Where are my composters at?

[elaine amj]

An update - adding shredded paper, egg cartons, and straw has helped quite a lot. I'd say I'm still only maybe a quarter brown but because veggie pulp and peelings break down so quickly, the brown ends up being a higher percentage very fast. The straw hasn't broken down much at all. We add brown maybe 1-2x a week although we add green every 1-2 days.

I just tossed my compost yesterday and it looks good. Turning nicely black without stinking. No more poopy sludge lol!

I will continue working on adding brown more regularly but in the meantime, I'll take this as a win since that's one less bag of stuff in the landfill! Still trying to come up with a good composting routine.

Recently, I had been lazy and had 3 days worth of compost in my kitchen which had quickly outgrown my container so we had started using plastic bags as well.  When I dropped a nasty half decomposed pile of veggie pulp on the floor, I was really peeved and regretting the idea of composting.

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[Peony2019]

Does anyone know if in-situ composting is as effective as top dressing for garden production?  For the past six months I have been adding ripped cardboard and cut brown paper to my kitchen scraps then I burry the mix in trenches around the garden and yard.  It is amazing how quickly the waste breaks down.  The number of worms in the garden has increased significantly.  I just can't find any articles indicating if top dressing is still needed/recommended in addition. I think I am missing the 'mulch' factor with this method but it sure is a lot cleaner than previous attempts at the free standing method.

[RetiredAt63]

Does anyone know if in-situ composting is as effective as top dressing for garden production?  For the past six months I have been adding ripped cardboard and cut brown paper to my kitchen scraps then I bury the mix in trenches around the garden and yard.  It is amazing how quickly the waste breaks down.  The number of worms in the garden has increased significantly.  I just can't find any articles indicating if top dressing is still needed/recommended in addition. I think I am missing the 'mulch' factor with this method but it sure is a lot cleaner than previous attempts at the free standing method.

What you are doing is sometimes called trench composting.  In some ways it is more effective than composting in a compost bin, because the soil organisms are there to break it down and there is likely to be much less nitrogen loss.  Plus you don't have to do the work of turning it!  The downside is that the nutrients and carbon are in the trenches, not in the soil in general.  However, worms and other soil organisms will move them around, and roots will grow into them.

Top dressing for soil improvement depends on nutrients leaching down and soil organisms pulling bits of material into the ground.   If the top dressing is evenly spread the resulting benefits will also be evenly spread.  If one area needs more help it can be given more attention.  Top dressing is often not really effective as a mulch, it depends on what the top dressing is and how thickly it is applied and how fast it breaks down.  Straw, for example, is a good mulch because it doesn't break down fast and basically lasts the season (at least it lasts for my short season), but it isn't doing much for the soil while it is being a mulch.

Every garden is its own little unique ecosystem.  Look at your garden and see how the trench compositing is benefiting it overall.  If it is working, great.  If some areas need more, then top dress there or do more trench composting there.  For mulch why does your garden need mulch?  What is the function of the mulch?  Can you get the same result with a living mulch?  Or planting closely enough that your plants form a closed canopy?

[Peony2019]

Thank you, Retiredat63. 
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For mulch why does your garden need mulch?  What is the function of the mulch?  Can you get the same result with a living mulch?  Or planting closely enough that your plants form a closed canopy?
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I was thinking that mulching w/ compost it would help retain water over the summer months as well as feed the soil.  Perhaps using compost and mulch interchangeably is a misunderstanding on my part.  I did get a bale of chopped straw for mulch but now am getting many unwanted starts growing from it.  It is fun to learn, nevertheless.  I also like your idea about planting close to form a closed canopy for both weed prevention and water retention. 
 

[RetiredAt63]

Thank you, Retiredat63. 
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For mulch why does your garden need mulch?  What is the function of the mulch?  Can you get the same result with a living mulch?  Or planting closely enough that your plants form a closed canopy?
-----

I was thinking that mulching w/ compost it would help retain water over the summer months as well as feed the soil.  Perhaps using compost and mulch interchangeably is a misunderstanding on my part.  I did get a bale of chopped straw for mulch but now am getting many unwanted starts growing from it.  It is fun to learn, nevertheless.  I also like your idea about planting close to form a closed canopy for both weed prevention and water retention. 
 

Compost is to feed the soil (which you are doing with the trench composting).

Mulch protects the soil surface from erosion (wind and rain), from drying out, from over-heating, from compaction by heavy rainfall, and discourages weeds a bit.  I find that weeds do grow through my mulch but are easier to pull out.

If we look at nature, most areas do mulching anyway - leaves fall, grasses get beaten down, the soil is not bare.  When we go for the tidy look, we are exposing the soil to damage.