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  • From: Richard Moyer <ramoyer AT gmail.com>
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Growing for Compost
  • Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:06:24 -0400

Wyatt,
What you grow depends on the equipment you have to prep soil, plant
seed, harvest organic matter, transport and compost if needed. Also
on your soil types and health. How harsh are your winters? How cold
and how much snow cover? How soggy are your soils in winter and
droughty in summer?

A soil scientist recently recommended lots of organic matter, to
revive some of the overworked soil we inherited. We hauled another
truckload of sodden hay there yesterday.
Wheatland Farms (Chip and Sue? Plank?) roll out large quantities of
round bales on their crops each year, for the past 25, if I remember
the details right. They have grown their own and also leased hay land
from others. This wet year, rain damaged hay abounds in our locale.

As for planting high biomass cover crops, and those that break up
heavy soil consider these resources:
'Cover Crops for All Seasons' a VABF.org document by Mark Schonbeck
and Ron Morse. Excellent summary of a range of cover crops. Uses,
management, how to plant, seed sources, etc. Good review of the
different clovers and other nitrogen fixers. Schonbeck has another
article at VABF.org on using an Earthway Seeder to plant green
manures.
Dr. Ray Weil, UMD, is promoting 'biotillage' radishes as a way to
break up biomass. Our Rainbow Chard is doing wonderfully in formerly
heavy soil that had these radishes last fall and winter. Will be
using more daikon radishes this fall. Can graze these and other fall
brassicas before they winter kill. May need to add a legume of grass
in with these to prevent late winter/early spring soil and nutrient
loss. You can find some of Weil's articles online. The radishes
establish better if seeded in alternating strips of legumes or small
grains, instead of sowing mixed seed.
'Managing Cover Crops Profitably', for the NE US, comes highly
recommended, but I have only browsed it. Other please weigh in on
this resource.

I like 'Wrens Abruzzi' winter rye, because it's only $15 per 50 # bag,
can be spread by hand, grazed multiple times through fall, winter and
spring, can be killed multiple ways, and reseeds readily if you manage
for it.
Austrian Winter peas work well with the rye, and the spring blossoms sell
well.

Clovers can be 'frost seeded' in late winter, for reasonable seed cost
per acre. Especially if the area has been grazed or cut, so seed can
reach the ground. Forage chicory has established well for us, with
high summer biomass, but seed is more expensive.

Mentioned recently that fava beans create lots of spring biomass,
easily tilled in. But seed cost may be high for large areas. And
they winterkill if too long at single digits.

For summer biomass on open ground, consider corn and cowpeas, alone or
together. Buckwheat lots of biomass (and bee forage) in 30 days.

Seed sources: see resources in the VABF article above. Shop around
for untreated or organic seed varies in price.

Richard Moyer
SW VA

> Message: 4
> Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:53:04 -0400
> From: "Wyatt Jones" <wyatt_jones AT netzero.com>
> Subject: [Market-farming] Growing for compost
> To: <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> Message-ID: <C618644B91F14364BDC7A139B37E20DD@WJONESXP>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"
>
> Hi
>
> I'm trying to decide what to plant in order to use for good mulch/compost
> with a good amount of nitrogen and carbon to build up the humus here. I
> really need to break up this clay a bit as well. I'm thinking some sort of
> alfalfa mix might be the solution but I'm not sure what to mix it with
> exactly though there are many alternatives. I thought about an
> alfalfa/clover mix with either rye of orchard grass, both common hay mixes
> but not sure about he proportions to get some good results. A pure alfalfa
> would provide a lot of nitrogen but fairly expensive and it would only last
> about 3 years. I've also considered things like Sudangrass/soybean mix but
> I don't know how the nutrient levels would be using that.
>
> I'm also having trouble getting untreated alfalfa seed. Fedco has it but
> its almost $400 plus shipping for 50# whereas the other kinds I can get,
> albeit treated, are about $200-$250 for 50 lb.
>
> I'm flexible about the details as long is it works, I just want to get this
> 10 acres growing materials for compost and fertilizer in the most cost
> effective and efficient way I can.
>
> thanks
>
> Wyatt
>
>
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> End of Market-farming Digest, Vol 89, Issue 49
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