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FAQ #13460

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I chop my vegetable vines, leaves, peelings, etc., and leave them in the garden. I pull a little soil over them and till everything in by late fall. Is this an acceptable practice to use instead of a compost pile?

Related resource areas: Gardens, Lawns & Landscapes

This practice can work very well, but there are a couple of items to keep in mind. Do not put any diseased plant material into your soil. Dispose of it with your yard waste and do not place it in a compost pile. In addition, although you are ultimately enriching your soil, the process of decomposition also robs nitrogen from your soil. You may need to apply fertilizer to your current and spring crops to replace the losses.

For more information, go to Home Compost Methods, which has further information on sheet composting, as a well as other methods.

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