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Re: Compost Question

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

Here's why I sift:

I use a lot of wood chips and leaves in my compost, along with grass
clippings, hedge trimmings, kitchen wastes and so forth.  My compost is
decidedly chunky, and sometimes I will toss in unshredded sticks, old woody
root chunks, etc....so I sift to 1/2 inch (3/4 inch would prolly be OK) just
to get a smoother, more consistent product for the garden.

I sift to 1/4 inch for potting and seed starting mixes, as well as for
topdressing and lawn fertilizing purposes; I mix compost with alfalfa meal 2
parts to one and apply at 30 pounds per thousand square feet, for example.

People who vermicompost sift to 3/16 or 1/8, in search of egg casings and a
more refined and marketable product---worm castings are a very nice
fertilizer and carry a price tag commensurate with their value---check out
the prices where you are...

Sifting also separates out some of the inevitable contaminants, like
plastic, bits of metal, and in my view, any pockets of materials that failed
to decompose...

People have recently written about their failed potatoes in maple
leaves---maple leaves can be allelopathic (phytotoxic, harmful to plants)
until they have decomposed---there is a little article on this in Make
Compost in 14 Days, the Rodale pamphlet....

Composting, and sifting the compost, ensures that the final product will be
truly finished---and if you need compost and can't wait for 2 years, sifting
will help you separate the sheep from the goats---or the humic colloids from
the ligno-cellulose...

However, as Ruth Stout pointed out with many a cry and a shout, sifting and
even pile composting aren't really necessary at all, if you just pile up the
mulch---and this works best once the soil is built up, when I believe the
inch or two of compost under the mulch also takes care of any allelopathic
problems that may arise...

I do note that Ruth was a hay mulcher, and that hay has more nutrients and
less potentially toxic (to plants) phytochemicals than leaves, especially
maple leaves...

Frank---he's not siftless, so as to compost the woody stuff, and because he
likes to sift...but it isn't utterly necessary...he also has worms, so is
ordering some new smaller screens to make Cantoppers with...


Kim suddenly (but not siftlessly) said:

>Does anyone know why it's best to screen homemade compost?  I've never
>done this, but am thinking maybe I should.  Should I?  Any opinions out
>there?  The only reason I can think of is that if you're trying to grow
>root crops you don't want larger pieces getting in the way or your
>perfectly formed root.  Other than that, is there any other reason?
>
>Kim
>zone 9b, so cal
>
>Souliere wrote:
>>
>> Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
>>
>> > From: Rita <mkingkade@mindspring.com>
>> > Subject: Compost Question
>> > Date: Thursday, July 01, 1999 12:01 PM
>> >
>> > I just learned that I will be able to obtain 30 gallons of free
>> > compost from the NYC parks department -- they are giving it out
>> > at a local park in about 10 days.
>> > Should I immediately use this as top dressing/mulch on my garden?
>>
>> As a top dressing, go ahead.  Sometimes city compost is
>> not totally finished doing the breakdown thing and if mixed in it will
>> tie up most available nitrogen until actually done.  So I would not
>> actually till it into the soil until fall.
>>
>> Also (here in Lincoln NE) city compost can contain all sorts of odd
>> things.  A few years back I added 30 gallons (one trash can) of
>> city compost to each bed, without screening it.  Now I am still pulling
>> out weird pieces of debris (sticks, glass, plastic toys).  So if you use
>> city compost remember Mels advise of only using well screened
>> compost.  I am doing this will all new compost (that I generate) and
>> gradually screening the beds (one square foot at a time when I
>> replant).
>>
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