Given that the deciduous trees were still dropping leaves until yeaterday I have not yet "finished" composting for this year and since we will be generating material in the kitchen all through the winter I will not be done composting anytime soon. Composting is one garden activity that goes on year around here.

kimmsr, I was speaking of my activities. My wife takes care of the kitchen scraps and I am busy in the GH. So, yes composting and gardening continue throughout the year.

John

Here is a link that might be useful: Johns Journal

I'll soon be finished for the year. I still want to turn the bin most recently filled to get some of the newer stuff toward the bottom, things like pumpkins and plants with thick stems. Have to remember to check for pumpkins in the neighborhood on garbage night this week. Also I have a few more plants to add too, from a large salvia hedge.

I hate to go outside in winter. Period. As close as I come is tossing the week's worth of UCGs out the door onto a garden bed. I hibernate from about December through February. As soon as I see the first sign of winter weather breaking, I'll start composting again.

Karen

All year composter here. Just finished rebuilding the fourth compost bin which had rotted. Made it bigger - 7ft x 4ft and 3ft tall.

All of the compost in four bins was use in the gardens this fall so all the bins were empty. Started 3 piles in the last couple of weeks and will continue even when the snow flies. :O)

Like the look of those bins John!! Nice!

tiffy: No pictures of your new bin?

I have concluded the 2008 composting year as well. Six inches of fresh snow, -8C with a windchill of -16C, it is time to relax and let the bins/windrows/sheet composting do whatever it does in this climate. Unfortunately, 12 truckloads of bagged leaves came out during the last week and they are laying in the middle of the field. Nothing I can do about it now and I know they will be there next spring when the snow melts. :-)

I did empty the multi-tumblers and added 4 bags of dry shredded leaves to each. As a different experiment, utilizing bio-bags, I intend to collect some household waste from a few households over the winter to add to the tumblers . They will go into the tumblers frozen and I will add some dry leaves as time goes by, I want to see for myself how well these bags work.

Lloyd

Mine are all getting a good mixing next week, if we get in the 50's like the forcast calls for----will have more leaves to mix in then too, including a couple of neighbors who have yet to rake their lawns, and more bagged waiting for next summers composting. :-)

Lloyd: Those biobags do look interesting. They sure would make collecting garbage easier and less messy. Sounds like a good idea- just a little pricey. Like most things, their cost probably will drop after they're around a while, though. I've never tried them solely because of the price.

Karen

Hi Karen

I actually didn't really purchase them, I received a gift card for Lee Valley from someone and I wanted to see if they worked as advertised. So far I have a house with 12 young adults in it collecting their household waste, their landlord forbids a composter on the property. I always wanted to see how the tumblers would work like this and it kinda worked out for me. I should have gotten an average family to do it so I could guage how much material there really is but the kids were disappointed that they had to send their stuff to the landfill so that's the way I went for this year. They were using pails but with winter those would freeze and make a heck of a mess. This way I can swing by every couple of weeks to pick up what they have and just chuck into a tumbler and cover with leaves. Here's hoping we don't get one of those 6 feet of snowfall years, I do not want to have to shovel to get at the tumblers :-)

Lloyd