Burying house and tree waste

[gnappi]

Invariably there's waste from fruit trees, cooking etc. and I keep a large hole dug to throw fallen carambola, household fruit and veg waste, as well as uneaten cooked pasta and veg (and the cooking water used in preparation) and such.

I don't see any down side to this, does anyone else do it?

[edzone9]

Might Attract Rats & Other Creatures..

Ed

[gnappi]

Might Attract Rats & Other Creatures..

Ed

Buried?

[jcaldeira]

It's called 'composting.'  I also have rotting brush piles scattered about.

[From the sea]

It's called 'composting.'  I also have rotting brush piles scattered about.

[gnappi]

It's called 'composting.'  I also have rotting brush piles scattered about.

Yeah, if I were worried about rats, I'd either move or buy rat traps.

I was thinking more about density of fruit like carambola and kitchen waste in a small area and its effect on soil? I don't worry about it much but over the years I'm going to have a LOT of holes!

[HMHausman]

I throw all organic material, other than paper, into the yard.  I have had several locations where I have done this.  I do not dig a hole and I do not bury. The latest incarnation of my composting heap is in a mat of Jamaican Red bananas.  The bananas do not seem to mind the scraps and fruit discards. Yes, there will be rats, but they are there anyway in all likelihood and I would rather them eat the remnants of what I haven't eaten and no longer want than to eat the fruits before I get a chance to eat them.  I wish squirrels were more scavenging than they are. 

[gunnar429]

The compost will break down quicker with access to oxygen.  Many people recommend putting pvc (or other material) tubes in the middle of pile with air holes poked throughout to help with this. 

[Cookie Monster]

I do what harry does, just chuck the kitchen scraps into the yard without burying them. Decompose pretty quickly.

[fruitlovers]

Invariably there's waste from fruit trees, cooking etc. and I keep a large hole dug to throw fallen carambola, household fruit and veg waste, as well as uneaten cooked pasta and veg (and the cooking water used in preparation) and such.

I don't see any down side to this, does anyone else do it?

Did that for many years here when starting out. Would dig hole, keep adding compost till full, let sit for a couple of months, and then plant a fruit tree over it. The trees loved it!

[phantomcrab]

I have put scraps around fruit trees for years and rats have never been a problem. In warm weather there can be a lot of fruit flies though.

[JeffDM]

Wow, many of you have described why my yard was infested with rats, mice, squirrels and unwanted insects.
Until they moved and (in one case) died off my neighbor's poor backyard habits were attracting all the critters that attacked my plants and vegetables for years.
Composting is one thing, but what some of you described is something that wouldn't help you make friends if the neighbors lived close by.
Of course, as always, I could be wrong.

[fruitlovers]

Wow, many of you have described why my yard was infested with rats, mice, squirrels and unwanted insects.
Until they moved and (in one case) died off my neighbor's poor backyard habits were attracting all the critters that attacked my plants and vegetables for years.
Composting is one thing, but what some of you described is something that wouldn't help you make friends if the neighbors lived close by.
Of course, as always, I could be wrong.

If done right this method doesn't attract any animals at all. You put your compost in a hole and then cover with a bit of soil. So you keep layering with some soil. With really persistent digging animals you can also put a large stone or cement block on top of the hole.

[davidgarcia899]

I don't bury anything all my house and fruit waste except meat gets thrown in my grove. I have a big pile of junk that I throw in a corner, the only thing I've ever buried is dead animals and I don't bury them deep, 3-4 inches and I don't have problems...and I bury a lot of dead animals