Quote:
Originally Posted by Redbaron
It is OK to be skeptical COMPOSTER. Just remember what you said though.
The prairies had 10% and more meters deep back when they first were plowed, especially the former tall grass prairies. This is a result of a different mechanism than the short term carbon cycle found in the top 2-3 inches of soil which your mulches and manures are promoting, but having difficulty maintaining. A growing plant in symbiosis with beneficial bacteria and fungi sends as much as 20% or more of it's total products of photosynthesis to the roots to feed that deep carbon cycle. The key is to restore the functionality of that deep cycle, because decades ago when the land was first cleared, that cycle was broken.
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I think I understand what you are saying Redbaron but, the prairies were covered with grasses and other plants that were grazed by native animals and then left to grow back, significantly increasing their root systems. From what I have read, that is probably the single best way to increase soil organic matter. However that is not possible in most home gardens. However, lightly tilling meaningful amounts of compost and following up with organic mulches is. That said, I'm working and studying to learn more about no till and cover crops. My only experience with cover crops is winter rye and that needed to be chopped into the soil 3-4 weeks before planting. It worked great but was a ton of work and if the soil was too wet I would need to wait before incorporating it delaying my planting schedule.
My thought process on working the compost into the top 2 or 3 inches is that this will prevent the compost from being 100% exposed to the air and it will retain more fertility. Also, and this is probably very flawed logic, it we be that much closer to the root zone of the plants.
Glenn