Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[yarrow@sfo.com]

Quoting Ken Hargesheimer <minifarms2@yahoo.com>:
> ...I had [a soil test] and 2 yrs later another one.  My opinion is  
> that it is a  poor use of money. Do three things and do not worry  
> about the soil.
>  
> 1. Add organic matter
> 2.Add organic matter
> 3.Add organic matter
>  
I agree that adding organic matter is the key. But I know of a local  
organic gardener and garden-book writer who bought compost from the  
same source she'd been buying it for years, except one year it killed  
her plants. So she had it tested and found out it contained toxins  
(probably one of the three nondegradable poisons that Paul originally  
mentioned -- I've been hearing the clopyralid warnings for years).  
Compost producers are required to test their products, afaik -- if in  
doubt, ask for the test results before buying. Or better,  make your  
own and don't add ingredients whose source you don't know.

I add kitchen waste from 1-3 households to my compost, so that is my  
main source of unidentified inputs. Oh, and the occasional bagful of  
coffee grounds from local coffee shops. And the bales of hay that are  
donated to the community garden in the fall. But besides that, my  
compost inputs are garden waste from organic gardens.