I need to start composting. There is actually no snow here. So I'm not much help with your question. And we actually have curbside compost removal here (we have a trash bin, a mixed recycling bin and a compost bin). Part of my kitchen remodel plan includes a convenient spot for compost in the kitchen and I plan to start taking better advantage of our curbside composting program.

There are tumbling bins for compost available from garden supply places. You might check on those.

Bottom line though I will say that we will have a garbage disposal as well as compost. There's always a little bit of sticky rice or cheese or whatever that requires some rinsing in our house. I try to minimize that by scraping well and we have a good dishwasher, but I still find the need to rinse some tiny bits of food off regularly. So my suggestion would be to plan for both composting and a garbage disposal.

I compost, and I have a garbage disposal. And septic tank. The latter two are incompatible, but I merely use the GD to clear the itty bitty bits from the sink, not put waste down the drain. Composting in the winter isn't much different than any other time if you have a hot pile. But it depends on your location too. A lot of folks in the north may have a worm bin in addition to a compost pile.

Or, they may freeze the Nitrogen rich components and just have a 5 gallon bucket for the Carbon components so that when an interwinter thaw happens, the ingredients can be added to your pile in the correct ratio. Which reminds me, I have banana peels in the freezer right now that need to go out.

I do the lazy person's composting though, which is a 3 heap system. No fancy expensive bins or bought anything. You have a pile that you're adding to, one that is in the process of cooking, and a cooked on that you harvest from. When you finish harvesting the finished compost, the cooking one becomes the harvesting one, and the adding one becomes the cooking one. Simple and easy. As long as you keep your C to N ratio correct, it's no issues at all.

Well I have to be really honest and admit I've done zero research so far. I've tasked my wife with this but, eh...

I think she was thinking of a tumbling bin, which I guess we'd tuck into the nether reaches of our fairly small yard, and it's that that I worry about snow access to.

But ProSource, lemme ask you, with your piles, don't they (at least the fresher ones) attract all sorts of pets, pests and vermin?

I respectfully disagree with ProSource that septic systems and garbage disposals are incompatible. Septic systems and drain fields require bacteria to function. Finely chopped food waste from disposals create bacteria, in essence feeding the system, just as human waste does. If the septic system was designed to handle a dishwasher and washing machine it can handle the waste of a disposer. Much harder on septic systems is soap and bleach from dishwashers and washing machines because that kills bacteria disrupting the balance.

We've been operating a garbage disposal on our septic system since 1993 without any problems. When we’ve had the septic pumped, and not more frequently than usual, it always received a good reports.

Composting and garbage disposals aren't equivalent. You COULD skip composting and put everything into the disposal, and you COULD keep picking the tiny bits out of a sink and put it all into composting, but it's actually nice to have and do both.

Check out the composting forum on GW, if it's still around.

The tiny particulate matter produced by garbage disposals floats on top of the tank, leaving it non digested, and will float out and clog your leach field. Just ask my neighbor about that one! Plumbers LOVE garbage disposals because they create them so much business.

I currently have a garbage disposal, but I won't in my new kitchen. I compost & the disposal never gets used. Sometimes, the disposal stinks and I've been told that it starts to smell if it doesn't get used...

I have two outdoor bins. Here's one of them:

See that wall it's up against? That's my house, no pests, no smell. Main reason it's up against my house? I live in the middle of big city Philadelphia so there's not much room. If I lived out in the 'burbs or the country would I put it in the "back forty?" No way. I'd never use it. Not if it was raining, snowing, muddy, I was tired... Put it where it is convenient to use, not where it's out of the way. Out of the way mean it's going to become junk in the back corner of your yard.

I also have a worm bin. It's in my basement. When there's so much snow that I can't open the door to my yard, kitchen waste goes in the worm bin:

Yeah, I wouldn't say garbage disposals and composting are mutually exclusive. We primarily compost, but we have a gd as well that I use as ProSource details above. We also have a septic tank and have had no problems in the 35 years I've lived here - bought the house new - but DH designed drain fields in a former life so he is on top of all that.

As far as composting in the winter, we live in eastern WA state so we get snow (except not much this year), and I've never had a problem either with trudging out to the pile, or it not composting.

My mom has a garbage disposal, septic, and she composts. She lives in Michigan in the snowbelt. She is an avid composter 12 months a year. I have a garbage disposal but I have decided to start composting because it saves water. I figure the compost is an extra bonus

I compost, and do not have a garbage disposal (because I have septic).

We got 100" of snow this Winter.

I do not compost for a few months in the winter; yes, I just throw out all that goodies in the trash.

I'm happy enough that we compost ~8months of the year. I have 2 of these eco composted (my town sells them for ~$20each).

http://www.woodlanddirect.com/Eco-Composter-image.jpg

I also have a large chicken-wire round compost pile, for the brush, tons of leaves that we rake every Fall, and grass clippings. I move this chicken-wire to a new spot every other year.

