Stealth Composting ... it's in the Trenches
So, you can’t seem to get a compost pile going at home. Maybe neighborhood restrictions prohibit it, or perhaps you're struggling to pick a suitable location on your lot. Well, if you have a garden, even if it’s a small one, you can still recycle things like spent vegetation and peelings from the kitchen. How? By practicing trench composting; also known as sheet composting or row composting.
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It’s so simple, just dig a hole (or trench) about a foot deep, anywhere in the garden that you’re not growing a crop. Pour in a layer of compostable organic matter, about 6 inches deep, and then top that off with the soil that you had removed from the hole. You’re done! That’s right, there is no need for the maintenance that a regular compost pile might require, such as watering and aeration. In a relatively short amount of time, usually within a couple of months, the buried organics will decompose and enrich the surrounding soil. You can then rotate a planting into that area, and select a new location for your next trench. <---- Compostable organic materials in the trench, ready to be covered with soil. |
If space allows, you may wish to dig the trench in advance, either as a straight row or as a "block" section of a bed. That makes it convenient to fill the trench in stages, by pouring in compostables whenever you need to, gradually filling the trench over time. If space is limited, or if you don’t generate a lot of material to compost, you might find it more convenient to just bury small batches when you have enough organics to make it worthwhile to dig a small hole.
Extra tip: mulch it too! After you've buried the organic materials, don't leave exposed soil on top; cover with a layer of mulch. Over time, that adds even more organic matter to your garden soil. And, if you dig the trench in advance, keep it covered with mulch to prevent erosion by wind and rain.
If you had concerns about neighbors seeing or smelling your compost, try this stealth alternative. No odor, out of sight, and out of mind … keep that valuable organic matter out of the landfill, and start enriching your garden soil by trench composting.
By: Mark Murphy, CMG - 6/7/2012
Extra tip: mulch it too! After you've buried the organic materials, don't leave exposed soil on top; cover with a layer of mulch. Over time, that adds even more organic matter to your garden soil. And, if you dig the trench in advance, keep it covered with mulch to prevent erosion by wind and rain.
If you had concerns about neighbors seeing or smelling your compost, try this stealth alternative. No odor, out of sight, and out of mind … keep that valuable organic matter out of the landfill, and start enriching your garden soil by trench composting.
By: Mark Murphy, CMG - 6/7/2012
