Soil Incorporation

Now that you have your ingredients, it’s time to mix them together!

Dig a 12 to 15 inch deep hole or trench in the ground around trees, gardens, or shrubs. If around trees, take caution not to disturb the roots. The food waste should be chopped up and mixed in with some of the soil (to help it decompose faster), and then placed into the hole. Once you have a 3 to 4 inch layer of food waste in the hole or trench, cover the food scraps with at least 8 inches of soil (generally the soil dug from the hole or trench).

If your food scraps are buried at least eight inches beneath the surface, the risk of attracting animals is greatly reduced. This will help keep your hard work intact.

Next step: learn about taking time for food scraps to decompose.

Revised November 16, 2009