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Tue, Mar 27, 12 at 13:49
| Last fall I found a source of horse manure extremely close to my house (riding stable about 2 minutes away) and I collected some of it. I took some that was obviously fresh and was still in the "apples" stage. I took some that appeared to have aged a bit and was more crumbly. I added all of this my compost pile turned it a couple times but left it alone for the remainder of the fall and through winter. The other day I spread contents from that pile onto a bed that I will use for tropicals only. That bed had been neglected over the past 10 years and was pretty much hard clay. Even though when it was spread I didn't see anymore "apples" the texture is still crumbly looking with small clumps. It doesn't smell and when I was shoveling it from the compost bin there were some of the fattest worms I've seen. Do you think it is ready in this current state to start planting palms and tropicals in it without worrying about burning? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Tue, Mar 27, 12 at 13:52
| Yes, over winter should have been plenty long enough, and if it doesn't smell and has worms in it, you're good to go! |
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| Finished compost should have an odor, or an aroma, of good, rich earth, a pleasant aroma that I am finding many people do not recognize today. It should not smell of ammonia, that odor fresh manure has plenty of, nor should it smell putrid, of rotting material. How much of a smell is present is determined by the moisture level, which determines the activity of the soil bactieria which produce what we smell. |
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- Posted by earthworm73 WA z8 (My Page) on Thu, Mar 29, 12 at 9:22
| kimmsr I should have clarified. It does have a earthy smell. It doesn't have a manure or bad odor. I was worried because it still had some small "clumps", "balls" and I thouoght maybe it had not broken down completely. |
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Thu, Mar 29, 12 at 10:34
| I know what you mean earthworm, but it should be OK. If they had done more turning and mixing it would have broken up those clumps, but the microbes had adequate time to do their work and if it smells earthy, they got 'er done. |
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| Earthworms can tell you a lot about compost pile. Night crawlers or eisenia veneta are found in finished compost. They are large, slow moving worms. The other is Red Wiggler or eisenia fetida which live & hatch their young in the heat of a unfinished compost pile. Which they leave for greener pastures, when the pile cools. Pun intended.:-) |
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