WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH THE FROZEN COMPOST?

As mentioned before, I have a large open compost pile behind the garden shed. However, right now, it is frozen solid. Yesterday, I removed its overcoat of stalks and leaves to find icy black soil half way down. Grandson Marc arrived to fill the big flower pots but I had no compost.

This is a typical Thunders Bay problem. In a week, the garden will be ready to plant but the compost will not be usable until the end of May. We solved the problem by using the soil from the vegetable garden. Marc mixed it up with some manure (bought) and the remains of the Pro-Mix to lighten the mixture a bit. When the Pro-Mix ran out, I brought out some peat moss I had stored in the shed. He filled several pots and flower boxes.

At the end of the month, I’ll shovel thawed compost into the veggie plot before I plant the vegetables.

While Marc was filling the containers, I dismantled my black plastic composter to see if there was anything useful in there. Nothing after two years! Another typical Thunder Bay problem. I found layers of greasy half rotted leaves, a slimy mess of garbage and, plenty of dry foliage still intact, a two-year collection of undigested garden waste. In all, about an inch of top soil had been produced. The manure I’d tossed in there had not started the process working. Why do I get wonderful compost from my big open compost pile but nothing from this unattractive, hi-tech, black plastic container?

Perhaps it was set in a spot that was too shady. I dismantled the thing and set it up in the sun.

Here are a few Thunder Bay compost concerns.
1) Critters. I have skunks prowling my neighbourhood. Other people have bears. I heard of someone who got rats. Rats! That is why I put no food scraps in the uncovered compost. Sometimes, I liquefy food leftovers and pour it in as a liquid.

2) Slow, so slow. In the heat of summer, steam rises from the compost pile. If you put your hand into the centre, you can feel the heat. Bit in winter, nothing happens. It takes over a year to make decent compost.

3) Frozen just when you need it (see above post).

4) A compost pile needs lots of room, at least one metre by one metre. Many small gardens do not have an inconspicuous spot or a large enough space.