Gardening Tip: Compost Heap Alternative

Ruth Dobsevage, editor

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1. Dig a trench across the bed.

Ruth Dobsevage

2. Dump in your veggie scraps, including the bag, if it's paper.

Ruth Dobsevage

3. Bury the scraps with the soil from a new trench, dug next to this one.

Ruth Dobsevage

1. Dig a trench across the bed.

Photo: Ruth Dobsevage

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When the kitchen garbage pail fills up with scraps, I usually dump it in the compost heap, bag and all. But in the fall, when the compost heap itself is ready to be emptied, or when it has just been emptied, I don’t want to do that. Here’s what I do instead.

In an empty garden bed—usually there are at least one or two by summer's end—I dig a 12 to 18-inch-deep trench crosswise at one end, piling the soil I spade up right next to it (photo 1). I put the garbage in, bag and all (photo 2), then dig an adjacent trench, and with that soil cover the first one (photo 3). And so on down the line. By spring, everything is decomposed, and the enriched bed is ready for planting.

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Comments (1)

JadaE writes: How interesting! I will definitely try this since my composter is full right now! I'm always looking for ways to enrich my Georgia clay soil! :)
Posted: 9:31 am on September 10th

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