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Tue, Jun 26, 12 at 20:55
| I have searched the web for an answer with no luck. I need a rough ballpark idea of how much decrease in volume I can expect. I plan to cover 260 feet of row with 2 inches of compost which will require about 1 1/2 cubic yards of compost. How much starting material do I need. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by jonhughes So.Oregon (jonehughes@hotmail.com) on Tue, Jun 26, 12 at 21:18
| Hi 2b, If you are trying to decide how big of a compost pile you need to maintain year after year to cover that much row, I believe I get about 75% shrinkage, so if I have 10 yards of materials , I would wind up with 2.5 Yards of Finished Compost
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- Posted by blazeaglory 10 SZ22 OC Ca (My Page) on Wed, Jun 27, 12 at 0:46
| Lucky! |
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Wed, Jun 27, 12 at 11:44
| Shrinkage! |
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| jonhughs--WOW! What an inspiring sight and site! Thank you so much for making effort to post pictures. I am floored by the mass of materials needed to produce 1-2" of compost. I think I will be able to produce enough compost to apply one inch and will probably have to use sheet composting. It looks like you used whole leaves. What did you use for "green" material and how long did it take to complete? |
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| 2bgreen, that jonhughs is amazing, but nothing like the WOW when you see the compost in action. He has concrete beds full of all kinds of vegetables. When you say "sheet composting" do you mean the NEW no till mulch sheet composting. Or do you mean the OLD sheet composting where you spread the to be composted materials on the bed, then till them under to set & rot for 60-120 days( Organic Gardening Magazine). If you mean the old sheet composting, best shred the compost first. Of course, if you mean the new one, it will be 30 to 300 day, before you can use the sheet material, but it will rot over time. I do the old sheet compost & have had whole leaves disappear in 60 days. But I have well composted active soil that are full of waste eaters.  |
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| jolj--I was not aware of old and new methods. I had not planned to till in and probably can't since my stash of shredded leaves is small and I have easy access to straw and coffee grounds. I plan to lay out materials in my permanent rows, wet it, cover with plastic with light straw layer over plastic to prevent UV damage to plastic. It will be easy to check for moisture. Then, turn it in with spade fork in Spring. You look like and old hand at this. What suggestions do you have? |
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| Not to argue, because jonhughes is "da man!" But, after THREE years of adding OM, filling the bin absolutely to the top at least three times per year, and topping it occasionally after that, this is what I have today. Now, the great majority of this is leaves, although a couple of years have had a good deal of grass clippings. I use urea to shrink the pile after the fall collection as my N source. Yet, three years of OM keeps ending up at about 18". I personally think it depends on your methodology. This pile is hot for a while, then cold, year after year. Doesn't get turned (due to the old back). But, when screened and used this method gives the usual GREAT results with veggies or perennials. Wish I had your young back and energy and creativity, jon! hortster |
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| The new posting system for pix is an anomaly. |
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| At one inch deep a yard squared will cover approximately 324 feet squared. |
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- Posted by jonhughes So.Oregon (jonehughes@hotmail.com) on Wed, Jun 27, 12 at 23:45
| Well... Horster is right......sort-of ;-) If compost is finished but "left out", I think it will eventually disappear altogether, so "finished" is a relative term, use it as soon as it is mostly "neutral", and you will get the most bang for the buck.... I only "shred" when I don't have a ton of greens, if you have a great nitrogen source, it eats everything in its path. Check out my video on shredding (link below)
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Here is a link that might be useful: Shredding like there is no tomorrow ;-)
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| I fill my 4 x 4 x 4 bin to the top in the fall and by spring that material will have been digested to about 4 x 4 x 2, or roughly a 50 percent reduction in volume. How much compost you will need to adequately amend your soil depends on how much organic matter is in your soil now. You want about 6 to 8 percent organic matter in your soil and that can be other OM bsides compost. Spreading about 1/2 inch of compost on my sand, and covering that with 4 to 6 inches of shredded leaves, is enough in my planting beds. |
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| 2bgreen, jon's right, but you do not have to shred or turn. It is quicker if you do. I do not fear chemicals on grass clippings from other peoples yards, It may bite me someday, but I believe that the composting purifies the compost much like it changes pH. I pick up 5 bags of OPG/other people grass clippings & drop it in my back yard late June last year & for got them until I needed the room for fig cuttings & found that the OPG had composted in the black plastic bags & had earth worms in one of them. hortster Pic's are ideal for a no turn compost pile, just like lazygardens & my Uncle, who was 68 & still gardening( hope I can at that age). If you add greens, shred, & till you will get compost faster then if you do not. It is left up to you |
Here is a link that might be useful: photo's of piles
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| jolj--I am a 112 lb, gray haired, 67 yr old lady. I take care of 260 row feet of garden with a spade fork and other hand tools. I heat with wood that I season myself and carry from wood stack to fireside in my skinny little arms. If you want to garden when you're 68 you have to start now and don't stop. Researchers have found groups of "indigenous" peoples in their 80's and 90's still walking up mountains and tending their gardens. We Americans have distorted perception about what our bodies can do. WELL, there's the rant on stay active. The pictures and advice really point out that I have lots of options and there are a lot of right ways to exploit Mother Earth's rotten ways. I'm going to set up rows with sheet composting in different depths and by next Spring will have a lot of information about how to proceed. A few weeks ago I made a serendipitous discovery that could add significant vermicompost to the garden. I have 18" wide walkways between 18" rows. The walkways are covered with 18" wide black plastic with light cover of straw. Some walkways got more straw than others. Where the straw is deeper, there is 1/2 to 3/4 inches of vermicompost, filled with worms working away. Some walkways have become shallow trenches over time and apparently retained enough moisture to make a good home for worms. So, with sheet composting the grow rows and turning walkways into worms farms, this next gardening season will be the most exciting of my life. jon--are you running a commercial enterprise? The HF shredder is spectacular. |
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- Posted by jonhughes So.Oregon (jonehughes@hotmail.com) on Thu, Jun 28, 12 at 23:48
| Hi 2bgreen, No, I donate my vegetables to the Local Food Bank, (there is always someone more needy than me), I am very blessed ;-) |
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| I said to myself "this is a guy who comprehends safety". (fire extinguisher on the wall beside an exit) You da man, Jon! Lloyd |
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- Posted by jonhughes So.Oregon (jonehughes@hotmail.com) on Fri, Jun 29, 12 at 9:18
| Hi Lloyd, That's funny, I am always looking for opportunities to be useful, I figure that if I have a fire extinguisher readily available, I might actually have a fighting chance ;-) |
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- Posted by darth_weeder z7 NY (My Page) on Fri, Jun 29, 12 at 9:52
| Jon it's obvious you prefer working out with those veggies so what are the kettle bells used for then? |
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- Posted by jonhughes So.Oregon (jonehughes@hotmail.com) on Fri, Jun 29, 12 at 13:09
| Nightime ;-) |
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