British Columbia: Alternative to normal composting methods?

I find making compost to be a bit of a nuisance but I do believe there are advantages to adding organic matter to my vegetable garden. I'm considering just dumping all my compostable wastes in one section of my vegetable garden and then tilling it in the fall before planting a cover crop. Then I would plant vegetables in this area next year and assign a new section for a dumping area (as a part of my crop rotation). I'm wondering if this would be good for the soil or if there are any major concerns with adding organic waste that isn't composted. My goal is to build up long term fertility. Could this work?

 

Your plan will definitely work and will certainly improve fertility and the amount of organic matter. I bury all kitchen waste and other compostable material directly in the garden as soon as I have a 5-gallon pail full. This goes on year around in whatever location is vacant at the time. I don't always wait for that material to age or compost in place; sometimes seeds or transplants go in right on top of it within a few days. This has never resulted in any significant problems, and can actually produce some spectacular results. The most productive tomatoes that I planted this year were grown in that manner. I've been doing this for over 35 years in the same garden, and the soil keeps getting better. The only minor problem that I've encountered is the result of burying meat scraps and bones that attract animals, primarily raccoons. I just toss an old fishnet or chicken wire over the newly buried stuff, and that prevents serious digging.

 

vitog,
Thanks so much for the info. It is amazing what a confidence boost I get from just one person endorsing what I'm afraid is another one of my off-the-wall ideas.

Does it work well for you to plant seeds directly on this fresh kitchen waste? I've heard that the initial decomposition stage releases some kind of chemical that may prevent seeds from germinating and that it is best to wait for 2-4 weeks before planting in soil that has "fresh" plant material tilled in.

And if this works so well for some why do many people make such a big deal about making compost? Would there be a lot of wasted or leached nutrients because the material is not as stable as finished compost?

 

You used the word "normal" in the title. What do you mean by that?

 

Sorry for using a such a vague word. By "normal" I mean the more common practice of collecting the materials above ground and allowing it to decompose in a specialized composting system as opposed to the less common practice of putting it directly into the soil and allowing it to decompose in the ground.

 

Lclhrvst, I've never had problems with seeds germinating when planted above buried organic material, but I do bury it under at least 6" of topsoil, usually more. This method of composting is not that unusual. It sometimes goes by the name of "trench composting", and you can find plenty of information about it on the Web. Leaching of nutrients varies with the season and can be easily prevented by covering the soil with plastic during the wet months. I use clear plastic cloches over early season plantings; so leaching is minimized. "Normal" composting will have the same leaching issues if the pile is not covered in some manner.

 

Trench composting is not what I meant. What I'm talking about is just putting the waste directly on the surface and tilling it in. I understand the short-term implications of tying up nitrogen and the possibility for certain fresh plant materials to have a slight allelopathic effect. But I'm wondering if there would be any difference between incorporating composted or non-composted wastes in terms of long-term fertility improvement. How does it affect soil structure/biology?

 

Does your kitchen waste contain animal matter? If so, this is not a good idea. Otherwise I can see nothing wrong with it in general. It's a bit of a messy way of doing things though, isn't it? I have some grandchildren who play around the garden & I prefer to keep the waste materials a bit contained, or buried.

 

I was thinking of putting a temporary fence around the area I use for dumping and putting my chickens in there. They can eat whatever they want including the bugs attracted by the waste. I'm thinking I will save on chicken feed too. ;)

 

With using chickens it sounds like a good idea. Otherwise you could have a hatchery of all kinds of flies there.

 

Lysichton, I bury all kitchen waste, including meat and bones, in trenches. Because the meat is buried fairly deep, it does not attract flies or any other insect pests. Raccoons will try to dig it up occasionally, especially fish and crab waste; but it's quite easy to prevent their digging. However, I would not recommend including meat scraps in regular compost, because it will attract rats and mice to whatever container is employed. Meat and bones produce compost particularly high in nutrients.

 

I completely agree vitog. We have kitchen waste collection through the Municipality, so meat/bones etc. go off to the commercial composting facility. The rest of the kitchen waste goes into a rodent-proof commercial composter. The partially composted material goes from there into one of several fence-wire composters where it gets mixed with all the seed and disease-free trimmings & prunings. I add a layer or two of chicken manure as I get it. After a year or so, it goes on the garden as a top dressing around plants whose growth we wish to promote. Works great & uses little effort.

My neighbours who put meat and animal wastes into their compost alarm me. I put out rat poison whenever I see one!

 

Yep, I will second/third/fourth the various positive opinions on this thread: I skip all the uptightness regarding C-N ratios, layering, and temperature (as I'm in no rush) and maintain various ongoing trenches/piles composting all our kitchen waste: it's anaerobic, and takes longer to fully 'cook', but it's loaded with worms, and the result is always beautiful compost. Typically, I establish a pile, use it for a year, plant a tree in it, and move on down the line, to the next tree spot. Raccoons and ravens usually pop by and take away the larger bits, but they're around anyway, and seem to leave my fruit crops alone on account of the easy buffet.

Composting like this, which broadly speaking is anaerobic composting, retains a lot more nutrient than hot, fast piles.