this post was submitted on 04 Sep 2023
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Composting
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Anything related to composting, vermicomposting, bokashi, etc.
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Is there a reason you can't just toss food waste into a corner of the garden and cover with a thin layer of soil? Assuming no animals to mess with it.
If it’s buried it could break down anaerobically, which is how methane gets produced. Compost specifically means aerated somehow. Minimally: being above ground. Ideally: actively turned.
About the animals comment… not owning pets doesn’t mean animals won’t mess with it. Virtually everywhere in the world that people are, rats also are. And they will come for food scraps. They are wily and wary and a lot of people are never aware of them. But keep it in mind as well. They can carry disease and they are pests generally which you don’t want to attract and feed.
You totally can! That's often how things break down in nature after all. I'd recommend searching YouTube for "burying kitchen scraps in garden"... There are a bunch of gardening channels that have done this experiment and made videos of the results.
So... What's the advantage of a compost bin? Sorry if these are overly basic questions.
Nothing. You absolutely 100% don’t need a bin or tumbler to compost. In my opinion they just waste money and limit you on scale. Ground piles are superior. If you’re working in a compact space you’ll want some kind of walls to help you build the pile upward or it will range out sideways quite a bit. If you have plenty of space, a pile is all you need and is the easiest thing to turn.
You can. I do. Works just fine.
All the stuff in the graphic is how to optimize and "do it right", but nature don't care. Make a pile and it'll figure it out.