How to use Trench Composting to make perfect planting soil for flowers and vegetables

One of the easiest and most beneficial things you can do for your garden or flower bed is to regularly add compost. Not only does it help the environment by loosening and aerating the soil it adds nutrients that your plants will love. Trench composting is for those who have neither the space or desire to build and work a large compost pile.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• round point shovel
• vegetable scraps
• yard waste
• scrap food
• plastic bucket with lid

1. Trench composting is exactly what the name implies. Dig a trench, fill it with your compost material, cover it and let it work through the winter. Then in the spring work it up and you have the perfect planting medium for your flowers or vegetables.

2. 
    
   scrap bucket

   To save cooking and food scraps to recycle in your compost keep a plastic bucket with a lid, an ice cream bucket works great for this, available to collect them. Save things such as potato peelings, egg shells anything that is biodegradable. Keep the bucket on your kitchen counter to collect scraps and empty into your compost pile every couple of days. When you empty your bucket rinse it out and dump that into your compost as well.

3. 
    
   shovel depth

   Start by digging a trench the depth of the blade on your shovel. I have several of these that are 6 ft long but the length depends on what your specific needs are.

4. 
    
   compost

   Start filling the trench with material to be composted. Leaves, grass clippings, food preparation scraps from fruits and vegetables such as peelings. Any organic material can be added to the trench.

5. 
    
   covered

   When you have a section of your trench filled with compost material simply cover it over with dirt you dug from the trench. Water it until thoroughly wet and leave it until spring. The natural enzymes, insects and earthworms will work to break down all the materials leaving you with the perfect planting medium for your flowers and vegetables come spring.

6. Fuller1972 wrote another interesting article on composting the link can be found in the resource pane along with other natural articles.

Tips & Warnings

• NEVER add bones, fat, grease or any meat material to your compost trench. This will smell awful when it rots and it also invites dogs and cats and wild animals to dig your compost up.
• Add the least amount of salt that you can to the compost as well. Plants and salt aren't the best of friends.

Resources

• Fuller1972 composting article
• mpodlesny tip for composting
• PawPawFrankie's Other eHow Articles

[slphilbrick]

on 1/6/2009 This is one of those "why didn't I think of that?" articles... sheesh... for all the years I've been knee deep in my compost heaps with a pitchfork (which isn't easy to turn)... my life could've been so much simpler. But now I know....and my back thanks you !

[Fuller1972]

on 1/4/2009 Good idea for composting, thanks for the tip. Would you like to exchange links with this article of mine? How to Compost Inexpensively and Without Attracting Pests
http://www.ehow.com/how_2281580_compost-inexpensively-attracting-pests.html