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Subject: Market Farming

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  • From: Leslie Moyer <unschooler AT lrec.org>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Market-farming] Compost
  • Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2011 22:13:18 -0600

I'm getting ready to plant a 7-acre mixed fruit orchard (tree fruits) and I'm
wanting to bring in some compost just before I plant. We've been readying
the soil for the past year+ by growing a couple of cover crop successions on
it. We've also raised the pH to proper levels and brought in chicken litter
to bring up the NPK to good levels. However, I'd like to add more organic
matter to the soil and, most importantly, increase the bio-diversity of soil
organisms. I have easy access to two kinds of compost in my area. Mushroom
compost and leaf compost. The leaf compost isn't very well composted. I
would more appropriately call it leaf mulch. It is shredded, but the
composting process is incomplete, to say the least. I think that the fungal
life in the leaves would be good for the fruit trees, but I know that some
tannins can be harmful to fruit trees. On the other hand, the mushroom
compost is-as I understand it--"sterilized". Doesn't this kill much of the
"good" biological life in the soil? Of these two options--mushroom compost
or leaf compost--which would you recommend? Or shall I search for another
option? (We do have a human waste compost available here that I've used on
ornamentals and it works *great*, but I'm unwilling to use it on edibles.) We
used to have composted chicken litter available, but they went out of
business (and I already have all of the nitrogen I need right now anyway).

--Leslie



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