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is adding your own compost straight to veggie garden good idea?
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Posted by novice_2009 zone 6b (My Page) on Sat, Nov 7, 09 at 11:50
Around early september, I added my finished compost to veggie garden as a top dressing for fall crops, winter cover crops, and just to improve the garden.
Well, a million of the same little weed sprung up all over the place, and now I'm thinking that wasn't a good idea.
Perhaps it should be tilled in (can only do that in spring), or use moderately around the base of plants?
Please help. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: is adding your own compost straight to veggie garden good ide
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| I always put compost on my beds, usually in spring. It doesn't matter when you do it though. I'm not an expert on compost, but maybe your compost didn't get hot enough to kill the weed seeds? Do you get frozen temps in your area? That should kill the weeds this winter. In any case, they should be easy to pull or hoe out when young. Whether or not to till it in is a matter of opinion, some saying tilling is counterproductive to soil health. I think it's a good idea to mulch before the ground freezes, to protect the soil. A layer of mulched leaves does a good job, and leaves the soil beautiful in spring. |
RE: is adding your own compost straight to veggie garden good ide
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| Adding compost in September was a really good idea even though those "weeds" germinated. There is no need to till, just get enough newspaper and mulch to cover the area now and that will kill those "weeds" for you. |
RE: is adding your own compost straight to veggie garden good ide
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| the only thing you may not have done is to mulch over the compost, that would have taken care of most things that wanted to sprout. outside of that i can't see any thing wrong with what you did we work a similar system in our gardens, where all composting happens on the garden between the plants. len |
Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page
RE: is adding your own compost straight to veggie garden good ide
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Thanks! The compost looked good to me, had spent all summer breaking down, had been hot when I turned it, but still had weed seeds I guess from yard clippings added towards end of summer?
Anyway, so I've got a layer on the garden. Leaves have fallen now on the garden, covering it. Should I leave them there? Will they break down since they are whole? If they get wet, will this contribute to possible fungal problems? |
RE: is adding your own compost straight to veggie garden good ide
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All leaves will be "broken down" by the soil bacteria eventually, how soon depends on how much preservative is in those leaves. Oak has lots, but they also get digested over time. So you can leave those leaves where they are and they will not contribute to possible fungal problems.
What fungal "problems" have you seen that causes you to be concerned? Most organic matter needs the action of fungi as well as bacteria to be digested and incorporated into your soil. |
RE: is adding your own compost straight to veggie garden good ide
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All good advice. One problem I have had with mulching soil in fall or winter is if the mulch doesn't break down by spring time the soil will stay very wet and cool slowing the growth of my spring plants and causing rot in potatoes.
Concerning the weed seeds, building a compost pile all at once and monitoring it with a compost thermometer will help with your weed seeds and possible disease. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Composting
RE: is adding your own compost straight to veggie garden good ide
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| I second what Judy said, a mulch on the garden will significantly slow the soil from warming up in the spring. Chopped (mulched) leaves will make a better cover than whole leaves, as whole ones mat together when they're wet and form kind of a blanket that keeps air and water out. THere are lots of differing opinions in gardening, and organic gardening is no exception. Many people believe in using newspaper in the garden. It should be pointed out that this means black inked pages only. But I still don't like the idea of black print because, although many/most papers now use soy ink, I suspect there are other chemicals in the ink, like solvents, etc, that you wouldn't want in your soil. |
RE: is adding your own compost straight to veggie garden good ide
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The fall applied compost is still a good idea. The weeds that do sprout will not go to further seed but act as a cover crop catching nutrients that may otherwise leach out. Likely they are annual weeds and may be winter killed. The spring till will turn them under.
Organic matter content aids in improving soil structure; drainage, retention, aeration and warming in spring.
All plants, even weeds are organic matter.
The best mulch after fall composting is a cover crop. Consider a fall rye or clover variety which you normally would till under as soon as the ground is workable in spring. |
RE: is adding your own compost straight to veggie garden good ide
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| A soil that does not warm up properly in the spring may well be a soil that simple does not have sufficient levels of organic matter in it. The gardens I tended in Indiana and Ohio, all clay, when covered with a heavy mulch the first year or two were slow to warm up but once adequate levels of OM were in those soils they warmed up as quickly as any other soil, maybe a bit better than nearby clay soils with little or no OM in them. |
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