Meg: Mmmm, months of quiet contemplation of the freezing, barren land… If I weren’t so focussed on farming, I could probably take time off in December or maybe early Jan, but the farming really doesn’t stop. I’m planning to try onions from seed this year, and get a good early start on herbs, so the seedling room will be going in January. Anyhow, I intend to keep posting daily or so, so you won’t miss any of the indoor farming action! ;)

Jen: Both! My pile (it’s a windrow 50′ long and about 3′ high and 3-4′ wide at the base) at least partially freezes, and not much goes on till the weather warms up again. But, with an active mix (good brown-green carbon:nitrogen ratio) and regular turning, plus some cover, like a tarp, hot compositing can continue in extremely cold weather. I haven’t tried so far, but when there were lots of cows here, a couple years back, you could plow into the big manure pile behind the barn in the middle of Feb and inside it’d be steaming away… Nice and toasty!