In this bed, I've just pulled out my spring broccoli crop. So I removed the top 4 inches of soil.

I then spread a layer of yard waste (in this case spent pea plants and leaves from the broccoli I just pulled) that I've chopped up with scissors. I also dumped in a can of spent coffee grounds I've been collecting.

I returned the 4 inches of soil to the bed, while at the same time, adding in a little steer and chicken manure.

Then I watered the whole thing down real good.

This particular section of my garden will sit empty for the next 45-60 days until it's time to plant some fall veggies. My thought is that by that time, most of the organic matter I layered in will have composted.

What do you think? Do you think it was worth the effort? I've heard a number of people on this forum mention "pit composting" and am wondering if this is what you're talking about.

Second ... I've done something similar.... only the OM goes in a pathway, topped with wood chips. Soil sifted from the pathway goes into the garden. Been doing this for years and works well in my climate. I see that wouldn't work for your pathways....mine are more 'woodsy' looking ....

Third .... Is there a reason besides the local supply of compost for abandoning a regular compost pile? It seems easier, especially for the bulkier/woodier stuff. Not to mention compostables from your house. I do 'cold' [NO TURN] composting, thus the 'easy' part.

Anyway .... your garden is beeeootiful!

and yes, what you are doing is absolutely fine, ..........other than being a big friggin' waste of viable and useable growing space ;-)

Barb, I know composting is easy, but for me it just seemed to be a big pain in the butt. Mostly, I'm too lazy to keep taking kitchen waste out to the compost pile on a daily basis. I keep a can under the sink: Too lazy to keep dragging it out every time I want to throw something away. I know that sounds silly coming from someone who just spent 1/2 hour cutting up peas and broccoli leaves, but one is a project to amend a garden bed (no problem) the other is a daily chore (problem). Plus, I have a hard time making enough, so I'm in a spot where I'd need to buy additional anyway.

But I don't like the idea of wasting good compostables, so admittedly, I'm in the midst of experimenting what kind of composting is going to work for me. This is Plan B, there might end up being a Plan C or D!

(Does that make any sense at all? LOL)

And LOL Jon! I'm a mosaic artist, so my nipping and cutting hand is in darn good shape, LOL As for the vacant space, I actually pulled the broccoli a little earlier than I normally would have because of those very sad looking tomatoes you see. I experimented this year by putting a couple tomato plants on the "cool" side of my garden, and they don't look pleased at all (definitely not as nice as the others I've got planted a mere 4' away). In the hope of uncurling those angry leaves, I thought maybe the broccoli was crowding them so I yanked it (sacrificing what might have been one more batch of side shoots).

I've got cabbage that will go there in a couple months, but you've left me curious: Aside from bok choi (which would bolt this time of year) I've yet to find a veggie that would mature and be done in 60 days or less. Any ideas?

At this point (If I was you ;-)
I would buy 1 Gallon plants from the local nursery , in that spot I would plant 6 Variety's of Peppers,
or
a 1 Gallon SunGold and feast for months on those Golden Nectars of Sunshine.
or
Potatoes or sweet Potatoes

or install a quick trellis and plant a couple of Cucumber varieties ... my faves are Lemon Cucumbers or Burpless

YUMMMMMMMM

Italian Dressing ...YUMMMMMM

And the stones... beautiful!

Jon, I want to grow those beets that come up with $100 bills on them! Where do I get that variety?? LOL But seriously, I'm in a fog belt in the San Francisco bay area and our weather is on the cool side. Many folks around here can't even grow decent tomatoes, though surrounding my beds with the light rock has given me good results. I've got peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes in the other beds but they won't be done producing until October, maybe even November if I'm lucky. Way too late for my fall broccoli and cabbage. But I do really like the idea of throwing down some cover crop seeds and chopping them in.

Jenn, the rock is called "Sonoma Gold Fines" and that's probably a local name given I'm in Sonoma County. I'm not sure what it might be called in other areas. I call it "poor man's decomposed granite" because it compacts almost as nicely as the granite, but it costs less than half the price.

And thanks for the compliments on the stones. I make them when I have leftover concrete, or just when I feel like cranking out a bunch of something in one day. I will ultimately have my entire garden pathed with them.

Some of the other things I've made (with much support and advice from the wonderful artists over on the Mosaic & Stained Glass forum!):

Mushrooms

Stools

And now I'm trying my hand at sculptures using armature and concrete. Mr. Sea is my current work in progress:

It's what I do in that little green building ;-D

Thanks much, by the way, for all the help and advice here! I really love this forum!

You have a lot of Talents ;-) Lots ! !

"Sheet composting means that handling of yard waste is only done once or twice not multiple times that pile composting may require."

I think this is exactly the difference for me. Honestly, I think it's the collecting of kitchen waste that I really don't care for. It's messy, smelly, and without the space in my little house for a larger composting can, it seems I was constantly running my coffee can out to the yard, rain or shine.

This option worked out so much nicer. After all, it's the point in time when I'm pulling out spent plants that I've got a vacant space in my bed and a bunch of yard waste in a pile. The only thing I wonder is how soon I could plant something. I've heard that when material decomposes, the process sucks nitrogen from the soil. I may have counter-balanced that by adding the manures. Do you all really think I could just put some plants in right now? I had figured I should give it 30 days at least to break down.

(Though, now that you've told me this is called "sheet composting" I can go back and search the forums again. I knew there were conversations about this, I just wasn't using the right term!)

I have a similar practice duing the summer when I'm deadheading except that instead of just throwing down I try to push it down so it has contact with the ground and is hopefully a little hidden. My gardens are very full & lush. If spent flowers are showing, it looks trashy to me.

I think this is very similar to what happens in the forest. My motto is "the less you take out, the less you have to replace" in terms of nutrients/nitrogen, etc.

If you are taking 4" of soil out of your garden I don't think you have to wait to plant. By the time seedlings or seeds get that far down, the material will be broken down. Even if you were planting down that far, I don't think it hurts, look up lasagna or sheet composting if you doubt.

Your garden look lovely and you are obviously a very thoughtful gardener.

As for what to plant, I'm not really sure. I plan to put cabbage or broccoli back in around the first of August, so I'm not sure what I could put in that I could do away with in 60 days. It was mentioned to seed a cover crop then chop it into the soil, but I haven't had a chance to look into exactly what cover crop would be ideal. (Suggestions welcome!)