Reference

Seasonal calendar

The year's composting tasks by month for four climates, each task tied to the chapter that explains it and marked as a source's timing or this manual's convention.

Local weather sets the real dates. The sources we read give seasons ("fall", "winter") and temperature thresholds, not calendar months, so the month each task sits in is this manual's convention. A task marked with a source takes its content from that source; a task marked "(convention)" is this manual's own suggestion with no source behind it. Move every task to fit your weather. Convention

Pick the column that sounds like your winter and summer. The ground freezes where winter ground is too hard to dig; frost without a hard freeze means frosty nights but ground you can usually dig; little or no frost needs no winter plan; and hot, dry summers need water and shade. If your area fits two, use both columns. To find your first and last frost dates and when the ground freezes and thaws, ask your local extension office; frost dates are local, and this table does not give them.

The green box below shades the current month from this device's clock and the climate column you chose in setup. Your pile's real calendar is its log, not this table: check the signs and the thermometer, not the date.

Month	The ground freezes in winter	Frost, but the ground rarely freezes	Little or no frost	Hot, dry summers
January	Keep adding scraps and cover each with browns; insulate the bin with a layer of leaves (source: New York DEC guide) Keep a worm bin out of the cold: bring it indoors or insulate it (source: Oregon State EM 9034) Store scraps frozen in a closed container until the ground can be dug (source: USask trench)	Keep adding and covering; a pile slows in cold weather and starts again above about 50°F (source: Penn State home composting) Keep a worm bin out of the cold: bring it indoors or insulate it (source: Oregon State EM 9034)	Check the oldest material against the signs of finished compost (convention)	Check the oldest material against the signs of finished compost (convention)
February	Keep adding scraps and cover each with browns; insulate the bin with a layer of leaves (source: New York DEC guide) Store scraps frozen in a closed container until the ground can be dug (source: USask trench)	Check the oldest material against the signs of finished compost (convention) Start the pea or bean pot test on outside manure, hay or straw; it takes two to three weeks to read (source: NC State AG-727)	Start the pea or bean pot test on outside manure, hay or straw; it takes two to three weeks to read (source: NC State AG-727) Check the oldest material against the signs of finished compost (convention)	Start the pea or bean pot test on outside manure, hay or straw; it takes two to three weeks to read (source: NC State AG-727)
March	Check moisture as the weather warms past about 50°F and the pile starts again (source: Penn State home composting) Store scraps frozen in a closed container until the ground can be dug (source: USask trench)	Check moisture as the weather warms past about 50°F and the pile starts again (source: Penn State home composting) Start the pea or bean pot test on outside manure, hay or straw; it takes two to three weeks to read (source: NC State AG-727)	Start a hot batch when you have about a cubic yard of material and the weather allows (convention; local weather sets the date) Dig a trench or bury a full bokashi bucket once the ground can be dug (source: USask trench)	Start a hot batch when you have about a cubic yard of material and the weather allows (convention; local weather sets the date) Dig a trench or bury a full bokashi bucket once the ground can be dug (source: USask trench)
April	Dig a trench or bury a full bokashi bucket once the ground can be dug (source: USask trench) Start the pea or bean pot test on outside manure, hay or straw; it takes two to three weeks to read (source: NC State AG-727) Check the oldest material against the signs of finished compost (convention)	Start a hot batch when you have about a cubic yard of material and the weather allows (convention; local weather sets the date) Dig a trench or bury a full bokashi bucket once the ground can be dug (source: USask trench) Leave clippings on the lawn and mow often enough that they do not clump (source: UGA grasscycling)	Start a hot batch when you have about a cubic yard of material and the weather allows (convention; local weather sets the date) Leave clippings on the lawn and mow often enough that they do not clump (source: UGA grasscycling)	Start a hot batch when you have about a cubic yard of material and the weather allows (convention; local weather sets the date) Leave clippings on the lawn and mow often enough that they do not clump (source: UGA grasscycling)
May	Start a hot batch when you have about a cubic yard of material and the weather allows (convention; local weather sets the date) Leave clippings on the lawn and mow often enough that they do not clump (source: UGA grasscycling) Use finished compost on beds, in containers or as mulch (convention)	Start a hot batch when you have about a cubic yard of material and the weather allows (convention; local weather sets the date) Leave clippings on the lawn and mow often enough that they do not clump (source: UGA grasscycling)	Leave clippings on the lawn and mow often enough that they do not clump (source: UGA grasscycling) Use finished compost on beds, in containers or as mulch (convention)	Water the pile (it may need water weekly in summer), cover it to slow evaporation, and keep it in shade (source: Arizona AZ1632) Keep a worm bin out of direct sun and within about 59 to 77°F (source: NC State AG-473-18)
