ever did with my backyard flock was to convert my chicken run into a cold composting in place system. All my old bedding, grass clippings, leaves, weeds, and wood chips get tossed into my chicken run. Over time, everything organic breaks down into Black Gold Compost which I use in my garden beds.
But winters are long and cold in northern Minnesota. There is not much composting going on the surface when the outside temps are -20F. But, for the past two winters, I have used a system that speeds up the composting process once the weather does warm up.
A few weeks ago, we got another 6 inches of fresh snow. My chickens will not go outside on white snow.
My chicken coop is plenty big enough, and comfortable, that the girls just stay inside. That's what I did for the first 3 winters I had chickens, and life was OK.
A couple years ago I had the thought that if I saved some of my fall leaves, I could maybe toss them on the fresh snow and maybe the chickens would go outside, even in the dead of winter, for some fresh air and sunshine. Last winter I saved a large compost bin full of leaves for the chicken run. I would sprinkle leaves on the fresh snow as needed throughout the winter. At the end of that winter, I had lots of leaves left over. Not a problem, in the spring, all the leaves got dumped into the chicken run. But I learned that I did not have to save as many leaves as I thought.
This winter, I saved some fall leaves in large garbage bags. I used two full bags and just now opened a third. What I do is sprinkle some leaves on the fresh snow, not a lot, but enough to cover the snow a bit...
I toss a bit of chicken scratch on top of the leaves. It only takes one brave (or hungry) chicken to wander outside to start the parade...
And before you know it, others will follow...
This is what I do all winter. Snow > leaves > snow > leaves. Essentially, what I am doing is laying the groundwork of a lasagna composting system with snow and leaves being the layers. When spring comes and the temps warm up, the snow melts into the leaves and kickstarts the composting process.
Well, I consider it composting in the winter even though technically I would have to say the composting process itself is not happening when temps are below 0F. I have started to do some spring coop cleanout, and all the old bedding is getting tossed into the chicken run as well. I started using paper shreds for coop bedding a few years ago and paper shreds break down into usable compost in a matter of weeks with the right temperature. The leaves take a bit longer, and if I use any wood chips, they take longer to break down than the paper shreds and leaves. But it's all organic and the compost mix is great. In my case, I think the process of building up the snow > leaves > snow > leaves gives me weeks jump start on summer composting.
Before I had chickens, I used to spend good money on bags of compost at the big box stores. Since I got chickens and converted my chicken run into a cold composting in place system, I harvest hundreds of dollars' worth of high-quality Black Gold Compost every year for my garden beds. I tell people I have composting chickens and get fresh eggs as a bonus.
Cold composting is not as fast as hot composting, but in my system, that does not matter. In my chicken run, I use maybe only about 10% of my finished compost every year. At that rate, I always have more useable compost than I need. I don't have to go into the run and turn piles or anything like that. I don't have to check temperatures or break my back turning compost. The chickens do the work for me. Just a couple times a year I go in the chicken run and fork out wagons full of finished compost.
I'm getting older and appreciate having machines do some of the work I used to do by hand. I always sifted my compost with a 2X4 wooden frame with hardware cloth sitting on top of my old wheelbarrow. But when I started making so much compost in the chicken run, I invested in a DIY Cement Mixer Compost Sifter.
At the time, it cost me about $240 for the setup. But I calculated it paid for itself in the first 4 hours of sifting compost that I did not have to buy at the big box stores. With my new setup, I have more than doubled my garden beds and increased them every year.
But this post was to show that I am actively "composting" throughout the winter and how it benefits the chickens as well.
