If you’ve been neglecting your compost bins all winter long, now is the time to get busy and get those bins ready for the spring planting season!

• Turn over a new leaf, and a few heaps, with regular compost mixing sessions. Get out that pitchfork and toss your compost to increase aeration and decomposition.

• Water regularly. This is one of those immensely satisfying moments in a gardener’s life when you can get even with Mother Nature and help your garden. Shovel some of that melting snow into a shallow bin in the sunshine and watch it melt! You can then use the melted snow to water your compost pile. (Symbolically satisfying, right?)

• Add to the mix. Adding fresh compost materials is a must, especially if you’ve gotten out of the habit of feeding the compost bin. Kitchen food waste, those dried up Valentine’s flowers, and even your morning coffee grounds and filter can all go into the mix.

• Consider upgrading. Spring is great time to upgrade or replace those old composting bins. Bins are available with aerations tools, tumbling devices to toss the compost with ease, and other nifty features that might perk up your winter gardening woes. Even if you just mend your chicken wire fence or replace a rotting landscape timber frame, now is the time to spruce up your composting bins.

• Troubleshoot your compost bin. One common problem after neglecting your compost bin is that only the center of the compost heats up. This indicated a lack of fuel for decomposition. The solution is to add more compost materials. Pile it on and the condition of your pile should improve in a week or two.

• Another common problem after a long, cold winter is too much moisture. After the snow begins to melt, your compost can become saturated and moldy. To avoid this problem, shovel excess snow accumulation off the compost bin area before the spring thaw begins.

• Find a balance. If your family produces tons of banana peels every week, but very few leaf lettuce scraps, your compost pile may suffer. Too much of a good thing can throw off the delicate balance of the compost bin and result in funky smells, moldy foods, and poor decomposition. If this is the case in your compost bin, try sharing some of those banana peels with a gardening neighbor or start a second compost bin to handle the excess load. Be sure to balance those peels with other kitchen and yard waste to keep the pile cooking.

Those long neglected compost bins are calling your name. Get out there and embrace the coming spring planting season by staring old man winter in the face as he says his last goodbyes.