June	Keep a worm bin out of direct sun and within about 59 to 77°F (source: NC State AG-473-18) Leave clippings on the lawn and mow often enough that they do not clump (source: UGA grasscycling)	Keep a worm bin out of direct sun and within about 59 to 77°F (source: NC State AG-473-18) Leave clippings on the lawn and mow often enough that they do not clump (source: UGA grasscycling)	Keep a worm bin out of direct sun and within about 59 to 77°F (source: NC State AG-473-18) Leave clippings on the lawn and mow often enough that they do not clump (source: UGA grasscycling)	Water the pile (it may need water weekly in summer), cover it to slow evaporation, and keep it in shade (source: Arizona AZ1632) Keep a worm bin out of direct sun and within about 59 to 77°F (source: NC State AG-473-18)
July	Keep a worm bin out of direct sun and within about 59 to 77°F (source: NC State AG-473-18) Leave clippings on the lawn and mow often enough that they do not clump (source: UGA grasscycling)	Keep a worm bin out of direct sun and within about 59 to 77°F (source: NC State AG-473-18) Leave clippings on the lawn and mow often enough that they do not clump (source: UGA grasscycling)	Keep a worm bin out of direct sun and within about 59 to 77°F (source: NC State AG-473-18) Leave clippings on the lawn and mow often enough that they do not clump (source: UGA grasscycling)	Water the pile (it may need water weekly in summer), cover it to slow evaporation, and keep it in shade (source: Arizona AZ1632) Keep a worm bin out of direct sun and within about 59 to 77°F (source: NC State AG-473-18)
August	Keep a worm bin out of direct sun and within about 59 to 77°F (source: NC State AG-473-18) Leave clippings on the lawn and mow often enough that they do not clump (source: UGA grasscycling)	Keep a worm bin out of direct sun and within about 59 to 77°F (source: NC State AG-473-18) Leave clippings on the lawn and mow often enough that they do not clump (source: UGA grasscycling)	Keep a worm bin out of direct sun and within about 59 to 77°F (source: NC State AG-473-18)	Water the pile (it may need water weekly in summer), cover it to slow evaporation, and keep it in shade (source: Arizona AZ1632) Keep a worm bin out of direct sun and within about 59 to 77°F (source: NC State AG-473-18)
September	Start a hot batch when you have about a cubic yard of material and the weather allows (convention; local weather sets the date) Start a lasagna bed in fall for spring planting (source: Oregon State EM 9559)	Start a hot batch when you have about a cubic yard of material and the weather allows (convention; local weather sets the date) Start a lasagna bed in fall for spring planting (source: Oregon State EM 9559)	Start a hot batch when you have about a cubic yard of material and the weather allows (convention; local weather sets the date) Start a lasagna bed in fall for spring planting (source: Oregon State EM 9559)	Water the pile (it may need water weekly in summer), cover it to slow evaporation, and keep it in shade (source: Arizona AZ1632) Start a hot batch when you have about a cubic yard of material and the weather allows (convention; local weather sets the date)
October	Rake or mow leaves into bags or a cage and keep them as browns (source: Penn State leaves) Start a lasagna bed in fall for spring planting (source: Oregon State EM 9559) Check the oldest material against the signs of finished compost (convention)	Rake or mow leaves into bags or a cage and keep them as browns (source: Penn State leaves) Start a lasagna bed in fall for spring planting (source: Oregon State EM 9559)	Rake or mow leaves into bags or a cage and keep them as browns (source: Penn State leaves) Start a hot batch when you have about a cubic yard of material and the weather allows (convention; local weather sets the date)	Start a hot batch when you have about a cubic yard of material and the weather allows (convention; local weather sets the date) Start a lasagna bed in fall for spring planting (source: Oregon State EM 9559)
November	Rake or mow leaves into bags or a cage and keep them as browns (source: Penn State leaves) Keep adding scraps and cover each with browns; insulate the bin with a layer of leaves (source: New York DEC guide)	Rake or mow leaves into bags or a cage and keep them as browns (source: Penn State leaves) Keep adding and covering; a pile slows in cold weather and starts again above about 50°F (source: Penn State home composting)	Rake or mow leaves into bags or a cage and keep them as browns (source: Penn State leaves)	Rake or mow leaves into bags or a cage and keep them as browns (source: Penn State leaves)
December	Keep adding scraps and cover each with browns; insulate the bin with a layer of leaves (source: New York DEC guide) Keep a worm bin out of the cold: bring it indoors or insulate it (source: Oregon State EM 9034) Do the annual review of your system (convention)	Keep adding and covering; a pile slows in cold weather and starts again above about 50°F (source: Penn State home composting) Do the annual review of your system (convention)	Do the annual review of your system (convention)	Do the annual review of your system (convention)

Limits

This calendar is this manual's convention, built from sources where one gives a timing and from this manual's own judgment where none does. It is not a forecast, and it cannot tell you your frost dates or when your ground thaws. A task in a month that does not fit your weather should move. A pile's readiness is shown by the signs in Finished compost, not by the month.

Where these come from. Penn State (a pile goes dormant in winter and restarts above about 50°F), the New York State DEC guide (winter insulation), the University of Arizona (water and shade in hot, dry summers), and the other sources named in each task. Each chapter that a task links to cites its own sources in full.