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  • From: Alliums <garlicgrower AT earthlink.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Market-farming] Re: bulk compost, peat, etc.
  • Date: Thu, 08 Jan 2004 14:02:59 -0500

Matt wrote:
I could work on making compost for the next year and
then start production next year, but if I can get some "instant
gratification" now by throwing some dollars around, I'd opt to to that.


You don't need to have finished compost to start up and have a decent harvest. As long as you are working toward building your soil, you can "cheat" in the beginning with raw materials and still get enough to sell or show.

Late in 1996, the community garden was booted out of our space because it was sold to a $1 million/house developer. We ended up moving in March 1997 to our current location which was nothing but clay subsoil since the previous developer had scraped off the topsoil to recoup his costs. I had *great* doubts at to whether or not anything would grow, since we had zero organic matter in the soil, but I did raised beds from the straw/manure mix from the local horse boarding stable and I had not only a respectable harvest, but I was one of the top Horticultural winners at the Philadelphia Harvest Show.

I continued to both make compost and add organic matter to the soil as I got it and over the years, I've got quite a decent growing bed. As long as you add the raw materials so that the harvest will be outside the USDA Organic Standards window, you can save time in the beginning by using them rather than waiting for "finished compost." In time, it all rots anyway and your soil is improved.

BTW, if you are looking for carbon sources, many municipalities/businesses will give you their brown cardboard and/or newspaper for free. My mother's town (Kittannning, PA) gives all the municipal cardboard and newspaper to dairy farmers to shred for bedding. The town fulfills its recycling component and the dairy farmers have cheap, yet absorbent bedding. With a similar shredder, you'd have all the carbon you'd need for hot compost.

Here in Chester County, PA, you can't get anyone to deliver organic matter for free -- the raw materials themselves may be free (but never mushroom compost as the mushroom companies want their cash!), but the transit costs can be nasty. If you have access to folks who are willing to deliver organic matter for FREE, take it ALL, pile it up and build up your worm population -- use what you have for plants that aren't so picky and then you'll have growing beds the next year for plants that want more finished compost.

If you are getting a bunch of "greens," you might want to consider building those raised, open-bottomed worm bins so that you have a steady supply of worm castings (the BEST for starting off seedlings) for those picky plants, plus a source of worms to add to those piles of organic matter than everyone is delivering. I am a great believer in letting the worms do the work -- I have enough to do in my life without having to turn compost all the time!

Good luck! The quest for organic matter never ends! ;-)

Dorene


Dorene Pasekoff, Coordinator
St. John's United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden

A mission of
St. John's United Church of Christ, 315 Gay Street, Phoenixville, PA 19460





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