Chop and Drop: The Frugal Secret to Superior Soil

Chop and drop adds fundamental nutrients back into the soil to feed the plants, enhance overall soil fertility, and help improve soil structure. Piyaset/Shutterstock

There’s always “that guy,” the one gardener in every neighborhood who meticulously cleans out their planting area thoroughly at the end of the season, tosses everything out, and then orders bulk commercial fertilizer for the spring crop. Then, there’s the gardener who sneaks out after midnight to grab those valuable bags of old plants and trimmings for their own garden, knowing what a rich source of nutrients they contain that can be easily chopped up and dropped back into the garden.

Whether for a large garden or a small one, the chop and drop method can be invaluable at the end of a growing season and works equally well on an ongoing basis throughout. It’s so easy, there’s no excuse not to do it.

The Why

Chop and drop saves money, which is important as prices for fertilizer and soil amendments go up with runaway inflation, gives the eco-satisfaction of knowing that one is helping keep some waste out of landfill, and saves trips to the garden center to buy soil amendments. How? The initial layer of chop and drop mulch starts by suppressing weeds and reducing the amount of watering needed (if the garden is still active).

Remember, it can be done on an ongoing basis, so there’s no better time to start than right now. As it breaks down, it adds fundamental nutrients back into the soil to feed the plants, enhance overall soil fertility, and help improve soil structure, particularly with compacted soil. For really compacted soil or clay, lightly till the initial chop and drop into the existing soil. This is assuming the garden isn’t actively growing—if it is, simply add to the top of the soil.

Chop and drop also create a favorable environment for beneficial insects and organisms. For overwintering, apply it as heavily as the volume of material allows, up to four inches. During the growing season, it can be applied as it’s available.

For really compacted soil or clay, lightly till the initial chop and drop into the existing soil. DREAM INSPIRATION/Shutterstock

The How

While simple, there are a few tips to chop and drop for maximum results. Never put diseased, pest-infested, or any other suspect plants on the soil. These should be disposed of properly, away from the garden.

Follow the example of backyard banana growers for the easiest way to chop and drop: Take the old leaves, whack them into three or four sections (as banana leaves can get huge), and lay them at the base of the plant to return much-needed potassium and other goodies to the soil.

While some purists swear chop and drop has to be cut into tiny pieces, cutting old plants and trimmings into a few large sections works just fine in most cases. This is where one’s climate comes into play. In a humid, tropical environment, most things break down rapidly. At the other end of the country, in the extreme north, one may want to stay away from truly woody material unless it is chipped. Green and herbaceous annuals and the green parts of woody perennial plants do best.

Most fruits and vegetables are ideal, such as old bean, tomato, pepper, or cucumber plants and their mid-season trimmings. Some plants are specifically grown because of their fast growth, rapid chop and drop decomposition, and hearty nutrients (they have both edible parts for humans and feed the soil). These include comfrey, rhubarb, pigeon pea, moringa (as an annual in temperate climates), fava beans, lupine, sorghum, lemongrass, Swiss Chard, crotalaria, yarrow, elderberry, buckwheat, and nasturtiums, to name some popular choices. But just about any plant that is chopped and dropped will provide some benefit.

The Next Level

To get things to decompose—and release their goodness into the soil even faster—cut the plant material into three-to-four-inch pieces. Also consider creating a blend of green (vegetables, herbs, and flowers) and semi-woody material (thin berry bush branches, for example) to add even more texture to the soil that will allow a staggered breakdown rate and further enhance air and water penetration to plant roots. Or, think NPK: nitrogen-fixing bean plants, bananas for potassium, and comfrey for potash, for example.

Some gardeners insulate perennials through winter with a robust layer of chop and drop fall leaves. Why chopped? To help them break down more efficiently. They should be applied no more than two to three inches deep, or water may not get through to plant roots. Chop and drop—of just about any plant; it doesn’t need to be leaves—is particularly important in winter as it also helps prevent soil erosion.

When Not to Drop

Chopping and dropping in a garden in the midst of a serious pest infestation can make the situation much worse, as it may provide a happy habitat for these unwanted intruders, particularly in the case of snails and slugs. Likewise, if powdery mildew, blight, or rust are prevalent in the garden, don’t chop and drop plants that may appear unaffected because they may have spores that are invisible to the naked eye. Lastly, flower heads are fine, but not if they’ve gone to seed.

Top Soil Toppers

Step away from the kitchen trash can! Eggshells, coffee, and bananas are other excellent “drops” or, in some cases, liquid fertilizers.

Beyond Omelets

Use a food processor or coffee grinder to grind eggshells into a powder that can be applied directly to the soil. Or boil 10 to 20 eggshells in one gallon of water, let the mixture sit overnight, remove eggshells, and apply as a liquid calcium solution. It is particularly helpful with blossom end rot on tomatoes.

Best Brew

Used coffee grounds contain nitrogen, carbon, and other good things to feed soil organisms (earthworms love them). They improve soil drainage and, at the same time, enhance water retention, help aerate the soil, and deter snails and slugs.

Liquid Gold

While banana peels themselves make an excellent soil amendment, you can receive faster results by making banana peel water to add easily absorbed potassium, phosphorus, and calcium to plants. Soak three to four peels for 48 hours, remove the peels, and dilute the solution 1:5 with water.­­