Brian German sits in for Cathy Isom today. Brian bring us some valuable information about how to build compost without a compost bin. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Compost bins can be a bit scary or intimidating to some people. Regardless of how much we’ve come to accept that we need to be composting our kitchen scraps, utilizing our lawn trimmings, and making the most of what’s biodegradable (like cardboard boxes, newspapers, and so on). There’s just something about that bin.
Some of the ways we might talk ourselves out of it include: It seems so big. Does it need to be turned? Why is it so smelly? It doesn’t seem to be doing anything. Can this thing even be here? Isn’t it illegal to have a compost bin in the neighborhood? Is there enough nitrogen? Too much carbon? Can I even put this in the compost bin?
Well, you don’t need to have a bin to compost. And one hassle-free way to do it, is trench composting. Simply dig a hole about a foot deep and wide, fill it with kitchen scraps and compostable materials, then put dirt back on top.
When trench composting in the garden, remember that plants shouldn’t actually be right above the compost. If roots wiggle down into a bunch of rotting food, it could cause problems such as root rot. Plants should be cultivated adjacent to the composting spot. A good method would be to do this all over a garden bed, cycle through a couple dozen compost holes (depending on how quickly kitchen scraps amass) that are surrounded by healthy, benefitting and beneficial plant life. By the time a gardener cycles back around, he or she will be digging up super rich compost.
Sitting in today for Cathy Isom, I’m Brian German…..
Trench composting is one of the simplest ways to recycle organic materials from your home and garden into fantastic compost.