I’ve begun the process of closing my compost bins down for the year. Here is a picture of finished compost from one of my two bins. It’s in perfect shape and will be used for next spring. In the meantime, I’ll be doing nothing but adding compost ingredients during the winter months. This time of year is perfect for the collection of “brown” or carbon ingredients-shredded leaves, branches, pine needles, corn stalks left over from Halloween decorations, etc. After filling both of my bins up with material this week, I’ll have a lot of leftover things-especially leaves. I’ll cover these bags of leaves with a tarp to keep out moisture. Come next spring I’ll use them to sell to people attending my gardening workshops when there is little of the brown ingredients readily available. Everybody wants to start making compost at that time. I won’t water any of my compost bins from this time forward but will only concentrate on adding material. If you water them in like you normally do in the spring and summertime, the bins become little ice cubes and take a lot longer to get going come springtime. It’s hard to believe that there isn’t one tablespoon of dirt in this finished compost. It’s so easy. And it’s the best fertilizer you’ll ever use-all from free ingredients.[ois skin=”below post”]