Why I DON'T compost anymore! (Easiest way to compost)

Okay okay, so it still is technically composting, but not in the traditional sense. Hope you all enjoy the video :)
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/ frenchiepowell

[@robertjanez7467]

So true, I stopped using my 65G composter bins, as it took too long and I wasn't sure I was watering it enough. Now I just hand till in one grocery bag of kitchen scraps directly under my fruit trees every couple of days of kitchen work, then cover with mulch (leaves, dead plant material), and let nature (microorganisms and rain moisture) do the work naturally. I stay away from meat bones to avoid raccoons or other animals digging at my tree roots.

[@BeautifulEarthJa]

I've been doing this with my plant pots for ages! Great! I will eat a banana, drop the skin in and then cover with leaves!

[@timapple9580]

we have come full circle, my grandparents used to just put the kitchen scraps into the garden

[@amyperez4536]

Yes! I remember my grandmother just throwing the scraps out onto the garden.

[@simonsam5541]

you probably dont care but if you're bored like me atm you can watch pretty much all of the new series on Instaflixxer. Have been watching with my brother recently xD

[@raylantrace5626]

@Simon Sam yea, I've been watching on InstaFlixxer for since november myself :D

[@pradhumansharma9770]

Same here. My granny does the same

[@TheFourthWinchester]

I do that too. I'm too lazy to compost and the stuff decomposes in a week or two easily anyway.

[@katrinahendrey9826]

You are so right, I just got into composting and I find it stressful. For yrs I threw all my crap under my back tree and it’s beautiful soil under it all full of worm casting. Now I’ve bought a cold compost bin and it’s sending me nuts. I’m sticking with my old way. Thanks for sharing

[@noramaegomez1003]

Just make sure the hay doesn't have any chemicals from the grower's to prevent weeds from growing in the hay or straw ECT. But I totally agree with you 💯👍

[@agardenramble4479]

Love it! I’ve been doing this with my garden due to health issues! Thought I would pay for my laziness but I now have beautiful living beds! Thank you for posting.

[@joyfulstand7398]

This morning before I saw this video. I was thinking the same way. I've been composting for a year. First time, I used the pile /turn technique, above ground, near big pine tree, but 200 feet from my vegetable garden in pots. Pine tree loved the compost pile. But, I hated dragging the compost to my garden pots. 2nd compost pile 10 feet away from my garden pots. Yes! 3rd pile started this am, right in the middle of my first rocky soil garden. I'm gonna add mulch all over & keep composting in my bad soil. You give me even more confidence. Thankyou!

[@frenchiepowell]

Best of luck! Mulching definitely makes the creation of good soil a far lighter task! Feel free to check out our video on slash mulch for another way to reduce labor :)

[@ugtitto2654]

I started using my lawn grass as a mulch about three months ago. Yesterday as I was digging a planting hole I lost count of earth warms. And the soil underneath this mulch was so easy to dig!

[@kanhdahar2]

weeds come out a treat too

[@bubbysbub]

