Depending on where you live, composting in the winter can be a real drag.
Every winter I receive emails asking if it’s possible to compost indoors.
The answer is pretty simple- If composting with worms, yes. If you want to keep a compost tumbler or compost bin in your basement or the garage…no.
Well, I guess you can do what you want really, depending on your tolerance for other forms of life sharing your space. Remember that compost piles are ecosystems full of life.
Materials break down year round…decomposition slows in the winter, but not enough to warrant bringing a composting system indoors.
Here’s the factors that come into play when trying to compost in the basement/indoors:
1) Mice. Compost piles are nice, warm places to live…this can invite mice. A compost tumbler can most likely avoid this issue, but then there’s…
2) Ants/flies/other critters. Chances are they will find the compost pile. They can enter a compost tumbler through the air holes. If your compost tumbler doesn’t have air holes, return it and get another one.
3) Pests aside, composting indoors can allow for leachate to run from the bottom. This would be a fun challenge, as with a good 12″ of fluffy browns in the bottom of the pile, this should sponge everything up… but you may still see a little bit depending on what you’re adding.
4) While composting shouldn’t cause any odor issues, a restricted space with that much material increases your chances that you will smell something. Now that I’m naming all these reasons discouraging you from trying, it makes me want to try it.
5) Mess. For this reason I’d say a compost bin is out of the question. What do you do when you have finished material you’d like to remove?
Keep your composting system outdoors (unless you decide to start vermicomposting).
Stash enough cover material to last your weekly trips outside for the winter. This could be as little as just a few bags of leaves.
Your pile will still shrink as time goes on, just not as noticeably as it does in the months well above freezing.
If you need to compost indoors for space constraints, leave it to the worms. Otherwise, set something up outdoors.
My concern is with off gassing (methane) The other things mentioned are fixable.
Thanks
Methane is a concern when organic materials decompose anaerobically in landfills, especially when it’s captured and burned off under the guise of “green energy”.
The amount from aerobic composting at home is minimal- I wouldn’t worry about it! Composting is what’s important.
Good enough. Thank you!
I did a little reading. Apparently, methane is only created in an anaerobic environment. A properly mainatained composter with healthy aerobic bacteria, should not create any.
Thanks again
I just bought a tiny 4×6 greenhouse, could a tumble composter be used to heat it during winter?
Thank you
I would say no, but if you could have a cubic yard compost bin set up in there, that would have a greater likelihood of generating high temperatures.