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barb_roselover_in

Trench composting?

barb_roselover_in
14 years ago

In earler posts somewhere it was discussed about trench composting. I believe it was about unfinished compost--Anyway, when we took our kids west, we took them to an Indian village somewhere in Oklahoma, and I remember our guide lecturing us saying "We do not waste anything--we bury all of our garbage". She then went on to talk about burying all of their leftovers immediately. They did not wait for them to compost. I remember my own Dad would take out their potato peelings, etc and bury them immediately in the garden. Does this draw worms to the site? What is the advantage? (outside of the raccoons opening the compost drum and dumping the garbage in there).

Barb

Comments (3)

  • gardenlen
    14 years ago

    g'dy barb,

    that is what we do, we don't bury so much as tuck our kitchen scraps under the mulch, and yes it does bring on the worms we have our composting worms in the garden along with the other exotic types that are there, and they all quickly process those scraps.

    did used to bury but then you need to remember where so when you transplant you don't plant over the material that may not yet be composted this causes nitrogen related problems in the growth of the new seedlings, but under the mulch makes it easier to see if you are near freshish sort of material and you can pull it back enough to plant there anyway, a that material does not affect the roots.

    our used water especially dish water gets recycled into the vege' garden along with and mixed with my urine. break down generally occurs within a 2 week period. our spent vege' plants get recycled where they stood in the same manner. hence no need for any fertilisers or manures.

    len

    Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page

  • luckygal
    14 years ago

    The advantage of burying compostable materials is that it's not necessary to have a bin, it's quick, easy, clean, and very effective - no hauling, turning, mixing, and hauling again or concern about ratios. We did this exclusively when we lived on a city lot with only a small garden. Once a day we dug a hole between the rows of plants, dumped the kitchen veggie scraps in, and covered it with the same soil. We would then move the shovel a short distance away so the next person would know where to bury. We did this for 3 years and the soil changed from heavy clay with the obligatory 1" of topsoil to nice black rich soil full of worms to at least the depth of a shovel. The worms made very quick work of this type of material.

    Some people say the problem is that critters will dig this material up but our dogs never bothered it and we've since done it on an acreage with wild critters and they don't bother it either.

    The only reason I've gone to compost bins is that it's possible to make more compost by mixing the greens with browns altho it takes more effort and time. Might be easier to bury the greens and use the browns as mulch tho.

  • Kimmsr
    14 years ago

    Any organic matter put into any soil will attract earthworms, because that is what earthworms feed on, organic matter. Whether it is raw "garbage" (undigested kitchen waste) or finished compost makes no difference, except the size of the particles. One problem that might be found with trench composting is that if certain animals can smell that organci matter they would dig it up, but trench composting can work quite well and really is a Lasagna bed in reverse. Or perhaps a Lasagna bed is a trench composting proces in reverse.