Compost Magazine

Composting tips, advice and science.

Compost heap covered in snow

Don’t Let Winter Stop Your Composting: 12 Things You Can Compost In Cold Weather

Composting in the winter may seem like a challenge, especially when compared to the abundance of green waste in the summer. 

However, while the garden may appear barren, with a little creativity, there are still plenty of materials that can be composted. 

Unlike the warm months, winter composting requires a different approach, a bit of creativity and a willingness to embrace the unusual. 

So, whether you’re a seasoned composter or a novice, here are some ideas to get your compost pile thriving during the colder months. 

Remember, almost anything that was once alive can be composted, so let’s get started!

Hair

“You want what?”

My hairdresser was rather surprised when I ran into her in the pub and requested a sackful of hair.

But about 15% of human hair consists of nitrogen, making it a particular rich source for the composter. In fact, it’s incredible to think about the amount of nitrogen that is wasted in an era where expensive, resource heavy fertilisers are produced in huge quantities.

So next time you are in your hairdresser, consider asking her to keep a sack of hair back for you.

Nail clippings can also be composted, but are unlikely to provide the volume you need.

Read more about hair, its nutritional values and historical uses as a fertiliser.

Urine

Every year you produce around 135 gallons of urine. Each time you flush it down, you waste up to 14 litres of water, an increasingly precious resource.

But pee is rich in nitrogen. Studies have shown that compost with added urine performs better than regular compost. It prevents the accumulation of excess salts and balance out slower releasing nutrients in compost.

With just the occasional pee, you can easily boost the nitrogen level of your compost.

As it is high in nitrogen and low in carbon, it’s best to mix it with a high carbon material such as shredded paper, sawdust or leaves.

Or you could follow the National Trust’s example and put a straw bale outside to pee on, adding it to your compost at a later stage.

Leaves

Raking up Fall Leaves.
Photo credit: Ken Fukunaga

There’s still tonnes of leaves lying around in huge drifts in early winter. It can literally take minutes to pack up several sacks of leaves.

Do note that leaves are high in lignin, which means they can take a long time to break down, and when they are fresh they may not be the best composting material.

Many people use these to make leaf-mould, leaving them in a bin or a wire enclosure for up to two years while they slowly decompose.

But an alternative is to break them up with a lawnmower or a leaf mulcher, and mix them with a green such as urine to achieve a better carbon:nitrogen ratio. If it’s too snowy or wet to break them up, consider stockpiling them for future use.

Also see: Leaf Mold Magic – How to Use Fallen Leaves to Improve Your Garden Soil

Hedge trimmings

Hedge trimmings, especially in winter, are both a brown (high carbon material) and full of lignin. But if you have a shredder, you can cut them into a more digestible form for your compost pile

Food waste

A pile of decomposing kitchen waste.

Our gardens may stop growing in winter, but we don’t stop eating.

I currently add several kilograms of food waste per week to my hot compost bin, combining cooked waste, vegetable peelings and waste collected from two waste bins I have put in my office.

These contain a lot of coffee grounds and tea bags, which are a great, high nitrogen addition for the compost pile. Coffee grounds can also be collected from local cafes.

Do note that cooked food waste should only be processed in a system that is designed for it, such as an insulated, enclosed bin that is already operating at a high temperatures or a fermenting system like the Bokashi bin.

Animal bedding

The stables where my son goes for riding lessons has a manure heap which is about 16 foot high. Like many stables, rather than being a resource for them, manure is a nuisance they would happily get rid of.

In fact, another stables near me used to have a sign saying free manure. Even better, the manure is often mixed with straw, giving you both high nitrogen and high carbon materials in one source.

One word of warning with manure, though.

A lot of hay nowadays is treated with a pesticide, Aminopyralid, which is not broken down by the digestive systems of animals.

I found this out to my cost when I had a large trailer load delivered to my garden last year. Everything I put it on stopped growing for several months.

The pesticide does break down eventually when in contact with soil, but if you do use manure to make compost, it’s worth testing it first by planting some seeds in it to ensure it is not problematic.

Broad beans and clover are supposed to be particularly susceptible to Aminopyralid, so make good testing plants.

(As a side note, many shop-bought composts, including ‘organic’ compost, contain traces of aminopyralid, which is another great reason for making your own compost.)

I am fortunate enough to have chickens, which not only supply us with far more eggs than we can eat, they also provide us with chicken manure.

This is a fantastic activator, and when I recently added it to my insulated compost bin the temperature shot up by almost 15 degrees. I do get the straw I use from a trusted local source.

(A chicken farmer I knew always advised that chicken manure should be left several years before being used.The chicken bedding I use, though, is only a small part of my total compost heap.)

You may not have chickens, but there is a good chance you will know someone who has rabbits, hamsters or guinea pigs. Even if there is not much, what you do get can often help accelerate your compost.

Brassica leaves

There’s not a huge amount of vegetation you gather in the depths of winter, but one thing you can add is Brassica leaves.

I’ve been stripping the old, dying leaves of my brussell sprouts, purple broccoli and perennial kale every week or two, quite often gathering a fairly large bag which I can add slowly to my Hot Bin.

Dog and cat droppings

According to the Alaskan Dog study, the average dog produces 274 pounds a year in droppings.

While I am not suggesting you go around collecting other people’s dog droppings, if you do have a dog, composting its droppings is far better for the environment than placing it in a plastic bag or allowing the run off to pollute the earth and ground water.