We have over 1acre of land.

I love being able to rake new finished compost into my garden, and getting great produce from it. I think it totally makes a huge difference. And the compost is FREE!

Amanda

My DH and I compost. We do not have a garbage disposal. We have several bins, all in varying states of "doneness". In the winter, we keep a 5 gallon bucket on our sunporch (which is a 3 season porch, unheated so we don't use it in the winter) that we dump our compost waste into. When that gets full, DH will make the trek to one of the bins. We have a large yard and several of the compost bins are at the back of the yard but he always keeps one close to the house in the winter. We have a tumbler bin, an open pile and a garbage can on wheels that we use for compost. Truth be told, they all work equally fine...and we don't even think about composting in the proper ratios or whatever...given enough time, it all breaks down.

We live in Iowa and compost the entire year, and we do A LOT of compost. There's no reason you can't compost in the winter, other than just not enjoying going outside to dump the compost. Our main bin is outside, behind our garage, so it's not a short walk. I'll confess to letting our pail get fairly full before we take it out! We also have a GD, but it really doesn't get used all that much. Basically just for pepper seeds (which we don't want growing in our compost)

I have both. DH didn't want the compost bin near the house so it is in the back of the back yard, through a little wooded path. So I don't compost after Thanksgiving, too wet or snowy. Time to get back there again, but it's so muddy! I've heard that some people put their peelings etc in the freezer in the winter and they are ready to start up again in Spring.

We compost everything- although our compost pile needs some more attending to/consideration as it really is just a 'pile' that we dump stuff on to. I would like to have a more organized system eventually. In the winter, I have tall boots that I put on to dump the compost outside. Also, I will be getting worms this spring to have a worm bin inside. Worm compost is GREAT! And you can have a worm bin even in an apartment.

Not that I'm starting on worm bin any time soon, but how do you get to the finished compost in a worm bin?

Do you have to ask the worms to move aside?

Sorry, never research this before.

Not a fan of squirmy/wriggly things. ew.

I am also a GD+ compost pile person. The GD is mostly for those inevitable bits that can't make it into the compost pail. (and yes, I do have to pay attention to it when I am cleaning the sink -- I scrub out the opening and run the soapy solution through it so no smells). I keep a covered metal trash container under the sink for the scraps, and my pile is just a few steps off my patio. It is contained and disguised from view by stacked bricks and rocks. I have to take out trash and recycling, taking out the compost is no more trouble even when it is snowy.

I haven't noticed any problems with critters; we do have raccoons, possums, skunks and voles and even foxes and coyotes in abundance in the neighborhood. I just don't put any meat or bones in the pile -- I know that some will compost everything, if I were not in suburbia I would also.

Depending on what type of home you have for the worms, they are all based on the worms migrating to the area with the most new food. For example, in a plastic bin system, you would add new compost in a systematic way (for example work in sections across the bin) so that by the time you reach the one side of the bin, you should be able to take some compost out of the other side as there won't be many worms there. However, it is a good idea to sort it a bit to pick out the worm egg casings and any worms that may still be there. I like the idea of the tiered system by Carrie B - maybe they can post more info on it? I am guessing the bottom layer would be finished compost and the worms would move up to the upper layers which is where fresh compost is added...

Yes to both composting and GD! We compost year-round, no fancy ratios or enzymes. And the only critters I've noticed in our bin were our two dogs, the time the wind blew the top off the bin. That was fun. ;)

Thepeppermintleaf (and everyone) - my worm bin is something like this one. I started out with a home made one using a Rubbermaid type bin, but, as peppermintleaf alluded to, I was always trying to manage where the worms migrated to so that I could get vermicompost that was fairly worm free to put in the garden, and the results of my efforts were mediocre at best. This systems works much better, and, for the number of years it's been working well, very worth the investment.

The worms do migrate up as you add shelves & compost material. My only complaint is that, to get to finished compost, you have to get to the bottom - so you have to remove the upper layers, put them down, remove the bottom, finished layer, and then replace the upper ones. Not the end of the world, but it takes some effort. Here are some photos of how it works:

Here's the top drawer. I add compostables & shredded newspaper. The newspaper helps keep fruit flies at bay, as well as acting as bedding for the worms:

This shelf is somewhere in the middle:

Here's the lowest one (I recently took two finished ones out to the garden, so this one isn't completely done breaking down - but almost:

Oooo. Worms. Thanks for sharing, Carrie. That sounds fun. I think the kids would enjoy worms! And I suppose it's not really that bad if you get worms in your garden. :)

Fori - Every time my nephew comes over (or my ex-bf's nephews used to come over) they ALWAYS wanted to feed the garden "worm juice!" (that's what the little nozzle at the bottom of the stack is for)

Birthday present has been ordered. =D

Thanks Carrie B!! Very cool!