Trench Composting

[The Helpful Gardener]

Careful what you leave. Some like brussel sprouts, cabbages and their ilk (crucifers) will develop club root if grown in the same spot year after year and tilling them in would help perpetuate that fungus...

[opabinia51]

Oh, I actually throw my Squash plants onto the compost pile and pretty much turn everything else right into the soil. Though, this year I am doing corn and I will be chopping up those plants and most likely adding them to the compost pile.

Hope this is what you are looking for.

[opabinia51]

Yes, Scott's advice is sound. When turning vegetables into the soil it is important to still use crop rotation strategies. If you grow the same plant in the same place year after year, bacteria, fungi and insects that prey on that plant will accumulate in the soil and disease the plant or other plants that are in the same family.
But, simply turning them into the soil shouldn't really be a problem. When I turn something into the soil (especially some dense like a cabbage) I chop it up into smaller bits first. For that matter, I do that with my compost pile stuff as well.

[grandpasrose]

I'm a little slow joining this discussion - I never till anything. When building a new garden, we just build it right on top of the sod! We put thick layers of old black and white newspaper down, then soil, leaves, straw, grass clippings, compost, manure, etc. on for a year or so in the outline that we plan to garden. By the time the newspaper has decomposed, the sod underneath has decomposed as well and turned into it's own compost! We then plant, and continue year after year to add mulch of the above items, and have gorgeous lush gardens.
I began this way, because about ten years ago, the disks in my back began degenerating so badly that I could not do alot of digging. The things we discover when we have to rethink the way we do things!
VAL (Grandpa's Rose)

[opabinia51]

That's the way to do it Val. I personally don't use newspaper but, that's just a personal choice. And good on you for using the black and white newspaper. The colour articles contain dioxins that are bad for plants and humans.

[opabinia51]

A great addition to trench composts is eggshells. Eggshells contain calcium but, also have a beneficial NPK value (refer to NPK Thread) that will also benefit plants. I personally get them by the bucket load from my university cafeteria. They even give me the bucket!

Anyway, be sure to crush the shells first.

[opabinia51]

Yes, now would a be a great time to get those trench composts into the garden. I put my last one (for this year) into my vegetable garden last Saturday. Get them in now, then on October 1st (or round their abouts) you can start on your sheet mulch. (as I am planning to do).

Incidentally, what I did for greens (for my trench last weekend) was: I topped off all my 12 foot Jerusalem Artichokes and cut them up, and placed the cuttings in the trench atop some leaves. I have a total lack of weeds to put in my trenches now, because I densely planted Fall Rye in August.