Re: Compost

**S* V* <s*@moosepondarts.com>**

And we must not forget the contamination of many batches of  
commercial/municipal compost with persistent herbicides like  
clopyralid. The scene you describe was a common one for people who  
used the contaminated compost. Plenty of info on the web about it.

Scott Vlaun
Moose Pond Arts+Ecology
Design Solutions for a Sustainable Future

450 Main St. Studio 2
Norway, Maine 04268
207-739-2409 Studio
207-890-4099 Cell
http://www.moosepondarts.com

On Jan 15, 2008, at 9:17 AM, frielster@aol.com wrote:

>
>  I beg to differ re the need to be picky about composts if applying  
> them to soil. We killed or crippled hundreds of plants at a trial  
> garden one year by applying insufficiently-composted hardwood  
> mulch. I took pictures in the morning of lovely flowering  
> perennials, and returned in the afternoon to a scene of slaughter.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Miranda Smith <mirandaconstance@gmail.com>
> To: Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum  
> <gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Sent: Tue, 15 Jan 2008 9:10 am
> Subject: Re: [GWL] Compost
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Hi,
>
> We were working with Woods End Lab --
> http://woodsend.org/pdf-files/Analysis_overview.pdf -- and put the  
> composts
> through their analysis. Please follow the link to see what they  
> test--I
> can't say enough good things about this lab. If you are interested in
> learning about your composts, they are invaluable.
>
> In short, our well-constructed and well-tended piles had a more  
> balanced
> nutrient content, higher OM content, and became biologically stable  
> much
> earlier than the haphazard ones. I have no idea what happened to  
> our test
> results, but it was clear that quality was influenced by initial  
> ingredients
> and technique. The Composting Council
> http://www.compostingcouncil.org/section.cfm?id=39 has a fair  
> amount of
> information about quality, too. And, Cornell has great composting
> information: http://compost.css.cornell.edu/Compost_Resources.html .
>
> Naturally, my orientation is towards farm-scale composting. That's  
> hardly
> relevant to gardeners, unless they are buying composts, in which  
> case, it's
> REALLY relevant. I have had some unfortunate experiences in this  
> regard--one
> year, a well-respected dairy farm/commercial compost operation sold an
> organic potting soil made with a compost that was still so active  
> that it
> killed most of the seeds planted in it. Scores of farmers were  
> affected--it
> put a lot of people behind on their starting schedules. The silver  
> lining
> was that we all became much more aware of compost quality.
>
> I agree that you don't need to be picky about composts if you are  
> applying
> them to soil; it's when they are the major ingredient in a potting  
> mix or
> you are using them to suppress plant pathogens that you want to  
> take care.
> For those reasons, it's worthwhile to educate readers--let them  
> know that
> different composts have different uses; as long as the compost is
> appropriate to the use, you can't go wrong.
>
> Miranda
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Jan 15, 2008 7:36 AM, Lee Reich <garden@leereich.com> wrote:
>
>> What kind of "testing" did you do to see the differences in your
>> composts? And was the only difference imposed in curing time?
>>
>> Lee Reich, PhD
>> http://leereich.com/
>>
>> Books by Lee Reich:
>> The Pruning Book
>> Weedless Gardening
>> Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden
>> A Northeast Gardener's Year
>>
>>
>> On Jan 14, 2008, at 12:07 PM, Miranda Smith wrote:
>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> Yes, the way that you compost determines the quality of the finished
>>> project. I've done enough research, complete with testing all the  
>>> way
>>> through and at the time that it was stockpiled for curing, 3 months
>>> after
>>> that time, and 6 months after that, to know that is so--the
>>> "formal" way,
>>> with or without composters in tuxedos and tiaras, gives the highest
>>> quality
>>> product.
>>>
>>> But there is a huge caveat. Unless you are using the compost as a
>>> disease
>>> suppressant, in greenhouse containers or starting mixes, or  
>>> composting
>>> something smelly in a suburban environment, does improved quality
>>> matter
>>> enough to inspire you to monitor the piles every day and adjust
>>> accordingly?
>>> I don't think so. For ordinary uses, sloppy compost works fine--as
>>> long as
>>> it's really broken down. And you can tell that with a simple "cress
>>> test."
>>> Before you buy compost, do a cress test with it: take a sample,
>>> plant land
>>> cress in it--no additives like peat moss or vermiculite--and see
>>> how they
>>> do. If they are fine, you can use it in starting mixes. If not, you
>>> know
>>> that it requires a few more months of curing before it is safe to
>>> use for
>>> sensitive applications.
>>>
>>> Best,
>>>
>>> Miranda
>>>
>>> On Jan 14, 2008 11:37 AM, <loisdan@juno.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi Everyone,
>>>>
>>>> Last week I posted a piece to my blog on troublefree composting.
>>>> Out of
>>>> curiosity, I browsed several GWL member sites to see what you all
>>>> have to
>>>> say on the topic. Of those I read, while most gave at least an
>>>> obligatory
>>>> nod to the "rules" of composting, nearly everyone seemed to use
>>>> some type
>>>> of desultory method similar to my own. What say you? Do any of you
>>>> compost only by the rules? It might be an interesting exercise for
>>>> us to
>>>> discuss whether formal composting actually has much effect on the
>>>> final
>>>> product.
>>>>
>>>> Regards,
>>>> Lois
>>>> Visit http://loisdevries.blogspot.com
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