Re: [Re: compost]

Maybe it's just a question of supply and demand.


Where I garden in Greece, there are more donkeys, sheep, goats and chickens
than there are places to put the stuff they produce so readily. Nobody I know
goes to the bother of composting.

I've started a heap out of interest, but I'm afraid to poke a stick into it
for fear of what I'll find in there. 

  




Nan Sterman <nsterman@mindsovermatter.com> wrote:
> >What a marvelous subject.
> >Here in Istanbul I make compost.  At our nursery we are 
> >successful... There are 3 large bins constructed of pallets lined 
> >with mypex (black geotextile that we use under the plants)  One is 
> >for leaves only, One for all kinds of green stuff & one resting. 
> >They are not covered, open to ground & sky.  The leaves stay loose 
> >and degenerate quietly.  The mixed compost generates loads of heat 
> >and seems to be doing well.  Later this autumn I'll be investigating 
> >the rotted one for success.
> >However, to reflect the stories from Greece... There is a huge 
> >resistance to compost in the population at large.  People are afraid 
> >of the mess, smell, bugs, snakes, rats, and what the neighbours will 
> >say.  Gardeners refuse to cooperate, and prefer to put their rubbish 
> >in bright blue plastic bags on the street or chuck it on the 
> >hillside...
> >Some further comments for compost in this climate:  The size is 
> >important.  Too small a pile just doesn't have enough mass to get 
> >going.  During the summer (no rain for 3 months) it has to be kept 
> >moist with grass clippings & other wet waste.  Sticks need to be cut 
> >up or chipped, & from time to time we also throw old soil (dirt) 
> >from plants in there too, which already contains some of the 
> >microbes necessary.
> >Istanbul soil is terrible.  Mostly clay.  Compost can only be good 
> >because of the organic improvement it will make, so my feeling is 
> >that it is essential that those of us gardening in Greece & Turkey 
> >must continue to persevere - if only for the sake of the planet!
> >Chevrel Traher
> >Istanbul Zone 8?
> 
> Chevrel, I could have written the same exact message from here in 
> California!  Same issues, same climate, same soil!!!
> 
> Nan
> -- 
> **********
> '''''''''''''''''''''''
> Nan Sterman
> San Diego County California
> Sunset zone 24, USDA hardiness zone 10b or 11


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