Last year I experimented with composting in place (also called trench composting). My results were good. For each layer of raw compost I buried, I got a nice half inch strata of rich finished compost.
Because my garden plot is small, rotating crops is a problem. I use a wide row technique, which is like in-ground beds. In my tomato rows I also plant compatible companion plants like Borage, Marigolds, onions, carrots, basil and peppers. I space my rows about three feet apart and put cardboard and a thick layer of mulch in the walkway between rows. The mulch cushions the ground underneath from becoming compacted when I walk on it. To enrich these fallow areas, I like to compost in place.
I put several inches of kitchen waste (nothing cooked, no meat, grease or bones) in the hole and top it with shredded leaves, leaf mold or other brown compostable material.
I return the dirt to the hole, mounding it up as necessary, and top it off with cardboard, newspaper, or brown paper bags and a deep layer of mulch.
Because my garden plot is small, rotating crops is a problem. I use a wide row technique, which is like in-ground beds. In my tomato rows I also plant compatible companion plants like Borage, Marigolds, onions, carrots, basil and peppers. I space my rows about three feet apart and put cardboard and a thick layer of mulch in the walkway between rows. The mulch cushions the ground underneath from becoming compacted when I walk on it. To enrich these fallow areas, I like to compost in place.
Most of the time, I only have a gallon or so of raw materials--coffee grounds, egg shells, carrot peels and such. For that, I dig a hole about a foot deep. It would need to be deeper if I had a problem with scavengers digging it up. If I have my five gallon compost bucket full, I dig a trench a foot deep and three or four feet long. Both methods work well, but the hole is quick and easy.
I put several inches of kitchen waste (nothing cooked, no meat, grease or bones) in the hole and top it with shredded leaves, leaf mold or other brown compostable material.
Now, the flora and fauna in the soil go to work, turning the new layers into something suitable for plant food.
It is best, I think, to compost in place in areas that won't be used until next year, although with the holes, I can mark their locations and plant between them this year if I need to. Over a year the mulch between rows will break down into a top layer of good compost as well.
While I've read repeatedly that I should get my soil tested, I've also read that there is nothing wrong with the soil that compost won't fix.
Stephen
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