Market Farming

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So who recommends "about 1/4 inch across the surface of the bed"? And doesn't 
the amount of compost depend on the current amount already in the soil? How 
can one size fit all, sandy, clay, acid, alkaline, dry or moist?

paul AT largocreekfarms.com
http://medicinehill.net
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 1/2/2005 at 9:43 PM Allan Balliett wrote:

>>  >From everything I've done in terms of research, the recommendation is
>to
>>apply 40 tons of compost (or whatever soil improver you choose) to the
>>acre.  Assuming that 1 ton of compost is about 2 cubic yards, then we're
>>talking 80 yards per acre.  With me sofar?
>
>Matt -
>
> From what I can tell from my recent research, soil food web insights
>have caused recommendations for compost applications to be pulled way
>back from the '40 tons per acre' that the old times recommend. I
>think 8tons per acre is a fairly common recommendation nowadays.
>That's about 1/4 inch across the surface of the bed. This is worked
>into the top 2-3 inches of the bed and not deeper. (Let the biota
>pull it deeper as they will.) This small application of compost is
>used in the belief that larger amounts disrupt soil biology and
>therby 'choke the soil food web.' If you goal is to build soil
>organic matter, you have to think cover cropping to get this done. If
>your soil tests show that you need to amend NPK and trace elements,
>you may be looking at adding rock dusts and nitrogen sources. Plan to
>inoculate regularly with EM or CT to help get the compost you added
>assimilated into the system in a synergistic fashion.
>
>I'm with you: I have always tried to add 3 inches of compost to the
>surface of bed at least once a year, in fact, often that much between
>crops. This year, I'm following the recommendations above, as I still
>have some rough edges in my production that makes me uncomfortable
>settling with the way I've been doing things.
>
>Thanks
>
>-Allan Balliett
>Shepherdstown, WV
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