How to make a composting trench

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How to make a composting trench

BBC Gardeners' World Magazine

Published: Tuesday, 24 September 2019 at 3:53 pm

Find how to make a composting trench for next year's crops.

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Making a composting trench is a great way to use up your organic kitchen waste and give your vegetable crops a boost in the coming growing season.

By placing your vegetable peelings in a trench to rot down over winter, you'll add nutrients to the soil and help to retain valuable moisture.

All it requires is a little forward planning, as you need to select in advance where you're going to grow your runner beans or other thirsty crops, such as courgettes or pumpkins.

You will need:

Organic kitchen waste
Garden spade

Step 1:

Dig out a trench about 60cm deep during late autumn or winter. Then start filling it with all your organic kitchen waste, such as vegetable peelings, mouldy fruit, apple cores, onion skins and even tea bags.

How to make a composting trench

Adding vegetable waste to the trench

Step 2:

Each time you add a batch of kitchen waste, cover it with a layer of soil. Continue until the trench is full, then top off with soil and leave it to rot down. As it does so, it will hold on to plenty of moisture, which is just what beans enjoy.

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Covering the batch with a layer of soil

Step 3:

In May or June, sow or plant your beans on top of the composting trench and their roots will go down into the moisture-retentive, nutrient-rich material, boosting their growth.

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Planting the beans on top of the trench

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