This was great to read! I have avoided composting from my veg and flower gardens because it all looked so complicated and science-y. Yuck. One question, will this unprotected trench attract critters? I already have a bit of a problem in the veg garden itself with rabbits, deer, squirrels etc.
great question! it really depends on what you bury and how deep you go. meat and cooked foods are more fragrant and you always run more of a risk of attractive animals with them. i've had fine luck with burying veg and yard scraps, but i also bury deep! and cover it well when i am done.
I was wondering if this approach might be effective for harder to compost items like bones or raw meat scraps? Also do you think you could be less precise about the greens to browns when you just bury the compost? I am in Texas and getting spare leaves is not always easy and I am a little shy to put so much cardboard into my garden dirt...
I have def recommended this as a meat disposal method before! And less precision much easier to manage in a trench vs an open pile (or other type of compost). !!
about how long should we leave it covered for the first round if it's just yard scraps? What a wonderful idea; and we have a neglected corner that's just the spot.
Wanted to share that _Terra Preta_, the amazingly fertile dark earths of Amazonia, are largely attributed to what we might call "compost" of food scraps as well as wood charcoal and pottery fragments. This helped make it possible to practice agriculture in the poor soils of tropical rainforests! Not sure how ancient groups did it, but I would not be surprised if it was somewhat like a trench—maybe with some active encouragement for the charcoal and pottery.
This was great to read! I have avoided composting from my veg and flower gardens because it all looked so complicated and science-y. Yuck. One question, will this unprotected trench attract critters? I already have a bit of a problem in the veg garden itself with rabbits, deer, squirrels etc.
great question! it really depends on what you bury and how deep you go. meat and cooked foods are more fragrant and you always run more of a risk of attractive animals with them. i've had fine luck with burying veg and yard scraps, but i also bury deep! and cover it well when i am done.
Excellent advice!
best email subject line I've ever received
wow, will you write abt it on linkedin? highlight my strategic genius hahah (jk jk jk)
Cool post!
I was wondering if this approach might be effective for harder to compost items like bones or raw meat scraps? Also do you think you could be less precise about the greens to browns when you just bury the compost? I am in Texas and getting spare leaves is not always easy and I am a little shy to put so much cardboard into my garden dirt...
I have def recommended this as a meat disposal method before! And less precision much easier to manage in a trench vs an open pile (or other type of compost). !!
about how long should we leave it covered for the first round if it's just yard scraps? What a wonderful idea; and we have a neglected corner that's just the spot.
just yard scraps are easy, you can just add-as-you-go and it’s fine to open-and-close it, as you have stuff to add!!
Wanted to share that _Terra Preta_, the amazingly fertile dark earths of Amazonia, are largely attributed to what we might call "compost" of food scraps as well as wood charcoal and pottery fragments. This helped make it possible to practice agriculture in the poor soils of tropical rainforests! Not sure how ancient groups did it, but I would not be surprised if it was somewhat like a trench—maybe with some active encouragement for the charcoal and pottery.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_preta