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Soil, Compost & Mulch

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

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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.
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Compared to the traditional compost pile... Drawbacks- you have to dig. It may take longer, depending on how deep and how much stuff you put it. If doing it in rows, you may cut into roots (sometimes a good thing for the plants, actually). It is where it's put: can't topdress the lawn etc or have some on hand to spread it around as needed later. Some will claim that it may rob N in the short term: that really depends on your current soil and exactly what you put in there. Someone will say that digging upsets soil structure/soil food web... Bonuses- bury and forget it- no turning required. No pile to look at (A drawback to me... love me dem compost heaps). Less fuss with C:N ratios (I don't pay attention anyway, but if not experienced- you'll think about it). In some soils this also takes the place of tilling/double digging. No pile moisture to manage. It starts acting immediately. The comparison with sheet composting/lasagna may be a bit different. You could use sheet composting in existing beds.
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Cut_Grow: Sorry, you are correct, fish is other exception. And, yes, it is possible compost anything, meats included. However, meat tends to smell if not completely and deeply buried, and even then, on occasion, a hungry raccoon may dig up that old, smelly, maggot covered chicken leg you thought you'd never see again and left it there. Sorry, not what I would recommend. As for trench composting, if you have all your compost at once, by all means, bury it all at once. Unfortunately, I don't get mine that way and I don't know anyone else that does. Since we don't get it all at once, without a pre-dug trench, we would be out there digging up the roots of our plants several times a week. So, I need an open trench. I bury it as it fills, but for the most part, it's open. The problem is that if you bury it too close, it will disturb the roots (cut them off with a shovel). If you bury them outside of the root's reach, what good is it? That's why I say to grow on last year's compost trench. Next year, you'll grow on this year's.
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Helen, I live in an area that grows rocks, but I guess my little ole 2 two acres are too poor to grow them, if I need a rock I have to go to the neighbors and borrow one. There are rock quarries and old coal mines all around me, but I don't have any. Matter of fact, the shavings I use comes from a saw mill that cuts oak timbers and blocks for the coal mines.
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I toss my scraps in one of the beds that either... had tomatoes the previous year; or have tomatoes this year. I then rotate and don't plant any of the family of plants to which tomatoes belong. In my garden so far, that means no tomatoes, eggplants, or peppers for at least 4 years. It's an interesting question whether or not burying them will allow the spores to live. Some fungal spores can go dormant and last a VERY long time. I'm not sure about those which tomatoes host. For many pests and diseases, the idea is to till often and allow oxygen, cold weather, and biology to 'clean' the problems from the bed. If you get good decomposition, then it's more likely the viruses could be rid of than some of the fungi... from my understanding, they need host plant matter to survive. Unfortunately, they can host on nearby weeds of the same family, so it's not always a 'clear cut' case that any action will work. If you try it, the best defense is a very active, living, breathing soil that would aid in the decomp of the plant matter and diseases.
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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.

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