Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[mtncats@planetcomm.net]

Paul and all,

I've been cold composting for several years.  Pretty simple.  Dump weeds (we 
don't grow grass) between the raised beds and when I get a few inch layer I 
add about the same of aged horse manure/wood shavings.  It's rained on, 
walked on, peed on, snowed on, and ignored until next spring when I shovel it 
into the beds.  By that time, well decomposed and full of worms which go into 
the beds also.  Seems to be working well.

As you've mentioned, it's the gardener's responsibility to determine what 
works best "there".  And Steve's point about scale is certainly apropos.  
What I'm doing would be difficult on several acres.

Last year I added stove ashes to my compost, got no worms.  Probably a pH 
issue.
The veggies didn't seem to mind, but I won't do that again.  This year I'm 
adding decomposed stone (subsoil).  On this mountaintop, readily available.  
Rock dust would require a trip somewhere to acquire it.  Cover crop roots 
reaching depth won't work here (on the roof- no depth) so I'm experimenting.  
Also paying some attention to compost component properties: nitrogen, 
phosphoric acid, and potash.  But mostly, everything goes on the pile.

My preference is composting between the beds for the simple reason that 
seedlings are then easier to identify.  I grow volunteers, rarely seed 
anything.  I'm careful to keep seedheads over the beds, shaking them at the 
appropriate time.  The beds look like a mess, but the produce's there, and 
very few weeds.  Tomatoes climbing on the snow peas, or the other way.  If 
the plants are numerous enough, my general lack of mulch doesn't seem to be 
an issue.  By this time of year, the compost has all been incorporated.

No idea how much nutrient loss I'm getting, but it doesn't seem to be a 
problem.  One part of Ken's program I definitely wouldn't use is fresh horse 
manure application.  Here, there's no way I'd know if recent de-worming had 
occurred, as we've discussed in the past.

I generate large quantities of fresh wood shavings.  None of it goes to my 
gardening.  I've seen too many problems with eager gardeners who later 
regretted it.  There's a sizeable quantity here in the woods if anybody'd 
like some.  My composting apparently gets enough with the horse manure.

Tom (in central Va)


On 9/3/06 at 8:26 AM TradingPostPaul wrote:

>I want to focus on that one thing, hot or cold composting. I've used the
>old Indore method at times in the past and got the heat buildup and fast
>decomposition. But does the heat destroy the kinds of microbes that
>naturally work down organic debris at outdoor temperatures near the soil
>surface?  What offgasses and is lost during fast, hot composting? By
>contrast, green manuring is low temperature composting. Green matter is
>mixed with only surface soil and breaks down at or near soil surface over
>winter. I'm experimenting with a variation on green manuring,
>mixing/layering green matter with nearby grassy soil, in raised beds 6" to
>10" high (though it will settle lower over winter). Some bone meal and
>alfalfa meal on hand was added in the process. Right now it's germinating
>buckwheat and hairy vetch I broadcast, and I'm keeping it moist. Just don't
>know if this will need turning and mixing in spring, or leave it alone and
>plant away at that time.
>
>
>paul tradingpost@lobo.net