Super soil over winter

[Robbig22]

I am thinking way ahead but is there any down side to mix my super soil and leave it outside over winter. It gets way below freezing.

[vacuumlungs]

I am thinking way ahead but is there any down side to mix my super soil and leave it outside over winter. It gets way below freezing.

I started filling my 200 gallon smart pots in January.

[40degsouth]

There’s no such thing as too early but there is too late.

[vacuumlungs]

There’s no such thing as too early but there is too late.

Exactly. I didn’t temp mine while it was cooking but it was warm and you could smell it going through a heat. All that organic fert mixed with lots of worm castings definitely gets hot enough to need to sit for a minute.

[KIS]

If it's outside and getting rained on you're leaching nutrients, N and K and Na would be the firsts to go. If it's covered and dries out the microbes will die/go dormant and you lose nutrient cycling. You'll want to rewet and give some more nutrients to the soil to get the microbes active again prior to planting. That could be as simple as a few handfuls of organic alfalfa meal mixed in or watering with a diluted molasses solution.

[Robbig22]

Awesome thank you so much everyone. I am mixing a big batch for my family this fall. So as long as I keep it moist and in the spring feed it a little I should be good to go

[40degsouth]

Hi Robbig22.
My thoughts are, that if you keep it turned and moist, it will be ready by Spring.
Cheers,
40

[Robbig22]

I figured I would turn once a week for the first month then maybe once or twice a month after til it freezes. Thanks for the advice

[BullDogDad]

Perhaps a cover crop would help protect it?

[Robbig22]

That might be a good idea. I am starting to gather all my pieces. I do not have access to neem or Karanja cake or meal what would be the closest thing to that

[troutman]

If you don't plant a cover crop. You could always place a tarp over it.

[Robbig22]

I think I might go with a tarp thanks I can still mix it up when ever I want that way

[Tynehead Tom]

If you don't plant a cover crop. You could always place a tarp over it.

ya trout.... this is how I do it.
We have a bunch of 4x8 planter beds for veggies that we first place a layer of hay and then covered with black plastic tarp. It is important to staple the tarp so we don't get rodents nesting in the hay over winter.
The snowload compresses everything and in spring before planting time comes, once the snow melts the black tarp heats the soil and gets the microbes and such moving.

We do a similar thing with our compost piles and always use Black tarps because they gather heat so well. We get way too cold and too much snow to be tending compost piles over winter. A light layer of hay, a good wetting down and black tarps seem to work well for us.