organic Organics 101

Phil said:
Here's a cheap, easy composting idea.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-JqApyMaP4
That is true but if you put too much green material much of the nitrogen will gas off into the atmosphere instead of breaking down and staying in the compost.
They say the ideal ratio of brown ingredients to green is about 25:1 to 30:1. Sometimes that can be hard for some of us to shoot for though depending on what material we have to work with.
 
Proud Marine Dad said:
That is true but if you put too much green material much of the nitrogen will gas off into the atmosphere instead of breaking down and staying in the compost.
They say the ideal ratio of brown ingredients to green is about 25:1 to 30:1. Sometimes that can be hard for some of us to shoot for though depending on what material we have to work with.
Ok, green is easy=Rear bagging mower. Where during the growing months do you get brown in the right quantities?
 
CAPCOM said:
Ok, green is easy=Rear bagging mower. Wear during the growing months do you get brown in the right quantities?
brown%20and%20green%20for%20composting.jpg
 
CAPCOM said:
Ok, green is easy=Rear bagging mower. Where during the growing months do you get brown in the right quantities?
 
     Save lots of leaves in fall and heap up a bunch of them by themselves to make leaf mold. It doesn't decompose very fast, so you should have plenty to work with throughout the summer.
 
Hybrid Mode 01 said:
Save lots of leaves in fall and heap up a bunch of them by themselves to make leaf mold. It doesn't decompose very fast, so you should have plenty to work with throughout the summer.
Very well. But now this becomes a composting reality for 2017 as leaves are slow to break down and I won't have both green and brown til next summer. With that in mind composting has to be a very well thought out and diliberate project. Not one that can be implimented over night for the present year.
 
Proud Marine Dad said:
Good advice HB01.
Leaves are one of the greatest possible things you can have in your compost pile.

Here's a good video on leaf composting.
If you are interested in composting I highly recommend this book. Many consider this the bible on composting.

http://www.amazon.com/Rodale-Book-Composting-Methods-Gardener/dp/0878579915/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433091249&sr=8-1&keywords=rodale+book+of+composting
 
Excellent video, PMD. I have one of those leaf vacuum attachments. I use it every year and dump the leaf mulch into my plants. The man speaks the truth as far as composting being an imitation of nature.
 
Phil said:
Excellent video, PMD. I have one of those leaf vacuum attachments. I use it every year and dump the leaf mulch into my plants. The man speaks the truth as far as composting being an imitation of nature.
Awesome Phil! I have one too but have yet to use it as I have an electric shredder/chipper that I use.
I am curious as to how well the vacuum attachment works on my Black and Decker blower I just bought a while back.
CAPCOM said:
Very well. But now this becomes a composting reality for 2017 as leaves are slow to break down and I won't have both green and brown til next summer. With that in mind composting has to be a very well thought out and diliberate project. Not one that can be implimented over night for the present year.
Do you have a leaf shredder of any type?
If not you can put the bag on your mower and run over the leaves chopping them up smaller.
The smaller things are in a compost pile, the faster the bacteria can break it down.
 
Just a random note in reply to something on the first page.
 
Compost tea will extend the life of a potting soil rich in organic matter and meals, but is not a nutritional additive. Long term growth can be had by running a no till container, but this requires large soil volume and more than just the addition of compost. Meals are used to give dense nutrition, and much work must be done to incorporate worms and other decomposers. It's a balancing act and many use soil analysis to keep everything in line and proportion, or use a topdressing mixture proven effective over the long term.
 
Proud Marine Dad said:
Awesome Phil! I have one too but have yet to use it as I have an electric shredder/chipper that I use.
I am curious as to how well the vacuum attachment works on my Black and Decker blower I just bought a while back.
 
 
If you have the Black & Decker Leaf Hog, then I can say that it works very well. Same one I have. Mulches leaves and small twigs. Bag is easy to empty.
 
Proud Marine Dad said:
Awesome Phil! I have one too but have yet to use it as I have an electric shredder/chipper that I use.
I am curious as to how well the vacuum attachment works on my Black and Decker blower I just bought a while back.

