A lazy gardener's guide to composting
Neil DeGrasse Tyson says he wants to be buried after death so that his energy can be returned to the earth. I am not a religious person; I don't care what does or doesn't happen after death. But I absolutely agree with Tyson's view on the value of returning our energy to the earth. But until the sad day comes when my body can be laid to rest in a simple wooden box (or in one of these kick-ass tree pods), I'll do my part by composting.
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Composting is the process of breaking down organic matter over a period of time so that it can be used as a soil conditioner or fertilizer. Instead of letting your compostable garden and household waste rot in a landfill, you can use one of several composting methods to break down the materials so that they can be returned to the soil, where their energy can be used to grow new plants.
I've tried various composting methods in the past, with little success. First, we started with one of those black plastic closed bins, but found that the bin couldn't keep up with the large amount of organic waste our yard and household produced. I've also tried creating a compost pile, but found that the unsightly mess took far too long to break down. I've even (inadvertently) tried garbage bag composting, where you put a bunch of organic waste in a garbage bag and then forget about it. It works surprisingly well, but the smell and use of plastic bags (albeit recyclable) nevertheless bumped this method from my list.
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Needless to say, I was at a bit of a loss and ready to give up my composting journey, until Tyson's video re-inspired me. After a couple of Google searches, I came across the perfect composting method for me: pit composting, a.k.a. the lazy gardener's dream.
Reasons pit composting rocks
With pit composting, you simply dig a hole, toss in your plant waste, add a bit of water, and then cover the hole with dirt. Then you sit back and wait while Mother Nature does the rest.
I chose this method for three reasons:
- I'm impatient. It only takes a few minutes to dig a compost pit in my garden, toss in the waste and recover it with a dirt.
- I'm cheap. Since I already own a shovel, this composting method literally costs nothing.
- I'm lazy. I don't have to worry about hauling and spreading the composted material -- I can just mix it into the soil when I till the garden at the end of the season. No mess. No fuss.
How to create a pit compost
- Dig a hole. I try to make mine at least two feet square by two feet deep.
- Dump in your organic waste. I fill the pit to the top because the material will compress under the weight of the soil, and as it breaks down.
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- Add water. This helps the organic waste to break down faster.
- Cover the pit with a thick layer of dirt. I mound at least six to 12 inches of soil on top of my compost pits, using dirt from the next pit I'm digging. You want to ensure the dirt is thick enough to prevent the weeds and seeds from growing.
Pit composting isn't for every gardener. For one, it requires a fair amount of space. I'm fortunate that I have a large garden area to work with, meaning I can plant all the vegetables I want and still have plenty of room to compost. By rotating my crops and composting in new areas each year, I'm hopeful that over the cycle of a couple of years, I'll be able to enrich my entire garden without having to haul and spread compost.
This first year is certainly a learning experience, and while my system appears to be working, I won't know whether it was a success until I till the soil in the fall. There is a slim -- but very real -- chance that I'll be tilling up intact weeds instead of the nutrient-rich buried treasure I'm hoping for. But don't worry -- I'll keep you posted on how this plays out. ;-)
Until then, I'm still interested in learning about the pros and cons of other composting methods. If you have a different method that you use, please share. And if you've tried pit composting and have any advice or tips, please comment.
Trench composting is great, I generally like to add a few healthy handfuls of red wiggler worms from my bin to the food scraps when I do this.
That's a great idea!
I nominate @redhens as head of the gardening community when communities finally start up on Steemit!! :)
Yessssss. I am in desperate need to apply this new knowledge from your composting post ;). Here in Florida the ground is so barren that we always have to buy topsoil to get dropped in any where because here on the coast it is all sand and shale mixed in with just a tiny little bit of soil. Now I can start practicing this and incorporating it in. Thank you for the great information.
good job girl !!
you have good idea @redhens ...
continue i support you..
and i will be happy if you upvote my last posts..
thanks...
Thank you for sharing! I know composting is important, but to be honest, I've been unsure and ill-informed about it until now.
We have a lot of 5 gallons buckets that we keep outside and use for compostable stuff during the winter. When spring comes, as soon as the soil is workable, we add it to the soil in various places just as you do and in a few weeks it has worked into the soil which is now enriched for planting. This has allowed us over time to build up our rocky soil.
This is also useful when planting new fruit and nut trees-- added to the deep hole at the bottom along with peat moss and other organic fertilizers.
During the summer we add it to the soil when crops are done for the season or in soil that has been left fallow.
This is indeed a "lazy" but functional way to dispose of all that we do not offer to the chicken, who makes manure out of it AND spreads it around.
That sounds like a great idea! I'll have to try it out myself this winter.