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Tue, Feb 28, 12 at 11:26
| Planning a new garden a year away would like to get the thoughts of others on starting this garden. I plan to layer cardboard with about 2 inches of coffe grounds over the top and then dirt and then repeat the process for a garden that is goiung to be 4 feet wide by 16 feet long. I am thinking that by doing so it will compost during the year and a couple of months till I plan to plant it with flowers and vegetables.
Am I on the right track or way off base on this? Thanks for reading,
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Follow-Up Postings:
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| Right on the money, but the more diverse the layers, the more diverse your nutrients will be. Try to add kitchen scraps, manures, leaves, etc. to get a good blend of nutrients. Good for you for starting early, too many people want to get a it all done in a week. |
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| g'day wingy, sounds good like 'billme' says yep add heaps of stuff, pretty much i would add anything in that is going to rot. see our bale garden presentation it may offer some ideas. len |
Here is a link that might be useful: lens straw bale garden
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- Posted by the_virginian Zone 7 NoVA (My Page) on Wed, Feb 29, 12 at 13:33
| The more the better prior to the planting season. You should have some great soil once everything has broken down into the soil. |
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| billme, Do you shred the layers, before you spread them? Or is it better to just lay them out the way you gather them? How deep should each layer be? Does this even matter or am I over thing this? |
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| There are arguments both ways. Shredded material will break down faster only as long as it gets adequate oxygen. Many people put rough material and large stalks down first to encourage more air infiltration in the base, then do a series of layers on top of finer material. This is essentially a slower and cooler composting method, so the standard of mixing things together is the ideal. Layering is really just a better way of keeping track of quantities, so that the C/N ratio stays close to what you intend, and layering is more likely what happens in real life. A more thorough mix and shredding will get faster results. |
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| Thanks for the quick reply. |
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