I've never understood all the rules and requirements of composting. I have a 'bin' made of pallets, but it's more a place to dump things that is semi acceptable without covering it over, and the pumpkins grow out the side, hahahaha. If it gets smelly, I grab a fallen branch or three off the side of the road on my walks, and chuck it on top. No work, NO turning, only dumping. I also have some 'compots' that sit in my vegie beds for the kids to dump scraps into without disturbing veg they might not notice, but that's more for the kids not digging up baby seedlings while actually feeding the veg. But I never turn anything, I could give two hoots about what you 'can't' compost- my tomatoes are currently growing where we dug a shallow hole and filled it up with prawn heads and scales, and covered it over with dirt and mulch- and I throw everything from chicken bones to rancid coconut in our pile. Old bread, cooked foods, stuff with salt content, I don't care, throw it in. Once I wanted to fertilise our lawn, but not spend any money, so we just saved a couple of buckets of kitchen scraps, then threw them across the lawn right before we mowed. They got mulched up by the mower so they weren't noticeable by the neighbours, and we left the cut grass where it was. Instant green lawn, no effort. I don't get this turning thing. Sometime I fill pots with kitchen scraps, torn up waste paper, and whatever chop and drop is lying around, mulch it and wait a month, and then I have a half pot of compost I can top up with coir and manure, and I have a super fertile planting spot for a tomato or a pumpkin vine. I've grown kilos and kilos of the most amazing pumpkins from a 20cm pot I threw scraps into. I AM the type that absolutely sees no problem with chucking my apple core into the bushes by the side of the road. Bugs will come, lizards and birds will eat, fungus and bacteria go crazy, and the trees become happier. It's all natural!! Good on you for not giving a hoot for the rules. Nature does not give two figs for our composting rules. She'll break down a slimy bit of bacon just as soon as a pile of tea bags and egg shells, and she won't care how many greens and browns there are while doing it. Throw it all in, throw it wherever, and not worry about it. If the worms won't go near it, something else will. Nature finds a way, and better off the stuff makes your garden more fertile than go to the tip. To form a new vegie bed, make a layered no dig bed, but don't bother with all the expensive materials bought in from elsewhere!! Newspaper or cardboard, lots of food scraps, mulch. Wait a month. Ta da!! Low-to-no cost bed, teeming with biodiversity and readily available nutrient for our plants, and ultimately, us. Again, I say, good on you, dude. This is exactly what I like to see. People using common sense, and saving their backs for retirement. Viva la compost revolution!

[@katallen4021]

Way more logical to let nature do as it will. Keep up the great work of educating and enlightening, Frenchie!

[@annmorgana2848]

i love and agree with everything you say here. just one thing, make sure you throw those apple cores etc at least 10 from the road and preferably into thick brush. the problem is that food attracts rodents, hunting birds see them and often using the road as the flightpath, and they get smucked by cars because they are so focussed on their prey. broke my heart to find a young great horned owl dead on the road for that reason.

[@AllGrowing]

@@annmorgana2848 Totally agree!

[@gcgarden4007]

I totally agree with this.. I did make a video about composting and someone commented that my material was not enough because as they know the measurements are 50 percent brown 50 percent green and then put some animal manure, but the problem is I dont have really enough to make a compost bin. What I want is to make people understand that whatever available materials you have at home you can still compost them and turn into a healthy fertilizer for your plants. I dont like complicating things and in the end we would be lazy to plant or garden at home because we think what were doing is wrong and the others do it perfectly. I dont want any measurements because I know that if I will follow those measuring thing I would end up NOT PLANTING.

[@mswriterfly]

Love it!

[@allenkinahan6955]

I did this by accident over a few years, in a tiny shaded garden I started, just piled it under straw. Absolute best soil quality on my property which is pure sand. I had broccoli and cabbage in that garden that turned out great.

[@janesanford2701]

Thankyou for getting 'real' about it. How come what makes so much sense is so simple.

[@frenchiepowell]

Crazy how it all works! We think profound things just be complex, but often times the simplest things are the most powerful.

[@ginaleeker914]

So glad to see this here. I've been composting this way while using Ruth Stout's methods for the last 35 years. Love it!

[@AllGrowing]

Hooray, composting freedom! I'm excited thinking about the permaculture planting I'm planning to do when in a couple of months I finally, at an older (young) age, move into a house with a garden. The composting bit wasn't clear in my mind, so now, easy does it. Thank you!

[@claire2470]

...EASY PEASY!🤗 Your idea is best for those who have a garden like yours. THANKS for SHARING...

[@lorrie2878]

It's huge!

