Now let’s be clear with one thing, off the bat. I’m no gardner and this post will kind of declare that. But, I do care about having a decent enough garden in the front yard ~ sorry dandelions, and having some kind of vegetables in the backyard as only the sunshine will allow. You see I have six maple trees hovering over our yard in the back – creating enough shade little strands of grass don’t even bother to grow in most places. Funny though, how the weeds don’t have a problem with that ;)
So my green thumb (I’m sure it’s green in some way somewhere) will have to wait for a better yard. Still, I do with what I have. I plant my tomato plants in pots so I can move them around with the sun, and I have plenty of raspberries in the side yard. Peonies are starting to poke through big and strong and all the other plants seem to be thriving just fine now on what used to be a hard clay soil.
One thing I do and have been doing to contribute to our lovely little garden is ditching the compost! Being the lazy-gal I sometimes am ~ you wouldn’t be surprised, right? I find ways to make life easier and spend less! I don’t have a composter – (it didn’t matter how bad a begged for our last anniversary!) And I still get the full benefit of having a highly nutritious soil!
How to ditch your compost :
First, you’ll need a piece of uncultivated soil in an area where it’s at least partially sunny. You will use this to continually add scraps to into different parts throughout the season, so don’t plan to plant things into this area. Collect fruit and vegetable scraps from your kitchen and Ditch your Compost :
- Dig a hole deep enough, at least 20″ or so
- Throw in your kitchen scraps
- Cover with soil completely, and pat down with the back of the shovel or with your feet
Leave for about a few weeks in that area, then go back and turn the soil over to spread out the nutrition of the newly composted soil.
Proof I’m no gardner is in the sandals and dress I wear ;D
Once you’re done, the ground just looks empty and there’s no sign of your secret master plan! Be sure to dig it deep enough so that rotting vegetation will not come through (or its smells) onto the top. Racoons would be happy finding it – but if it’s deep enough and patted down with soil on top – they will not detect it. If you are concerned about animals digging up your scraps, you can lay down some chicken wire overtop secured with a few larger rocks. I also do this seasonally so once the first signs of frost are gone and I can dig through the soil up until the late fall.
Honestly, I was a little embarrassed of my composting style. And although I’ve been doing this seasonally since we’ve lived in this house for over 4 years, I have not shared my secret…. That is until I came across some interesting info in a book called Secrets to Great Soil at the library the other day.
They call it Pit or Trench Composting, but it’s essentially the same thing. Creating a ‘pit’ or ‘ditch’ near your garden, and making that your composting area. As you work through the garden, all your scraps can get added in. Then the next spring, you can plant overtop of your compost site and turn the other section into your pit or trench compost. So simple!
What I like about this is that is light work and it’s free. I didn’t have to get a composter for X amount of money. And I don’t have to reach in with a shovel, do any maintenance high in a big ol’ plastic container. This way it’s low to the ground, that even when I had rough weakness symptoms in my arms, I could still manage to ‘ditch my compost’ ;D
Also, this is a good try to see if you’re the composting type. Saving kitchen scraps is an art of its own ~ it’s not for everyone from what I hear… If you can’t stand it because the though of it makes you sick ~ at least try a little by little to bury your scraps. Think of how happy your soil and your plants : flowers and vegetables will be when you spread some compost love around them. It’s free, as you ‘make’ kitchen food scraps everyday anyway and you don’t need to commit to a purchase of a composter. It’s also truly low maintenance.
So go ahead…. Ditch your Compost!
Do you compost food scraps in your home?
If you have any composting or gardening tips, please do share.
Blogger, Recipe Developer, Photographer and Author. Loves healthy food, photography, sunshine and dancing in the kitchen with her two daughters. 
I am definitely a composting gal – I grew up composting and my Dad has the best soil around from it!
There is a little ceramic composting pot with a charcoal filter that sits on my counter – all veggie and fruit scraps go in, once full goes out to the compost pile- which is just that a pile….I am a terrible composter, I layer but don’t turn – everything breaks down over the summer/winter and then the following spring is added to the Garden :)
You are so funny- sandals and a dress! When I am traveling I often throw my scraps in the woods instead of the trash! Bananas decompose in 3-4 weeks! Great post! :) :)
Hey, we can give you our composter. We’ve been trying to get rid of it. Trade ya for the baby swing.
Being a gardener I know the importance of organic manure and usually include weeds, kitchen scraps, fish emulsions, seaweed, coffee grounds while preparing organic manure.