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? asked in Home & GardenGarden & Landscape · 8 years ago

Id like to compost. What do think of tossing scraps directly into the soil and burying them?

I do have a composter now which is essentially a plastic container with doors that spins. BUT, it tends to attract a lot of bugs. Im aware of a "proper" ratio of dry and wet but i dont always have the material available and its still a chore. Why not just toss my veggie scraps right on mulch or soil and rake it in? it seems to work... what do you think?

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  • 8 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Putting undigested materials directly in the soil slows the process and actually robs the soil of nutrients.

    The best method is to simply pile the material in a heap on top of the ground. The combination of available oxygen, sunlight (heat) and ability to water and easily stir the mix will yield the best results.

  • 5 years ago

    Thoe 'bugs' are regularly exactly those beasts that turn your scraps into compost... Apart from that: simply pile them up on the bottom, and do not supply some thing cooked and absolutely not ever meat onto the heap. A compost heap in its most simple kind is just that - a heap of lifeless plant matter on the ground. Partitions on the side (if they let ait via) will help you to maintain the heap restricted to a small area, but aren't essential. With our two-compartment-heap, we work it like this: - right bin gets filled up in the course of the yr with something comes out of the backyard and uncooked vegetable/fruit scraps and waste from the kitchen. Due to the fact we in spring, the botommost layer is all the twigs from spring-cleaning and cutting within the garden, provoding some aeration at the botttom - in spring, the contents of the left bin get shovelled out and thrown through a sieve. Whatever falls by means of is used in the garden, anything remains to be too tremendous is thrown again into the left bin - on top of that, the contents of the right bin are put - on high of that, we plant a number of pumpkins and/or zucchini (this yr, the zucchini had been all eaten with the aid of snails, however the pumpkin is approaching very properly, at the side of really a number of mugwort - this now leaves the left bin time to quietly and throughly rot, the pumpkin provides colour, and the proper bin is empty for being crammed up once more -> return to start a couple (ok, 6 at the last count, including one in every of ours) of cats within the neighbourhood take care of the mice. Ok, if your heap is enormous adequate, it is going to digest whatever, up to and together with dead chickens, but it should smell and you'll be able to get a concern with scavengers like rats.

  • Anonymous
    8 years ago

    Thoe 'bugs' are probably exactly those beasts that turn your scraps into compost...

    Apart from that: just pile them up on the ground, and don't give anything cooked and definitely never meat onto the heap. A compost heap in its most basic form is just that - a heap of dead plant matter on the ground. Walls on the side (if they let ait through) will help you to keep the heap confined to a small area, but aren't essential.

    With our two-compartment-heap, we work it like this:

    - right bin gets filled up throughout the year with whatever comes out of the garden and raw vegetable/fruit scraps and waste from the kitchen. Since we start in spring, the botommost layer is all the twigs from spring-cleaning and cutting in the garden, provoding some aeration at the botttom

    - in spring, the contents of the left bin get shovelled out and thrown through a sieve. Whatever falls through is used in the garden, whatever is still too big is thrown back into the left bin

    - on top of that, the contents of the right bin are put

    - on top of that, we plant a few pumpkins and/or zucchini (this year, the zucchini were all eaten by snails, but the pumpkin is coming on very nicely, together with quite a lot of mugwort

    - this now leaves the left bin time to quietly and throughly rot, the pumpkin provides shade, and the right bin is empty for being filled up again -> return to start

    A couple (ok, 6 at the last count, including one of ours) of cats in the neighbourhood take care of the mice.

    Ok, if your heap is big enough, it'll digest anything, up to and including dead chickens, but it'll smell and you'll get a problem with scavengers like rats.

  • 8 years ago

    that is the pre composter way of doing it.Easier just to build a box out of chicken wire and four pieces of rebar about 3 feet tall,driven into the ground about a foot deep in a square shape,wrap chicken wire around it,secure it together with zip strips,and toss scraps in.wet it down when dry,and turn it over once a month.composter made.

    Source(s): did the same thing.
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  • frank
    Lv 7
    8 years ago

    I do that all the time, and in a few days it is all decomposed. I also put the discards inside a raised bed which I just finished using, and cover everything with a layer of horse manure, and plant right in it.

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