Re: organic matter in soil and mulch was: information needed
- To:
- Subject: Re: organic matter in soil and mulch was: information needed
- From: M* T*
- Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1999 01:54:42 -0400
Donna,
Does sound indeed like you're on the right track. Just make sure those
lovely woodchips are a nice dark black/brown before you incorporate them
into the soil...the fertilizer you added has probably helped them to
compost faster than my piles, which are just left on their own. They take
at least three years to rot down enough for planting with...can use it for
mulch sooner than that.
Sounds like you are using the wood chips as a basis for a super compost
heap. If you have the time and energy, turning it over so that what's on
the outside is put on the inside of the new pile will help speed up the
composting process, plus making sure it stays moist (like a damp sponge)
but not soggy....hard to do with no rain!
Once upon a time, years ago, I followed instructions in an Organic
Gardening mag for 14 day compost. Got my hands on a pick up truck of horse
manure + bedding and added everything else I had at hand. Turned it
religiously every other day (I think it was)...lot of work, but that sucker
heated up like mad and I did have useable compost in 14 days.. Never
repeated the operation since, but it was nice to know it can be done:-)
Sawdust, left in a pile on its own, will also take about 3 years to rot
sufficiently...but Lordy is it lovely stuff when it does. Once upon a
time (again) I used to have all my paths laid down in sawdust about 6 - 8
inches deep. At the end of three years, I'd scrape out this great black
humus and load them up again. Finally got them paved, which eliminated the
source of humus, but also the weeds who thought rotted sawdust was an ideal
nursery bed for their seeds to light into.
I envy you having a source for manure! Haven't had my hands on the real
stuff for years. My ideal Christmas/birthday or unbirthday gift would be a
pickup truck load of lovely horse manure! My family does not believe
me...sigh...better'n diamonds anyday, say I! Take your friend up on it,
because mixing fresh manure with woodchips and leaves and/or sawdust will
give you marvelous black gold in the end and help the woody stuff decompose
faster. Your plants will go bonkers when they bite into that mix!
Thanks for the invite, but Mississippi is a "fur piece"....take you up on
it if I ever get there:-)
Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
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> From: James & Donna Davis <dsdavis@intop.net>
> Date: Monday, August 30, 1999 6:43 PM
>
>
> Lord, Marge I don't know of anyone that could have explained it
> better. Now if I can follow where you have lead, I'm in business.
> I have a big pile of wood chips that have been rotting since early,
> early spring, to which I added 50 lb of 13-13-13 and 50 lb of cow
> manure. when the oak leaves start falling I plan on shredding
> zillions of them for my flower beds. I have also been adding every
> thing you could imagine. tomatoe peels, potato peels, egg shells,
> grass clippings, coffee grounds,
> so I'm hoping that all of this will be good for my beds, when I'm ready
> to do my fall clean up and fixing. I know where I can get some
> sawdust, I may try to get a pick-up load of that and also a friend
> says that we are welcome to manure (all we want)
>
> sooooooooo, if you've nothing planned you are welcome at my house
> this fall
> Oh ! still no rain in sight, but we are on the schedule of a
> well-digger, hopefully in about 3 weeks we will be the owner of a new
> well. I won't have to worry about my plants anymore.
>
> Thanks for the advice. you, like always, have been a wonder
>
> Donna in NE Mississippi zone 7
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