[@pradhumansharma9770]

Man you're so relatable. Ive also started seeing the same technique. Where i take months making compost which wouldn't even fill my garden and here fill all thise scraps in your garden. A lot of that carbon and nitrogen which gets wasted back in air will be saved in heaps!!! Less work, more nutrition! Now whats better than that

[@noorarahimi1498]

Thank you for sharing your experience I have been really thinking about if should or shouldn't buy a compost bin, and what's the easiest way to do, but really this is what I wanted to hear

[@gcgarden4007]

Love this video. Let nature do its thing. We dont have to complicate things and end up not planting because we would think what were doing is wrong. In my opinion, theres is no wrong way in composting as long as your composting and your making it to fertilize your plant. Watching from Philippines ❤

[@xtina12307]

I was seriously thinking about this today but wasn't sure! Thank you for validating my thoughts!!!

[@TheWildsourdough]

Cover it- don't discover it ! This is the way to do it- Like Ruth Strout, throw it on the ground, cover it up and let it decompose. It will be gone in no time. I do have compost piles in pallets- but that's just for the big stuff like tall grass and sunflowers and sticks and leaves. Never turn it, just let it set for a year or two and it is ready. Good Video !

[@frenchiepowell]

Thanks 👍 I agree, it works for everything, but works best on small things. I find larger things still decompose faster this way, BUT it's annoying when you go to plant and find all sorts of long half rotten tough material in your way that you have to move aside (why I keep sticks on top).

[@kgktan]

Many years ago,I experienced the back breaking job of composting the conventional way and had bears coming to feast on it so I stopped composting.Now I am contemplating to do it again because compost are not cheap .I thought of your method but I'm concerned about attracting rodents and raccoons.

[@carvedwood1953]

I do multiple methods including this one, but it is generally not as helpful to me. I feel like its only really helpful if you are already completely established. I still keep a compost pile and some vermicompost bins because I need a supply of compost to be used for creating new beds, adding to potting mix, starting seedlings, and so forth.

[@wes9451]

Lol, I'm too impatient for compost bins. I just end up filling them for a month or two at a time and the unfinished mix ends up growing potatoes or cabbage or something else. Honestly only had the place a year and have to get every square foot growing something.

[@martisbvk]

You are absolutely correct. This method amends the existing soil with nitrogen dense biomass. It does not create a compost that can be used to establish new garden beds or container gardens.

[@bas6605]

We have been doing it for years. Kitchen scraps, works well. Cuttings and so forth, drop them on site...the soil will eat it. Weeds...cut them off before they flower and leave to decompose in the same spot. Normally after 3/4 times weeds will have no seeds left and dissapear having laboured the soil and fed it too. Avoid digging , plowing and other big movements in the ground. Keep it to the minimum.It all comes down to letting the soil do what it does best. Bonus! Less work. You can turn into a idle farmer. In our case that means to enjoy a bbq or picknick in the gardens, listening to things grow. Instead of doing back breaking work disturbing nature at work.

[@avicenniamarine]

Hi, that's what I do this day. I have some empty spots in our garden that need to be given back to live. so I shovel it, water it and toss some organic matter in there. whatever i have, i even tell my family to do the same. I will cover it with some dry leaves and leave it be. the next day I toss banana peels, cover with another dry leaves and water it a bit. and so on. it had been few days but it didn't smell at all, only smells sweet fermenting from banana peels, but I covered it well so it didn't smell.. when the first time I shovel the soil, I didn't see any single worm and other life things in it. now it had been past few days I try to turn the soil so the soil mix up the scrap a little bit and I got a small worm. I am scared to worms but happy to see it.

[@martisbvk]

Google "No dig gardening". You will benefit greatly from leaving the soil undisturbed. This allows the bacteria and fungi to establish themselves without being killed.

[@abcxyz-kc7ch]

I did this too with my old wheelie bin. Throw stuff in. Layer it with lawn cuttings. Then recently started forking it more. But now I am going back to just letting it do its own thing. Also just stuff the cuttings and waste into a plastic bag and leaving it at the back of the garden, to break down also works unassisted.

[@Fuentes2722]

Thanks Frenchie! I have composted my last kitchen scraps thanks to this video, going the ez route!

