Alternative Compost Techniques

Don’t let a lack of space stop you from composting. Convert kitchen scraps and garden debris into compost right in the garden.

Use the pathway between gardens for sheet composting. Place damaged plant leaves, annual weeds that have not flowered or gone to seed and similar plant trimmings in the pathways. As you walk across the path you help break these down and speed decomposition.

Next year, the path becomes your garden bed and the garden bed your path – so you have amended the soil and rotated plantings with this technique.

Or bury plant-based kitchen scraps in a hole or trench at least 12 inches deep. Dig a hole, toss in the plant scraps and cover with soil. Or dig a trench between rows of annual flowers and vegetables. Start at one end of the trench, adding compostables and covering with soil.

A bit more information: Keyhole gardening is another way to incorporate composting into the garden. These keyhole shaped gardens include an inner circle for composting. The compost helps supply water and nutrients to the surrounding garden.