I like the idea, most of my veggies are grown in raised beds but I do have some in the ground that would benefit from this, the only problem I have is neighbour's chickens. I would have to keep it covered otherwise they will have good pickings.
You could stretch a roll of wire netting over the top above the trench and peg it down ... it probably wouldn't need to be done too rigorously ... that ought to keep any poultry invasion to a minimum
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
My dad always dug a bean trench, so obviously I did, as you tend to think the old boys must be right, then I started reading Charles Dowding. His Myths book says there’s no need, just pile your compost on the top and dig in as you plant so that’s what I’ve done for quite a few years, there is no difference to the amount of beans we get. Our beans have grown in the same piece of ground since 1987. The poles are concreted in the ground. i agree though that if you haven’t got space for a compost bin then by all means fill the trench with it, better than wasting it. Rats will come whether you have a bean trench or not.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Yes I'll try that, thanks. I have told the neighbour about her hens but she just said chase them off with a broom! Well that would be fine if i spent all day at the window on watch!
My dad always dug a bean trench, so obviously I did, as you tend to think the old boys must be right, then I started reading Charles Dowding. His Myths book says there’s no need, just pile your compost on the top and dig in as you plant so that’s what I’ve done for quite a few years, there is no difference to the amount of beans we get. Our beans have grown in the same piece of ground since 1987. The poles are concreted in the ground. i agree though that if you haven’t got space for a compost bin then by all means fill the trench with it, better than wasting it. Rats will come whether you have a bean trench or not.
I have friends who made a strong support structure for their runner beans too, @Lyn. They're grown in the same place each year and crop really well with compost dug into the soil. Useful to know for anyone in a windy area where stronger supports are needed.
Nothing is bonkers, Lyn. For the last ten years I've substituted a metre diameter pit as a substitute for the trench others have mentioned. All year we place all kitchen and other compostable material in a 20 litre plastic barrel until it's time to prepare for the seasonal crop, i.e. mid-March. The pit is dug and lined with newspapers, gradually stacking up in the shed. The barrel's contents are then tipped into it in readiness for my seedlings that, again like others, have been started off in trays. The one benefit I can claim for saving material in the barrel is that our resident birdlife doesn't hoik the stuff all over the surrounding lawn, as they tend to do.
Yes my father used this method too, I must admit I have not done it in recent years but if we keep getting these dry summers perhaps I will try it again.
I still do it to grow my runner beans. I dig a pit in late winter and put all kitchen veg waste into it. Come Spring I fill in the pit with soil and plant my runners out in Mat/June. I might well give it a go with trenches this year.
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Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
His Myths book says there’s no need, just pile your compost on the top and dig in as you plant so that’s what I’ve done for quite a few years, there is no difference to the amount of beans we get.
Our beans have grown in the same piece of ground since 1987. The poles are concreted in the ground.
i agree though that if you haven’t got space for a compost bin then by all means fill the trench with it, better than wasting it.
Rats will come whether you have a bean trench or not.
Useful to know for anyone in a windy area where stronger supports are needed.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.