[Yana]

I've been clearing a brassica bed and recall watching a fellow plot holder who doesn't chop up the brassica stems (PSB, broccoli and the like) and put them in a compost bin to rot down. Instead he takes out a trench in the brassica bed and buries the stems whole and then covers the stem up and gradually works backwards burying more stems as he goes. This would seem a time-saving exercise in that you dont have to wait for the stems to rot down in the compost bin but given that I will be growing onions and root crops in the bed next year, the stems won't have rotted enough by then will they?? Won't they cause the roots to fork.

[DD.]

Stick them in your bean trench.

[gavinjconway]

Hi DD - could this go for sweetcorn plants as well?

[DD.]

Absolutely no reason why not.

Slice them up with a spade a bit first, no need to finely shred/chop.

[Yana]

Stick them in your bean trench.

What a brilliant idea DD. Thanks 

[gavinjconway]

Thanks DD. 

[superpete]

 I don't do bean trenches anymore but I used to hold one end of a hard brassica stem atop a solid (compost corner post for eg.) - and move it along, while smashing with a lump hammer / back of a hand axe and then add into the bean trench or compost bin.

[allotmentann]

I dug out a couple of bean trenches last year, as a trial. Having just taken down the wigwams, I had a root around with my fork just out of interest, to see how well it had all rotted down. I couldn't find any unrotted material. This year I am burying as much stuff as I can in as many beds as possible as I have nowhere near enough compost bins for all the waste. It breaks down much faster in the ground! I have to say that the more I think about it, the more logical it seems to do this, unless you have diseased material.   

[Yana]

I dug out a couple of bean trenches last year, as a trial. Having just taken down the wigwams, I had a root around with my fork just out of interest, to see how well it had all rotted down. I couldn't find any unrotted material. This year I am burying as much stuff as I can in as many beds as possible as I have nowhere near enough compost bins for all the waste. It breaks down much faster in the ground! I have to say that the more I think about it, the more logical it seems to do this, unless you have diseased material.   

I guess that's why said fellow plot holder uses this method. He has three bins that are nearly always full and burying straight into the ground does seem to be less labour intensive. Not sure if this would be successful with weeds though as I thought that they would be likely to regrow if not given time to rot down completely before using them?

[mumofstig]

annual weeds would be fine, not the perennial weeds, like nettles, dock, bindweed and couch 

[JayG]

In the interests of science ( ) I buried a pair of old denim jeans at the bottom of my bean trench a couple of years ago together with lots of other unrotted plant material - when excavating the same trench the following year all that was left were two brass studs and the zip! 

Not something to be tried using man-made fabrics of course (and no, my beans didn't turn blue!)

[A Reyt Tayty]

Last year I tried growing sprouts. I failed. Massive plants, lots of foliage (until the caterpillars got 'em), but no sprouts! Very thick stems too. I put them throught the garden shredder, then dug them straight in. This year, I grew King Edwards in that bed and got a massive healthy crop.

[goodtogrow]

In the interests of science ( ) I buried a pair of old denim jeans at the bottom of my bean trench a couple of years ago together with lots of other unrotted plant material - when excavating the same trench the following year all that was left were two brass studs and the zip! 

Not something to be tried using man-made fabrics of course (and no, my beans didn't turn blue!)

Snap, JayG.  It's a definition of 'organic', something that once grew, and the cotton in denims once grew.  Shirts, however, invariably have polyester in them these days, which is a pity, except that they're easier to iron, but I may be drifting off-topic....

Best wishes

[compostqueen]

I tried composting some holey possum angora socks. I think hell would freeze over before they even begin to rot down. Strange as I thought they'd rot very quickly

[allotmentann]

  Old jeans and socks, I wonder what else folks on here have tried! I have read to put old, natural fabrics in the compost bin. Not tried it myself. It is good to hear that it all rots down, well, perhaps not the super socks!
I have to say that personally I don't bury any weeds, not even annual ones, but I do bury calendula, nasturtiums and borage etc, so had a good crop of those everywhere I dug a trench!