Evan X. Merz

In California, we are constantly struggling with space limitations. If you're an urban gardener like me, then you might be working with as little as a tenth of an acre. This can make composting somewhat difficult. It's hard to find space for multiple compost piles. Fortunately, there is a much easier way to improve your soil that requires no dedicated space in your yard.

What is composting in place?

Composting in place means composting in the place where you intend to grow plants. It means composting directly in the soil, rather than composting in a bin then applying the compost to the soil.

Composting in place has the advantages of requiring no extra space, and requiring very little time or effort. The drawback is that you have to dig up the spot where you want to compost, so you can't have anything growing there at the time. For that reason, composting in place is generally a fall or winter activity.

Composting in place is a great way to improve your soil without having to set up a compost bin, or learn how to turn it, or learn about greens and browns.

How to compost in place

Composting in place is exceptionally easy, but it takes around a month or more for the process to complete, so it's really only something to do in fall or winter.

1. Gather kitchen scraps. My partner and I keep a container near the sink and drop all our waste plant material into it. Most of the time that material goes into our regular compost bin, but in the fall and winter I try to bury as much of it as I can.

2. Identify a place in your yard where you want to improve the soil for planting in the spring. In my yard I have a long narrow strap of soil between my driveway and my neighbor's fence. I use it for planting flowers mostly.

3. Dig a hole around 12 inches deep.

4. Dump your kitchen scraps in the hole.

5. Cover the kitchen scraps with the removed soil and mulch.

6. Wait around a month.

There are just a few things to be careful of. First, don't bury animal products this way unless you understand the risks of attracting animals. Second, this will only work in non-frozen soil. So it works great in the fall and winter for most of California, but it's not great in places where the soil freezes. Finally, be careful about doing this in the late winter or spring, as you need to give the soil food web enough time to turn the food scraps into compost.

So get out there and start improving your soil while the weather is good! This is a great garden activity that you can repeat every day in the slow seasons.