Composting Garden Wastes
Categories: Soils, Fertilizers and IrrigationYou recommend making a compost of all scrapings, garbage, weeds, etc. Is
there any danger in having this in a pit near the house?
If you desire to put garden wastes, including manure, into a pit, the
only objection would be the heavy work of digging it out again. If you
allow waste water from the house to run into the pit, there would
probably be not enough dry material to absorb it, and the pit would be
health. The water would also prevent decomposition, because of exclusion
of air. At the same time, enough moisture to promote slow decomposition
is essential. It is usually more convenient to compost garden wastes on
the surface of the ground, enclosing them with a plank retainer, because
moisture can easily be applied with a hose, as desirable, the material
can be occasionally forked over to promote decay, and the heavy work of
digging material out of a pit is avoided. Such a collection is neither
offensive nor dangerous if handled right.
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