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I've been adding various material to the bottom of my planting areas, both in-ground and in large pots. In the bottom I'll put cut up sticks from cut-off branches along with some straw, pulled weeds, leaves and grass from mowing. Makes my purchased bags of potting mix go twice as far.
The term for making these raised beds with layers that decompose into great soil is "hugelkultur" and it's been done for thousands of years. Great way to recycle material and I like knowing it came from my yard with no weedkiller in/on it.
i mentioned hugelkulture in the first post. have you tried it?
I've tried it. But instead of permabeds, I have been using a modified hugelkultur to fill grow bags. As twinkletwinkle22 said, I put down a layer of small twigs, then cut up turf/lawn (no chemicals added) lawnmower cuttings, then compost, then raised bed soil topped by a new layer of compost mixed with time-release fertilizer. This is my first year of trying this, but, so far, all the plants seem very lush and vigorous after two to three months in the bags. It's definitely cheaper than filling the bags entirely with raised bed and potting soil mixes.
I have not had much success with compost piles in the past. They never seemed to break down, no matter how much I researched and studied online tutorials on how to successfully compost. However, I have buried kitchen veg and fruit scraps in holes around my garden for the past ten years. It takes a year or so, but buried kitchen scraps have worked well for me in my in-ground garden beds. This is my first year of experimenting with raised beds and grow bags and applied compost on top. I am also experimenting with green manure crops that are chopped and troweled into the soil.
I've tried it. But instead of permabeds, I have been using a modified hugelkultur to fill grow bags. As twinkletwinkle22 said, I put down a layer of small twigs, then cut up turf/lawn (no chemicals added) lawnmower cuttings, then compost, then raised bed soil topped by a new layer of compost mixed with time-release fertilizer. This is my first year of trying this, but, so far, all the plants seem very lush and vigorous after two to three months in the bags. It's definitely cheaper than filling the bags entirely with raised bed and potting soil mixes.
I have not had much success with compost piles in the past. They never seemed to break down, no matter how much I researched and studied online tutorials on how to successfully compost. However, I have buried kitchen veg and fruit scraps in holes around my garden for the past ten years. It takes a year or so, but buried kitchen scraps have worked well for me in my in-ground garden beds. This is my first year of experimenting with raised beds and grow bags and applied compost on top. I am also experimenting with green manure crops that are chopped and troweled into the soil.
cool. maybe you can post some pictures later in the season.
my experience with compost piles is similar to yours. mine is mostly leaves and cut grass, and it just doesn't want to decompose.
I have not had much success with compost piles in the past. They never seemed to break down, no matter how much I researched and studied online tutorials on how to successfully compost..
Not sure why. I have mine in mostly a shaded area and it breaks down. I don't add any compounds that helps break it down. Just does on its own. Did you turn it? Does it get hot or humid enough there? Did you add a nice blend of greens and browns?
Within 9 months mine breaks down to a pile of Black Gold
i mentioned hugelkulture in the first post. have you tried it?
I use hugelkultur-lite because I don't have large logs or room to make large mounds.
I try and recycle my plant waste into my yard instead of bagging it up and sending it to landfill.
In the fall I use the lawnmower to vaccuum up leaves and spread them on the garden, later that gets topped with straw.
If you want to save money, definitely join Costco.
Quote:
Originally Posted by antinimby
If you’re growing things for food, spend more for safer, organic stuff. Many of the cheap stuff uses wastes that have chemicals and other unhealthy stuff in it.
Regarding Costco, to each their own. You can definitely save money if you shop smart. Buying things that will perish or buy more than what you actually need is completely foolish.
Not sure why. I have mine in mostly a shaded area and it breaks down. I don't add any compounds that helps break it down. Just does on its own. Did you turn it? Does it get hot or humid enough there? Did you add a nice blend of greens and browns?
Within 9 months mine breaks down to a pile of Black Gold
I toss it all upside down and over once a week with a pitchfork and make sure that water is added at least once a week to keep the pile moist but not damp. It does not get hot in that location. I use a compost thermometer and the temp never gets above 86 F no matter how hot the ambient temp. I don't think my ratio is enough brown to green (online sources seem to recommend 4 brown to 1 green, mine is more 2:1.) So I went to the city free compost dump and got a couple of buckets of their compost to add to my pile. I have avoided using the free city compost so far, because I don't know if it came from plants sprayed with herbicides and pesticides, but I hope that the city compost can rev up my compost pile. Nada so far over the past week, but I have hopes.
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