[@Meg-eq2md]

YES!!!! This makes so so so much sense. This is perfect. Thank you :)

[@KeikoMushi]

During the drier time of the year, bush turkeys move up from a nearby creek looking for food. As they started digging my garden beds, I decided to start a compost pile to preoccupy them. Whilst it didn't solve the problem completely, it did reduce their digging and meant that I didn't have to turn the pile. Some permaculture farmers and homesteaders tend to implement some sort of animal-powered tilling and/or nutrient cycling into their setup. For now though, I have some wild birds doing it for me on a small scale.

[@marycampbell9539]

Thank you for this valuable information! I have learned so much from you and now I can stop doing the crazy things that I thought one needed to do to make a successful garden! You are fantastic! Thanks again.

[@frenchiepowell]

Glad the info has come in handy! Thanks for your comment!

[@wardroland270]

Thanks FP. Great job. Good info. I will be checking out more of your videos.

[@greggy553]

My garden is my compost pile ~ Ruth Stout

[@royaljames3233]

Greg Dent do you have any videos of it

[@burritosburritos]

I've been doing this. Some people call it in situ composting or on site composting. I usually dig a little hole to the moist part of the soil. Dump it. Cover it with a layer of woodchips and the put a 12x12 brick paver over it to ward off mammal critters. After a few days, I do notice that there is a good amount of unearthing round the perimeter of the brinck paver. It's the birds cause they are going after the new cluster of worms that have come to the in situ compost nidus. I don't have chickens and their poop, but I do have tons of house finch poop in the wood chips.

[@he7is7at7hand]

I love it! Thanks! Here in hot dry west Texas it's hard to do any kind of compost pile. It takes too much babysitting, because it easily dries out. I'm just going to throw it under my mulch like you do and go with it. Thanks so much!

[@jksatte]

Melba what do you use for mulch? I live in FL and there really is no straw or hay here and wood chips just lead to insect problems. I know some parts or TX are warm and have fire ant issues as well. Jance

[@frenchiepowell]

@@jksatte just noticed your comment. I started out in Florida in the St Pete area. We achieved amazing results using wood chips, but also mixed with green and brown leaves, kitchen scraps, sticks, and spent coffee. We got fire ants occasionally, but after a while they left for some reason. Either way they never seemed to truly overrun the system. Other mulch ideas? I'd stay away from pine needles since they really don't seem to hold moisture, but I'd recommend live oak leaves, and Brazilian pepper leaves/fresh cut branches. I've also used any big leafy plant as "chop and drop". Sorry the reply is a bit long... Best of luck to ya though :)

[@Milpower]

Dude...such a helpful and awesomely simple concept. Thank you.

[@trumpsahead]

Excellent bit of information. I no longer have to feel guilty about not composting, always seemed too much trouble plus if food scraps kept too long in the house they would mold, rot and smell, then I'd throw them all out after saving scraps for months, ugh; never again. I'm with you, chop and drop. If it's food scraps, put it under the mulch otherwise just chop and drop. Thanks, I feel refreshed. ciao.

[@glow1815]

My compose are eggshells and fish bone. In between i give plant food every 7 days with add rice water as fertilizer days works wonders!

[@Abundantman777]

I watched your video 2 yrs ago. Just did a fresher. TY. Intelligence is NOT based on big words but learning to do it the easy way! That means u be a smart dude!! TY

[@chalice3571]

Great Video Frenchie, now we know that school is fruitful... thanks very much. I know I learned a lot... and that's okay... for me. short cut... Thanks again... keep making videos.

[@lansingdoesbusiness9356]

I’ve done this for years and it works well. The forest was my inspiration as well.

[@adammason4036]

LOVE the video! Keep up the great work!

[@kerrywatson8581]

I remember my mum had a hole in the ground near her garden and all the household compost went in there. It composted down really quickly. As for citrus, especially in the winter, some birds love to pick through what's left on lemons you've juiced, so I throw them on top of my the ground so they can have a feed first.

