Burying Yard Debris
Question
September 8, 2023
Last year I buried bokashi in a few backyard holes. The intent of that was a mosaic of soil remediation. This month, I will bury more bokashi .. on top of a shallow layer of yard debris. The situation is pictured -- two holes and shovels leaning on a basket of dried weeds. Is burying "yard debris" (dried weeds) ever appropriate? My backyard -- Comanche at Tramway -- is too small for a composting pen. Please comment on this mosaic tactic. Or send a link.
Thanks for your comprehensive website, nmcomposters! There is lots of info for me there!
Answer(s)
Answer by WR: The answer is absolutely yes, but you need to be careful not to bury perennial weed stems and roots or rhizomes (such as bermuda grass or bindweed) or annual weed seed. (Perhaps if you bury it 18 or more inches deep those will be ok.) I'm going to copy this to our compost-questions list. You will probably get one or more responses from people with experience with bokashi and/or sheet/trench composting. Thanks for your email with photo and your interest in composting.
Answer by RR: I applaud your efforts to keep spent organics out of the landfill. Burying this material with your Bokashi sounds like a good way to get more microbes working on the decomposition process. The more you do this around your yard, the more workable your soil will become and the easier the weeds will be to pull. Suggestions: 1) wet the hole before you throw in the materials, as the microbes will be more effective, 2) use that pickaxe tool to chop up those plants into smaller pieces, 3) try not to include those weed seeds, as WR mentioned, 4) a minimum of 3" of woodchips (not bark chips) is a very effective way to prevent the weeds from germinating in the first place...of course you'll have to rake them out of the way in order to bury your Bokashi. Thanks for your interest in composting and soil health. The planet needs more people like you.