Re: curing compost (again)
- To: M*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: Re: curing compost (again)
- From: R* F* D*
- Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 00:18:12 -0400 (EDT)
At , you wrote:
>At 07:39 PM 4/23/2000 +0900, you wrote:
>>So--it's a good thing to let compost cure. My question is: how? covered or
>>not? I have a heap, still full of worms. So, Moira says, it's not ready.
>>It's now covered by a tarp and in the shape of a hill. There's not a whole
>>lot there - maybe a few cubic feet's worth.
>>
>>Barbara
Barbara:
I wish I could have access to the compost I did twenty-five years ago. I
shredded and mixed red maple leaves with horse manure and coffee grounds
(10:3:1). In two weeks, it was a lovely mass of white leaf mold, and quite
warmer than the surrounding soil. In a month more, there were large areas
that were pure worm castings, and a lot of very healthy worms. I used this
in my soil mix and got the most robust plants I'd ever seen. My Salvias
needed repotting in about three weeks after potting up the cuttings.
A very active composting process should make an excellent soil amendment at
the end of the process. The slower the process, the more it will need
curing, I guess.
Richard F. Dufresne
313 Spur Road
Greensboro, North Carolina 27406 USA
336-674-3105