[@MrDannyboyy11]

I like your video. I use a horse manure pile that i get from a local college. It has too many wood shavings but then I add all of my food scraps for a year and it stays hot enough until it runs out of N so I can compost anything if I wanted for about a year. 4 years experience so far.

[@Bike_Lion]

I would say that "too many" wood shavings isn't really a bad thing, as that wood will decompose and become excellent humus. One issue though is that wood, before it's broken down, can soak up a fair bit of nitrogen....But this is easily remedied simply by adding urine to the mix.

[@ZE308AC]

I just throw fruit and vegetables scraps outside in a pile and I am okay

[@johndeggendorf7826]

...Frenchie,...you’re the man. So, you’re saying...let’s see if I got this right...grow your new stuff in dirt, and throw the old stuff on top? Like nature does? Kinda like, say...falling leaves? Genius! I’m a newbie, but I think maybe I can do this! Love you, man. (Second time I’ve watched this...keeping it real.) Thanks 🙏

[@michaeljackson7361]

Thanks. That's what I been doing. Glad to hear it's cool.

[@mycozygardencottage]

Thank you for this video! It's refreshing to hear someone say what I've been thinking. lol Another problem I'm having with my compost is that it seems to create a nice place for field mice to live. I'm not enjoying the idea of helping increase the mouse population near my house. Last Spring I accidentally disturbed a nest of baby mice and I kept finding them as I turned the compost. :(

[@abcxyz-kc7ch]

Maybe get it boxed in then. Get some cheap palettes and knock together a box

[@spencerwilton5831]

abc xyz Think that will stop mice? If you can find a hole big enough for the end of your finger it's big enough for a mouse. It's impossible to mouseproof a compost container.

[@juneevans4394]

I hate to say it but hawks, fox, snakes and cats...

[@keonaball2439]

His eyes 💛

[@stellaq3306]

Struck me from frame 1 😊

[@Suzy-nq2yc]

Exactly my first thought!

[@Mangolite]

Thank you. I was wondering about this and you answered my inquiry.

[@teperikaetr]

I have 4 black compost bins that I got free from Craigslist. I have been composting for 4 years and the only issue that I had was that rats got into my compost. I found a way to make it work. My husband put concrete. On the bottom of the bins and problem solved. I still have a few rat issues due to that I have hens. And they come to eat the seeds. We're being able to get rid of them.

[@norxgirl1]

Main garden area is way out front on our 2.6 acres....compost pile is just outside our back door at top of property.....guess I will transport what compost I do have to the Ruth Stout new garden I am preparing ....thanks for demo....

[@Danielily1]

Hi, I like what you had to say. But what do you do when you have a carpenter ant problem? And what do you think about the biogas digester?

[@trovelemmanuel5627]

Nice video. It’s another of the many options. I like doing the compost pile though, I get good exercise turning the piles:)

[@junevangenderen9285]

This is a blessing to find out thay I can do it shortcut. Thanks for sharing

[@Drakenrider]

I liked how you think outside of the box.

[@kim2design]

Thank you for posing. You just saved me time and money.

[@jonathanravenhilllloyd2070]

I really don't care whether he composts or not, he's beautiful.

[@abcxyz-kc7ch]

We hear you. It's in the eyes.

[@fatherofchickens7951]

Right?!

[@sharona4274]

😂 but seriously, its his smile.

[@glow1815]

🤣

[@elianaroux6442]

Definitely enjoyed it, thank you!!! I have already been doing it and it's true that it works, just make sure that your chickens don't find it! lol!

[@kckola4553]

Nice! I was doing this thinking the same thing; "how does nature do it?" I thought maybe it was my excuse for being lazy, but IT WORKS!

[@cqammaz53]

I like your idea I'm having some raised beds built this fall and I'm still thinking about digging a pit to put wood either chips or branches in the bottom only because I won't have to bring in as much dirt from god knows where. Then mix my clay soil with some sand not much, compost, dirt from god knows where/ manure from god knows where/ Then add hay on top and leave my full raise bed to rest for the winter. I hope my husband gets this message because I'm going to need his help. Thanks for sharing.

