For most gardeners, composting is a summer activity.  It's a great time to build the pile since there's an abundance of organic matter to add to the pile from lawn mowing and other plant care activities that keep us busy during the growing season.  By the end of this summer season, gardeners who have been composting have a good quantity of rich, organic material to add back into the soil before the winter weather sets in.

But there is no reason to end the compost pile just because the summer is over.  And if you haven't ever had a compost pile, the fall is a great time to begin.  The basic process is the same; it just takes longer.  Since the outside temperatures will quickly drop, count on fall composting as being less precise, less demanding, and much less work.

Fall composting is more like planting flowering bulbs.  You won't see much success until spring, but you won't do much work in the meantime.

First you'll need a composting site.  If you composted during the summer, you can use the same site.  Just be sure the area receives sunshine part of the day, that it is protected from drying winds, and that it is not highly visible to you or your neighbors.  In rural areas, an open compost pile is allowed, but in more populated locales or in areas where wild life is abundant, it will be necessary to have an enclosed and covered site in order to contain the materials and prevent attracting unwanted visitors.  Many gardeners move their composting into compact plastic composters for fall and winter activity in order to help retain moisture and heat and deter the wild life.  There is a wide assortment of systems available through garden centers, or you can go to the library to find plans for simple homemade structures.  Just be sure your site will be accessible as the weather turns cold and the snow piles up.

Next you will need materials for the pile.   Your first source will be the large amounts of yard waste that you are cleaning from your fall garden and yard.  The summer time rule of thumb is to plan on using 20 parts high-carbon materials (browns) to 1 part high-nitrogen material (greens).  In the fall, you finally have a large supply of the browns - dry leaves, straw, hay, chopped cornstalks, etc.  Clear your yard and assemble all you have and offer to take some from your neighbors as well.  It's much more efficient than paying to have your leaves hauled away.   Don't worry about the greens; this will be added throughout the winter.

Once the brown material has been gathered, you are ready to relax.  For the rest of the fall and winter season, your work is basically done inside the house where it is nice and warm.  Begin collecting the greens for your compost pile from your kitchen wastes.  You'll need a container (with a handle) to hold the scraps, preferably something with a cover to prevent any unwelcome smells.  You will be amazed at how quickly a container fills, using only the recommended ingredients:  vegetable and fruit scrapes, coffee grounds, tea leaves and eggshells.  These materials all compost well and do not attract rodents.  Do not use any animal wastes such as meat scrapes, bones, grease, oils, whole eggs or dairy products.  Also avoid grain products since they are particularly attractive to rodents.

Your compost "bucket" will fill quickly, depending on the size of your family and the amount of fresh produce you use during the winter.  When the bucket is full, you are ready to add the greens to the browns.  Before heading out to the compost pile, however, do one more thing.  Add enough water to the mix to cover the materials in the bucket.   If you have water left over from cooking vegetables or pasta, that's a great source to recycle.  Adding the water to the table scrapes makes it easier to empty the bucket and it also adds some necessary moisture to the pile.

If we have a warm sunny day and you feel the urge to get a little exercise, you can head out to the compost pile and do a little aeration by stirring with a spade or turning fork. Not much is going on in the pile as long as the weather is cold.  But when next spring comes, just a small amount of effort - turning the pile a couple times and adding adequate moisture - will be rewarded with some rich compost to add to your spring garden, just in time for planting.

Returning nutrients to the soil is one of the most important things gardeners can do.  A fall compost pile, with winter additions, is an inexpensive and effective way to amend the soil and prepare for a successful growing season.

For more information see Fact Sheet #7.212 - Composing Yard Waste.

Q: This year I planted some summer blooming bulbs, dahlias and gladiolus. Can I leave them in the ground?

A:  These particular bulbs do not do well in our neck of the woods.  It would be better to wait until after the first frost and then dig them up.  You can store them in sand or peat moss in a bag.  They do require some moisture so you would need to check them periodically.

Q:  What can I do with my tomatoes if we get a hard freeze before they ripen?

A:  Fried green tomatoes are great to eat but if you still have too many green tomatoes, try  wrapping them individually in newspaper and putting them in a cool place. To speed the process, place a ripe tomato with them. To slow the process, regularly remove ripening fruit.

Q:  I have a Dark Knight Spirea that I really enjoy. Will I need to cut it back?

A:  Yes, cut it back to about four inches in either late fall or early spring.  Some people enjoy the "skeleton" of this shrub through the winter as it adds interesting winter texture to the garden.

Most design guides suggest planting in groups of 3 and 5 but other numbers will also work.  A single plant can be a focal point and 2 plants can look very formal.  They work best to mark both sides of an entrance or passageway.  4 plants work best divided into 3 + 1, while 6 plants look better divided into two sets of 3 rather than 4 + 2.  Once you get to about a dozen plants it becomes a "mass" and the eye really can’t distinguish if there are 12 or 13 or 14 in the group.

Now is the time to pot up amaryllis and paper white narcissus for holiday bloom.  Water the bulbs but don’t over water or the bulbs can rot.  Keep them in a bright, warm location for strong flower stems.  Check the garden centers and catalogs for new varieties including miniature and double amaryllis.

Early fall is a great time for seeding a new lawn or laying sod, especially with the lifting of watering restrictions.  For an established lawn it’s time to aerate and fertilize with 1 lb. of N per 1000 sq. feet for a cool season grass.  Use a balanced or complete fertilizer, especially if you are removing the grass clippings from your yard.

Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum) is a wonderful fall blooming perennial if you have the space – they can grow 6 – 10 ft. tall and as wide.  Hardy in zones 3 – 9, they like moist soil and will tolerate wet areas.  It makes a stunning backdrop to other fall bloomers like Rudbeckia (Black Eyed Susan) and asters.  The spectacular purple flowers start in late summer and attract bees, butterflies and birds to feed on the nectar.

When placing mulch around trees, do not pile it high around the trunk like a mulch volcano. This can smother tree roots and hold unwanted moisture close to the trunk providing a breeding ground for fungal problems.  A layer of mulch 2 – 4 inches deep is appropriate.  Just make sure to keep the mulch at least 4" away from the trunk.

The authors have received training through Colorado State University Cooperative Extension's Master Gardener program and are Master Gardener volunteers for Larimer County.

Gardening and Insect Fact Sheets are available on-line by clicking HERE.

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This page updated:  September 27, 2003