You raise a simple question, which I believe doesn't have a simple answer. What to do with the solid waste from juicing or fruit and vegetable is a very big issue in the fruit and vegetable processing industry. What is done is as varied as the processors. Wineries in CA have been using their pomace in a number of ways, including both direct application to soils as either a mulch or fertilizer and composting it.

I would look at juicer pulp waste no differently than raw produce trim from your kitchen, or produce waste from your garden. What do you do with those?

In the end, both approaches - composting or as a direct soil amendment - will likely lead to the same decomposition of the juicer waste. So the question is are you better served by allowing the decomposition to take place directly in the soil, or by doing it separately in a compost pile? Some things to consider are the C:N balance of the pulp waste, possible seed carryover into the pulp, and the potential for pest attraction (insects and birds come to mind). If any of those would be an issue for direct soil incorporation in your situation, then composting first will probably serve you better. If not, then incorporating it directly into the soil, a la sheet or trench composting, or using it in a lasagna bed, might be simpler, and may allow for marginally better use of the N in the pulp as active fertilizer.

Which approach "better serves" you depends, in part, on what you want to achieve, and on your specific situation. There are a lot a variables, so I don't think anyone can give a you a general one-size-fits-all answer.

This post was edited by TXEB on Thu, Jun 27, 13 at 9:15

Thanks for the informative reply TXEB.

What would you do with a bunch of juicer pulp if you had both a compost pile and a raised vegetable garden with no pest problem?

I would, and do, compost the pulp from the juicer rather than put it in the garden simply because that raw pulp can create nutrient imbalances initially as the Soil Food Web works on it.

I'd compost it first. I like to separate the major decomp process from the growing beds, which in my situation are seldom idle. If I had beds that would lie fallow for 6-12 months, then I would consider burying it in the soil. It goes back to what you're trying to achieve. The method is about how to achieve it.

I am not concerned about any suspected imbalances in the soil food web that might arise from adding raw produce waste directly to the soil. That web thrives off of responding to a broad range of imbalances, and imbalances are created every time we plant something, or put anything into the soil, including compost. Imbalances are what drives the web; it's how that web naturally functions. In my mind, not creating reasonable imbalances for the web to function is when its health and functionality are jeopardized.

Although I haven't tried it, some gardeners report wonderful results from trench composting of kitchen waste in between garden rows. The decomposition process seems to create a lot of fertility while it's going on. It's possible we're actually missing some of the benefits when we compost in a bin. That's just anecdotal so don't take it as gospel (or science). I'm a compost-er myself, at least for food waste. I do use compostable mulches in the garden to hopefully get the same effect.

If you do put it in the garden I would think it has to be buried to minimize birds and bugs, and if you start getting possums, coons, coyotes, lions, tigers and bears, it's not going to work for you. :-]

I would trench compost it. So we are 2-2. Reasons: nitrogen retention, long term better SFW. Certainly so if the garden is resting (winter), but even now. Ten days ago I buried a couple of gallons of melons and watermelon rinds, with other vegetable refuse in (all rotting, but still whole), in a pocket of very poor soil. The basil I transplanted on top is bright green, and obviously prospering. I have, however, hot composted wine grapes in the past to minimize germination.

I had a bad experience trench composting kitchen scraps because I accidentally dug up some lateral roots of tomato plants that were growing in between the rows.

For tomatoes at this point, I would top dress only. Organic trash does better under certain plants. Potatoes and all types of cucurbitae (also top dress during growing season), but you can top dress under tomatoes and other solanaceae.

Trench composting can work, and provide great benefits to soil, if done properly. But burying fresh organic matter in your growing garden can result in nutrients being tied up by the soil bacteria as they digest that fresh organic matter in the soil, just as burying old tree leaves will do.
Side dressing, with something like the pulp from a juicer, can make an attractive draw for many types of unwanted critters.