[@frenchiepowell]

An easy way to make a raised bed without importing soil is to simply flip the sod over. I've heard it done, but since I've never made raised beds I've never done it myself. In time my continual mulching ends up raising itself in a way lol! Less work for me, and I let the microbiome do the tilling underneath the mulch for me so I don't need to amend the clay. Best of luck to you! Keep me updated on your work 👍

[@cqammaz53]

@@frenchiepowell In time I hay will decompose but at the beginning, I have to do it this way or else I will not be able to use my raised beds for next year.

[@LiliansGardens]

Great, I started composting this way and then I created a box for growing and mulching my scraps... simultaneously. My plants grow like crazy.

[@pjorge8363]

Hi Frenchie!!! Love your channel, where did you buy that small compost bin????

[@frenchiepowell]

Honestly we happened to find it laying around the house, so unfortunately neither my family nor I remember ever buying it lol

[@petersuniverse]

I just started collecting kitchen scraps for the first time ever, and the ants and fruit flies are having a party...I was wondering what I was going to do next..thank you Frenchie for the answer!

[@martisbvk]

Ants are normal in a compost pile. Put the pile away from your home so they don't invade your house in the winter. Fruit flies will spread, so you need to BURY the scraps using the carbon layer. A thin straw mulch will not stop them. I usually dump 50lbs or so of coffee grounds, shredded paper, cardboard, and twigs on top of my nitrogen rich scraps. No flies, no racoons, no rats.

[@thenochoiceman9939]

Absolutely love this brother

[@rozchristopherson648]

My dogs and the raccoons would just dig those scraps up if not contained somehow. I live on 3 acres so there are lots of critters around.

[@papaal7014]

their poop is fertiliser.

[@rozchristopherson648]

papa al Yes, but I don’t want 3 acres full of food scraps, critters, and poop. 😊

[@ippradhan5996]

Very instructive. Liked it. Thanks.

[@followingmyheart961]

Wow, I am so glad I saw your video because I do not like composting. This is so easy. Thank you very much.

[@analuizanb]

Thank you, that makes a lot of sense! Just a question: do you lay those kitchen scraps under mulch very near the areas where you're actually growing your food.. so the nutrients will reach your crops?

[@frenchiepowell]

Yep, all the time!

[@Berpadu_31]

Thank you for sharing

[@merryhunt9153]

Comes to the point at 6:45. I believe that if I did this, the raccoons or possums would dig up the kitchen scraps the following night.

[@DocScience2]

Rats will have a feast..

[@WIZARDWERX]

thank you much, long winded youtubers are quite pervasive

[@mookykitten]

And to cut to the chase some more, his idea is to cover the compostables with mulch.

[@wes9451]

@@DocScience2 Honestly they would be in your compost bin also. I've never really had an issue.

[@DocScience2]

= @@wes9451 = I have rats in the compost bin, so I am switching to using a barrel composter, which is off the ground. . Rats chewed holes through my black plastic composing bin this year..

[@xavery7842]

Not only do I compost citrus, I compost chicken bones, pieces of meat and egg etc. Usually, people say not to do those because worms won't eat it. There are plenty of other life that does and your soil is better for it. Another thing I do with grass clippings and other yard waste that isn't woody is that I put them into a garbage can with water and let it start to break down anaerobic. It tend to kill seeds that you don't want to spread around and helps to break down other things when you put it on top later. The only bad thing for some is that it smells like cow manure. You are left with a great tea too that you can put around plants.

[@katydid6143]

You Are So Right!!!

[@shirleyporter7107]

I love this! Question: Is this mulch already on your garden beds and you just keep adding your kitchen waste to them or is this mulch sitting in the corner of your yard waiting to be added to your garden beds? Sorry for the silly question. Thank you

[@frenchiepowell]

It's already in the garden :)

[@sineadmoore4425]

Makes real sense! Thanks! 😀

[@lovethepekes]

Makes sense. Thanks. I will try it.