However, dog and cat droppings should only be composted if you have consistently high temperatures in your compost pile, as the droppings can carry pathogens and worms. It’s also best to avoid using droppings from cats and dogs which are sick.

Garden material

Despite the fall off in growth in winter, there’s usually something to compost in winter, especially if the winter is mild. I am regularly pulling old and nibbled leaves from my kale, spinach and Brussel Sprout plants.

When they fall to the ground they can encourage slugs, and keeping my compost bin going is a great motivation to keep them neat and tidy. A quick one-minute chop with a pair of garden shears reduces the size of the leaves and helps the microorganisms in the heap digest them.

In the mild winter we are currently having, there are still some weeds growing. Pull these up by some roots and they inevitably come up with some high carbon soil to balance the nitrogen in the greens.

Wood

Wood takes a long time to break down. However, if you have a wood chipper, you can produce compostable material. Do note that it will take a while to break down as it is high in hard-to-digest lignin.

You can also keep twigs back to form the base of future compost heaps, or, if you have a lot of wood you could consider creating a Hügelkultur raised bed.

Seaweed

Shreds of seaweed on white sand.

There’s a reason why sea-wood fertiliser is sold in shops. It’s packed full of good stuff, including nitrogen, potassium, phosphate and magnesium as well as hormones that encourage plant growth.

There’s also no need to wash the seaweed to get rid of the salt – the Royal Horticultural Society advises that there’s enough salt to deter slugs, but not enough to damage the soil.

With storms blowing up mountains of the stuff onto the beach, winter is a great time to collect seaweed. Two or three times a year, I park up by a nearby beach and haul bags of the stuff back to my car.

You don’t even need to add it to your compost, as seaweed can be dug directly into the ground. I follow a no-dig system, so I tend to lay it around tender plants. This enriches the soil while the salt deters slugs.

One negative – there do always seem to be a lot of flies in seaweed, so I always leave the car windows wide open when driving back home to try and get rid of them.

Shredded paper and cardboard

Pile of cardboard.

I used to collect a least a sack of shredded paper from my office per week, and it’s a fantastic addition to the compost heap.

Not only does it balance out green material, the small size of the shredded paper means it’s more easily digested by compost bacteria than larger materials and it does a great job of absorbing excess liquid.

Even if you don’t have any friendly offices near you, chances are you get a ton of mail and bills. If so, it might be worth getting a small shredder. There’s a definite joy to turning unpleasant bills into valuable composting material.

The same goes for cardboard, and as Christmas approaches most people have more cardboard than usual.

You can use cardboard in strips between green materials in compost materials, but it works better if you rip up the cardboard and put it into the compost. It’s worth ripping off any tape if you can, but if you can’t, you can always pick it out from the compost when it is finished.

Do note, though, that shredded paper can take a while to break down. It’s best used in compost heap that will be turned and given plenty of time to mature.

Fire place ashes

Do you have a fire or wood stove, or have a friend who has one?

Then another option is to add that ash to your compost heap. Although ash doesn’t contain nitrogen, it is a good source of other nutrients.

See our guide to Ash In Compost for a full breakdown of the nutrient values and how to compost it.

Thinking ahead to the spring…

When there’s not much to do in the garden in winter, you can find yourself with extra time to get out and collect materials for the garden.

But one thing to bear in mind is that in the coming spring and summer you’ll have a lot of greens (high nitrogen materials) to compost.

In fact, it can be a challenge to find enough browns (high carbon materials) to balance out the greens and obtain a good carbon: nitrogen ratio.

So when collecting browns in the winter, it’s a great idea to stockpile some of them for future mixing.

Then, as the day finally get longer and the shoots of spring pop up, you’ll be primed and ready to have a balanced compost pile to enrich your soil in the months ahead.

FAQs

Can you compost animal bones in winter?


Yes, animal bones can be composted in the winter. However, bear in mind bones take a long time to break down, and are best done in a hot composting system.

What’s more, they will decompose even more slowly in cold temperatures, so it may take longer for them to break down.

How about citrus peels? Can they be added to the compost in the winter season?


Yes, citrus peels can be added to compost in the winter season.

Is it possible to compost leftover holiday decorations such as pine needles, holly leaves, and mistletoe?


Yes, pine needles, holly leaves, and mistletoe can be composted after the holiday season. However, they will take longer to break down than other yard waste due to their tough texture.

Can you compost paper products such as shredded wrapping paper and tissue paper in winter?


Yes, shredded wrapping paper and tissue paper can be composted in the winter season. However, it’s important to make sure that the paper products are not coated in plastic or other non-compostable materials.

Can you use snow as a source of water for your compost pile during winter?


Yes, snow can be used as a source of water for your compost pile during winter. However, it’s important to use it sparingly as too much water can cause the compost to become waterlogged and slow down the decomposition process. In fact, you should cover your compost in winter to stop too much water from getting into your compost pile.

Can you compost used tissues and paper towels in winter?


Used tissues and paper towels can be composted in the winter season, but it’s important to make sure they are not contaminated with any harmful materials or chemicals.

How can you compost Christmas trees after the holiday season?


Christmas trees can be composted after the holiday season by removing all decorations and cutting the tree into small pieces using a shredder.

The tree can then be added to the compost pile. Bear in mind trees are high in lignin, so it’s important to balance it with other materials such as leaves and food scraps. Alternatively, some cities offer tree recycling programs where they will pick up and compost trees for you.