We have a large compost on the bottom part of our property and by the fall, it is heaped up.     Late in spring I will be turning one side to get at the composted material below.    We start at one side and lift the uncomposted material and place it on the top on the other side.    We continue this process until we get to the composted dark material below.    We dig the compost out and put in onto our vegetable beds, heaped up,  until it is to be used.    We keep the semi-composted materials in a  separate heap.    This  fibrous material can be used for mulching  for the drier months.    Most images are from the vegetable garden area in January.    Click an image for a lightbox view and a caption.

A partly-filled "trench"

the compost heap

snapdragons in January

arugula in January

We also used trench composting in the vegetable garden and we keep it simple.     We dig holes, usually 0.7 – 1.0 m wide and about 0.5 – 0.7 m deep.   We leave these holes open in several locations in the garden, different spots each year.    As we clean up the garden, we toss leaves, stems, roots, and kitchen compost into the holes.    We avoid weed seeds and any other undesirable materials.    Once a hole is mostly full, we cover it in soil.    To mark the spot, we mound the soil on the spot.

Once under the soil, we mostly forget about it.    In the meantime, it is decomposing and enriching the soil.    This has been a traditional method of composting for thousands of years and it is easy.    Keep it simple – dig a hole and fill it.

Gardeners buy all sorts of items to compost materials and create some laborious routines to handle their composting.    I use the compost heap for large volumes in fall and for some of the spring cleanup, but compost trenches/holes are a great alternative in the vegetable garden.