Bean trench- Nice idea from the Guardian.co.uk

Finally something I can do in the garden! My soil is too dam soggy to work it and I’m not going to risk direct sowing just yet.

Lia Leendertz the Guardian’s garden correspondent mentioned a good tip in this weekends paper. I think this would work for most non-root crops. Also this method may impart some heat to the soil for spring sowings. I’d add that its best to chop the waste up really small, else it may not be fully decomposed come spring/summer:

Photograph: Roy McMahon/Corbis

Bean there

It’s too soon to plant runner beans, but you can prepare for them. They love a moist, fertile root run, and go wild for a bean trench. Dig the trench about 2ft deep and 2ft wide to the length you require, line it thickly with newspaper and water until the paper’s soaked. Chuck your kitchen scraps in, covering with a thin layer of soil each time. The trench works as a mini compost heap into which the greedy, thirsty beans can sink their feet.