I grow winter rye in my raised beds to keep the weeds out during the winter. You could easily grow it for composting purposes.

Oak leaves will also hot compost if the pile is big enough or if you add kitchen scraps.

Never done it myself, but I've heard a lot of people get used coffee grounds from coffee shops and compost those.

If you have any friends that home brew, you can get their waste. If your pile is small enough and you drink enough of you friends home brews you could pee on the pile. There are several threads about peeing on your pile.

I like low piles, and find that four diameters (square and round) work very well.

Freezing can be a problem, but as was suggested above, too much moisture is often the problem. I use a cover over the pile as needed.

Having a layer of leaves over your pile will act like insulation and help trap pockets of temperature batteries that protect from wind. Dig a small hole in your compost, throw your bags inside, and cover back up.

Putting a tarp over your pile helps a lot too. 4 mil plastic sheeting is great if your pile isnt shaded. The UV rays will pass thru the sheeting and trap the heat during cold days.

Remember, just because there is snow on it, doesnt mean its frozen. At some point in time, the process may stop until a thaw, but you should still try to feed your pile just the same.

I try to save some of my grass clippings in the summer so I will have something to add to my leaves in the fall.

In the fall, I save some bags of leaves so I will have some browns to add to my grass clippings in the spring.

Program works pretty good for me.

The following only for others in cold climates... Whenever threads on this topic appear I want to invite some of the people who think anyone can compost in any temperature to visit this northern climate. Here in zone 3 which is also a dry area (20" precipitation yearly) it's not something that's happening. There's snow on top of my pile right now and more coming. Turning or adding water at -40 (C or F - take your pic, they're the same at that temp) would be interesting to say the least. Zero F is *only* -17.77C which might be a reasonably balmy day in the winter here! Of course we're into global warming and the winters aren't as cold as they were. Still, I'm not attempting to run a hot pile, just collect all the kitchen waste in my winter compost bin which by late March or early April I'll layer with the pile I started in the fall and get it going. It all eventually becomes compost, and I've got a ton of patience. Not really but if I say it enough it might be true! Never give up, composting is worth any effort but don't stress about the impossible.

Or maybe I should throw an electric blanket over the pile! ;D LOL

Mine is hot in the fall when I make big piles with the fall cleanup stuff, but it cools off during winter. Turn it once in early spring when it gets freaky warm one day, and it's ready by gardening time. JMHO.

My horse manure/sawdust/kitchen scraps pile didn't get enough water earlier this fall as the hoses have to be put away when we get frost. Today after lunch I had to scrape the snow and ice off to bury my kitchen scraps. I add some water with the scraps each day but it's not enough so it likely won't heat til spring. Just reality here in the north. My current pile will be ready by June.

Kevin

2) Insulate your pile (works better for square one) with bales of straw or other material.

3) Line outside of pile with landscape fabric, burlap, or other material.

4) Dig down a foot or so, making the pile larger and partly insulated while not much harder to turn.

5) Put scraps, fish, and other possibly problematic ingredients in core.

The loose grounds have less water so they tend to freeze less in the winter. Plus they don't compress the pile as much. Fresh grass is still my favorite if available.

But I have not used any coffee grounds in years. I compost fall leaves as soon as they fall. A mix of oak, sweet gum, and maples leaves; with a bit of grass included since the mower is used to collect and shred the material. My piles now range from 120 to 140F for a 18" high pile, and would be even hotter if I did not turn them daily. Takes a whole five minutes with a large, open, low, mesh bin. I stick the compost thermometer in each day to keep on top of core temps.

Keep in mind that water has to added frequently with this warm, almost hot temps. And I shred the leaves down in size, just one shredding with a normal mower won't make the pieces small enough to compost fast and hot. When a neighbor mows and bags, I spread this out in a two inch layer and run over it twice more with my side discharge push mower. Not all the leaves have to be the same size. Today I raked up some colorful whole sweet gum leaves and folded them into the top couple of inches of the compost file.

Composting is not rocket science. Just like riding a bike, once you learn you never forget.