Trench Composting

Trench 8" down, toss in kitchen waste,
chop, add water and cover.  Easy!

I've been interested in so-called "trench composting" for awhile now and decided to finally put it to the test.  Trench composting is simply digging a trench in the dirt and burying kitchen scraps.  You don't retrieve the result, it's simply a passive technique to dispose of waste while enriching the soil.  Should attract worms and other beneficial yard citizens.

I've been on the hunt for a spoiled produce source to bump my nitrogen levels in my compost and also realized the same source could serve as a trench composting source.  After stopping by Produce World only to have the manager and his crappy attitude tell me "Yeah, other people have asked for spoiled produce but we don't keep it separate from the glass and other trash." "Are you willing to separate it if I supply you a container?" "No, I don't want to"  Next stop was TJ's and the manager informed me that some food kitchen or something comes by and grabs their stuff.  Hmpphh!... well fine!

I did two trenches side by side, this one a
bit more shallow to test if it matters.

Then I'm driving by and see "Edible Arrangements" and remember my neighbor Frank telling me months ago that he wanted to ask them for compost ingredients.  I stopped, met John who had a great attitude and told me he had actually been LOOKING for a recipient for all his fruit waste. Long story short he's going to ask his guys to throw their scraps into a container I left for them.  John had a great attitude and seemed truly relieved to have someone walk in and ask for the very junk he responsibly wanted to handle.  While I was there I grabbed a box of pineapple tops from the dumpster.

I'll dig up a section in about a month or so and see what it looks like.  Pineapple tops are pretty tough and probably not the best to test with but oh well, Tomorrow I should have a tub full of watermelon, cantaloupe, etc. to test with in another trench.