Re: Paper & Soil

Karen--

The soil test is to take a handfull and squeeze to form a ball. If the
ball breaks apart easily into small pieces, it's dry enough; if it's a
gooey slimey clay ball, you'll be very sorry if you till it that wet.

If I were you I'd compost the paper first. My experience with it used as
mulch is that I get significant nitrogen loss while it's decomposing, and
I would expect that would be worse if you tilled it in. However, it makes
fine mulch between widely spaced rows, and at the end of the year it's
decomposed and ready to till under. I no longer use it directly on the
root zone, unless it's composted first.

Another thing about clay-- I think it's Marge Talt who told us about the
"bathtub effect" -- You make 6 or 8 inches of nice, nice, organically
rich soil on top, drains wonderfully, and then when the water that drains
through the enriched layer hits the clay layer, it pools and acts like a
bathtub, and the plants that love good drainage die if there's enough
rain. So be sure and dig deep and amend all the way down, so if it pools
it won't be around the roots of your plants. Lots of work but it makes a
big difference.

Good luck!
                                                Marya



> I know shredded paper is OK to put in the compost pile, but what 
> about
> taking paper that has been through a crosscut shredder and tilling 
> it
> right into the soil. This would go into the southern Ohio red clay 
> of
> the previous message. I also have pelletized gypsum and will pick 
> up
> some bags of compost or something to also till in.

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