What is Rotation Trenching?

Rotation trenching, often used by British gardeners, is a simple three-year rotation of crop, composting trench, and path. Instead of burying compost material in separate holes as done in postholing, rotation trenching involves digging a long pit (usually between rows in a garden) to do your cold composting via soil incorporation.

Year One:
If you are doing your rotation trenching by using a three-year rotation system, begin by dividing your garden into three areas. In the first year, dig out a trench along the full length of your garden, fill with nitrogen-rich wastes, and cover with soil. Use the row next to it to grow crops, and use a third row as a path.

Successive Years:

In each successive year, the fertile soil of the previous year’s trench is used to grow the crops, your new path is where you had crops, and the previous year’s path is used as the composting trench. Thus the garden’s soil is continuously renewed . . . thanks to rotation trenching.

Click on this thumbnail drawing to see an example of how you can set up your rows for rotation trenching in year 1, year 2, and year 3.

Other Options:

Although this rotation trenching composting method demands far less space than a conventional composting system, it does require three rows to grow one row of crops. Each garden will suggest its own variations.

Trenches can be dug under the pathways in use, one section at a time, as the space is needed. In a garden too small for paths, a two-year rotation of crops and trench is fine.

The rotation trenching method is an easy way to do cold composting right where you need to enrich your soil to grow healthier crops . . .

For a healthier you!

Marcie

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 28th, 2008 at 9:57 am and is filed under Rotation Trenching. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.