[@0KiteEatingTree0]

Nice vid, hi from 🇬🇧, keep on mulching

[@sharonrad3317]

Thanks so much!

[@daniesza]

So spot on

[@lincolnweller9123]

You are spot on . Let nature take care of the work .

[@marlarice]

Hi, as a beginner gardener can you recommend some good reading material? I have a small area that I would like to plant vegetables and flowers in. I have been shown the old way to garden which is pulling weeds, turning over soil and the like. Now there is more information out there and I'm interested in obtaining results with less work. Any information is much appreciated. Thanks for the video.

[@frenchiepowell]

Absolutely 👍 Ruth Stout is a woman who pioneered deep mulch gardening, and I would recommend her book "Gardening without work". Otherwise I recommend checking out more KZbin videos. We do one on how to make a Ruth Stout garden, but I also recommend Geoff Lawton's "What is a food forest", and looking into Permaculture as a sustainable gardening style 🙂

[@lorenal6137]

Ok, so what you call "not composting" is how I've been composting for 20 years! LOL

[@christianmartinez987]

You must have started when you were five.

[@ItsRealyReall]

Uuuuh, maybe she's in her 40? XD

[@jSheapullen]

Has it ever caused disease on tomato s? Tnx

[@homeacres9454]

Hahahaha

[@kaybee3798]

@@jSheapullen why would it?

[@audreyhight]

MIght work in your garden spot...not on my largely-forested property! I have a small, raised bed garden and kitchen scraps would overtake the square footage of my garden space very quickly.. I maintain a slow-compost, low-maintenance area that is separate. Mostly, I'm lasagne-composting massive amounts of seasonal oak leaves from my property, with limited sun exposure. I bury my scraps in different spots, about once a week, and try to follow a grid-like rotation. What I need is more green material. Another reason to bury my scraps in a large compost bed is we have so much wildlife that is attracted by decomposing food smells: bear, deer, coyote, skunks, etc. Something dug in my compost area once, when I didn't bury it deep enough. I don't want that kind of attention!

[@tcatt222]

Ever notice the richest soil is along fence lines and areas that don't get tilled? Good logic here for good compost long term.

[@small-timegarden]

A lot of good points. What you're doing is still composting. You're also including the worms. Sort of semi-vrmicomposting. But it depends on what you're using the compost for. If you're trying to compost for maybe a small financial gain, you have to actively turn it to speed up the process. I've never heard anyone say don't compost citrus. I've heard it said not to include citrus in a vermicompost bin as the citric acids irritate the worms' skin. But even them, they may still process all of that. Thanks for the vid. You're still composting!😂

[@Bike_Lion]

I don't think it's really necessary to turn the compost to accelerate the process. Instead, simply use a bin with breathable sides, layer with materials that trap pockets of air (for aerobic decomposition), and add urine to the mix, to up the nitrogen to carbon ratio....I mean if you really wanna turn, then have at it, but IMO it's far too much work to be worthwhile!

[@JessicaJLandi]

"...composting...sucks!" - lol! (I like taking a bin fill of soil from a nearby little forest. And I like using woodchips. And now I'm gonna love putting kitchen scraps under a hay mulch!)

[@swizzleproxi4810]

I hate to break it to you but all that soft dry cosy shredded paper and grass/hay in there is the perfect home for rodents so thats how your old pineapple dissapeared so quick, I like your concept and do dig a hole in the ground sometimes and fill it with scraps but if i throw in paper or hay Id water it well so not to make it a desirable home for mice ...then use it next year for growing👍☺

[@Garricher5958]

Other than animals digging it out, think dog, or wild animal. This is exactly what I do, or I might bury the scraps, and mark the place so I that remember where I buried something. As long as there is contact with the soil above or below your good to go. I will be doing leaf mold though.

