Feed the Soil, Not the Bin: A Fun Intro to Direct Composting
How to Start Direct Composting and Feed Your Garden Without the Fuss
So here’s a wild idea: what if you stopped tossing your food scraps into a bin, and just buried them instead?
No turning, no stinky piles, no expensive tumblers or waiting around for months to maybe get compost that smells like a swamp. I'm talking about the simple, glorious act of direct composting — taking your kitchen scraps and burying them right in your garden soil.
Yes. Literally digging a hole and feeding the earth like the lazy (I prefer low-effort) garden genius you are.
What Is Direct Composting?
Direct composting is the oldest trick in the soil book. Instead of making a separate compost pile, you take your veggie scraps, coffee grounds, crushed eggshells, and other compostables, and bury them straight into the ground — right where you want your soil to improve.
Nature doesn’t overthink things, and neither should we.
Why It Works (Like, Really Well)
Soil Life Feeds Itself: Worms, microbes, fungi — the whole underground crew shows up for a feast when you bury food scraps. You’re not just feeding plants; you’re feeding the ecosystem that supports them.
It’s Fast: When you bury organic matter, especially in the warm seasons, it breaks down way quicker than in an exposed compost pile. Weeks, not months.
No Smell, No Pests (When Done Right): Tuck it under 6–8 inches of soil and you're golden.
No Equipment Necessary: No bins, no turning, no problem. Just a shovel and some scraps.
By the way, if you're loving these tips, my guide The Underground Garden Revolution dives deeper into the magic of direct composting and how you can grow a thriving garden without the hassle of compost bins. It’s packed with easy-to-follow steps and insights that’ll have you composting like a pro in no time! If you want to skip the guesswork and get straight to the good stuff, check it out here.
What Can I Bury?
If it came from the kitchen and wasn’t meat, dairy, or oily junk, it’s probably fair game.
✅ Veggie peels
✅ Fruit cores
✅ Coffee grounds
✅ Tea leaves (minus plastic tea bags)
✅ Crushed eggshells
✅ Wilted lettuce that died in your fridge like a hero
Got old pineapple chunks your family refused to eat? Bury them. Half a cucumber that went soft and suspicious? Bury it. A forgotten banana with fruit-fly fanfare? Yep, into the earth it goes.
How to Start
Option 1: The Trench Method
Pick a garden bed. Dig a trench. Add your scraps. Cover. Done. You can trench all season in sections, rotating where you bury so you’re always feeding a different part of the bed.
Option 2: The Hole-and-Drop
The laziest (and possibly best) version: dig a hole, dump the scraps, cover it up. Works anywhere. Works always.
Option 3: Under the Mulch
If you're mulching with leaves or straw, you can even dig down just a few inches, tuck your scraps underneath, and let the mulch keep things cozy.
What Happens Next?
You basically forget about it — until a few weeks later when you’re digging and realize the soil is darker, richer, looser. That’s your buried banana becoming black gold.
Over time, your whole garden bed becomes this living, breathing organism with better drainage, better fertility, and better vibes overall.
The Fun Side Effects
You stop feeling guilty about not using your compost bin.
You realize your garden is thriving on what used to be trash.
You start seeing more worms (and that’s a great sign).
You feel like a forest witch, quietly building fertility underground.
Compost Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated
You already make scraps. Your garden already needs food. There’s no reason to stand between those two facts with a plastic bin and a pitchfork.
So go ahead — toss that sad celery stump into the ground, cover it with soil, and smile knowing you just became a low-key compost wizard.
Now tell me — what’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever buried in the name of soil health? I once planted an entire watermelon just to see what would happen. (Spoiler: the worms loved it.)
Let the rot begin!
Beccalynne.
I really feel like I needed to read this today. Im going to try… also garden is far ish away (not that far but if lazy). We cool if freeze stuff first? Or does it just need to go at the end of each day..