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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] No-till manure application

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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  • From: "TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] No-till manure application
  • Date: Sun, 03 Sep 2006 12:20:51 -0600


>From what I've heard, the problem some folks have with compost as mulch is,
it breaks down and disappears into the topsoil too quickly. Unless you have
desert or semi-arid conditions (as I do) the natural moisture will simply
add it to the soil over a season, and that's probably what you want. The
wee beasties should populate the moist interface between the compost mulch
and soil surface. Worms too.


paul tradingpost@lobo.net

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********

On 9/3/2006 at 11:54 AM Harvey Ussery wrote:

>> As I understand it, finished compost makes excellent mulch, possibly the
>> best mulch. If it were me I'd thoroughly compost any manure before
>> applying it as a soil cover. By that point the nitrogen should be bound
>up
>> in compounds by biological and chemical processes in composting. . .
>~paul
>
>Good finished compost as a *mulch*? I'm still thinking *drying* here,
>but in this case not so much resulting in volatilization of nitrogen (as
>you said, should have been bound during composting), but the death of
>millions of wee beasties screaming 'eeek-eeek!' as the compost becomes
>too dry to support them. Maybe compost laid down with a heavy mulch (of
>straw, leaves, something like that) on top to prevent drying?
>
>~Harvey
>
>--
>Harvey in northern Va
>www.themodernhomestead.us
>
>"How we eat determines, to a considerable extent, how the world is
>used." ~Wendell Berry
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