[@OfftoShambala]

Cool ... I might try this with a cardboard lasagna method to abate weeds and build up my soil

[@ssmith2608]

Hey Frenchie do you ever make the fermented plant liquid fertilizer? I've seen people using nettles and grass. Wondered if you had any experience with that?

[@frenchiepowell]

The only time I've done liquid fertilizer is mixing food scraps with warm water, then watering indoor plants lol! Other than that I've heard positive things about these compost teas or ferments, but I've always considered it a bit too much work and effort for a tiny amount of value. To me, why would I extract SOME nutrients from the nettles and add it as an immediate release fertilizer, when I could receive ALL of the nutrients from the plant by mulching it and letting it decompose in place. I view mulching as more holistic, all encompassing, and simpler. With the fermented "teas" I'd receive no other benefits that mulch brings such as temperature regulation and water retention.

[@swizzleproxi4810]

Maybe we should understand that ants, mice,rats,snakes beetles frogs are all helping to break down the waste too and we just need to accept the fact.

[@XXgenderloveXY]

Yes. They are essential.

[@theecoinitiative7788]

Nice to hear you credit Jeff Lawton. Hat tip to him for helping us transform our suburban house back in the mid 90's. I agree with the premise. These days i have been seeing pineapple skins disappearing in a couple of weeks. The bottom line boils down to microbial activity. If the worms move in, you are a happy camper!

[@amazingGrace108]

Finally: A man with the brain!!! Most gardening techniques I like to call NEUROTIC GARDENING. Measuring temperature of your compost pile????? Serious??? Where exactly do you see that in nature? Nowhere! Exactly! So, don't complicate! Imitate nature and you'll be fine and maybe even your brain will grow. 🙂

[@sixth4038]

That's what we call passion and applying knowledge and experience to what you do. If some people don't "complicate" things as what you call it, we wouldn't have astronauts by now haha it applies the same principle. Why go to the moon if you can stay on Earth?

[@amazingGrace108]

@@sixth4038 astroNUTS already admited that they haven't been to the moon but it takes non-complicated eyes and ears to see and hear it. Do your own research.

[@sixth4038]

@@amazingGrace108 if that's what makes you sleep at night

[@shotbyjed2763]

Hahaha. Foreallll tho

[@wearcognition]

Exactly! For example, I'm not using a computer to post this, because where do you see computers in nature? Checkmate, astronauts.

[@anitachitragar596]

Thanks for sharing this natural and easy way to compost. Wondering if we need to wait few days before dumping kitchen scraps under the wood chips.

[@frenchiepowell]

Nope, you should be fine to go right ahead 👍

[@anitachitragar596]

Frenchie Powell Thank you!

[@charlescarabott7692]

I bury the kitchen scraps and mulch too. My field isint completly covered by mulch but im getting there

[@josepharchbold3166]

what if to avoid any rats or animals to come, we just bury it in the dirt?

[@manalani3724]

thanks so much

[@ERMAV]

This video should have 10 million views

[@Abundantman777]

TY & I believe I am going to do it your way

[@amberemma6136]

I'm curious if you have heard of Korean natural farming? I am in the process of building a food forest, and deep hay mulching majority of my 3.5 acres to grow my permaculture nursery. Its coming along little by little but I'm starting to get into KNF due to the nature of it and the low cost for the best results. Its kind of a life style change, as is permaculture . Anywayd, I find it fascinating and thought you might too!

[@coolcat3890]

great ideas man

[@ppuripp]

Great video. Your insight is really helpful! I also call it "throw and forget" method.

[@frenchiepowell]

Thanks for the comment Rei! Throw and forget is definitely a great way of putting it :)

[@kolapyellow7631]

Nice idea. I will try. Less work. Easy, but i need to add mor muclh first to cover the kitchen scrap. .

[@philcoppa]

good, but here (central Mass.) I have to wait for soil to warm up in Spring before I can cover it with mulch.