Do you have a leaf shredder of any type?
If not you can put the bag on your mower and run over the leaves chopping them up smaller.
The smaller things are in a compost pile, the faster the bacteria can break it down.
Rear bagging mower, that I can do.
Still it will be fall before I have leaves to work with. And I am thinking that will be around the time I will be de-seeding, drying pods for powder, maybe making my first sauces and prepping for deer season.
 
JoynersHotPeppers said:
brown%20and%20green%20for%20composting.jpg
bring up this again.
which brings up this again.  I
                                            V
 
pepper_rancher said:
Start saving all of your organic waste:  Lawn clippings, leaves, kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, etc.
Compost your bulk materials (grass and leaves)
Worm compost your fruit and veggie scraps (except citrus)
BSFL compost your citrus, meat, bones, spaghetti, bread, (whatever)
 
LET THE COMPOSTING THREAD BEGIN!!!!!!  :dance: :woohoo: :dance:
 
Bonus topic BSFL bins!
 
Yeah I like the video and am with that dude, when I do kitchen scraps they go in one bin and grass, mulch and leaves go in another. I just checked that bin and have about 40 gallons of black gold! Guess I'll have a long wait until next plant out but at least it is there. 
 
CAPCOM said:
I heard sometime back and I cant recall exactly where but horse manure is the worst of the craps to use for growing veg. Could just be hearsay or could be truth, IDK.
 
Your mileage may vary, but I use horse manure extensively(sometimes exclusively when growing in pots) for all of my garden plots with great results, in addition to mulched leaves.  For me, I just can't justify paying for manure when there's so many sources in my area of free horse manure.  I've found that you can use bedding-free horse manure damn near straight from the horse's ass. 
 
I think a lot of the negativity around horse manure is because of the undigested seeds that can lead to weed problems.  If I had access to other free manures I'd try them out but I'm cheap so I plan around the weeds.
 
Hardwarehank said:
 
Your mileage may vary, but I use horse manure extensively(sometimes exclusively when growing in pots) for all of my garden plots with great results, in addition to mulched leaves.  For me, I just can't justify paying for manure when there's so many sources in my area of free horse manure.  I've found that you can use bedding-free horse manure damn near straight from the horse's ass. 
 
I think a lot of the negativity around horse manure is because of the undigested seeds that can lead to weed problems.  If I had access to other free manures I'd try them out but I'm cheap so I plan around the weeds.
I cant fault you there. We all have to use what is readily available to us. Its just what I heard. Personally, I like rabbit shit the best. I little goes a long way, they make a lot of it and it is easy to distribute.
 
Proud Marine Dad said:
I have read that is because horses do not have the digestive system to kill the seeds they injest.
Cows on the other hand do and as well the ability to break down the lignins (woody substances) in the things they eat.
thats very true !     :onfire:
Hardwarehank said:
 
Your mileage may vary, but I use horse manure extensively(sometimes exclusively when growing in pots) for all of my garden plots with great results, in addition to mulched leaves.  For me, I just can't justify paying for manure when there's so many sources in my area of free horse manure.  I've found that you can use bedding-free horse manure damn near straight from the horse's ass. 
 
I think a lot of the negativity around horse manure is because of the undigested seeds that can lead to weed problems.  If I had access to other free manures I'd try them out but I'm cheap so I plan around the weeds.
i got a friend who has race horses ( races up in chicago )  i get all the manure i want every year ! works great huge tomatoes , lots of worms and soft soil !     :onfire:
 
100,000 dollar question. will composting change the or offset the undesirable characteristics of your available grow area? My current garden has a high clay content that becomes more prevalent after rainy and sunny day combinations. The surface layer becomes brick like after baking in the sun over a short period of time.
 
CAPCOM said:
100,000 dollar question. will composting change the or offset the undesirable characteristics of your available grow area? My current garden has a high clay content that becomes more prevalent after rainy and sunny day combinations. The surface layer becomes brick like after baking in the sun over a short period of time.
I surmise you do not mulch your garden? A "brick like surface" usually indicates zero mulching.
 
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