A garden is only as good as the ground that it's planted in. Discussion forum for the many ways to improve the soil where we plant our gardens.
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#1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: iowa
Posts: 31
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Our local land fill is offering compost for ten dollars per ton. Now originally, I was pretty excited about that, and had planned on making a few trips out there so I could put some of that good stuff on my vegetable garden.
Now, my question is, since I dont really know where this compost came from, could it be full of chemicals from lawns? Or would the chemicals dissipate away as the material was composted. My other option is that I have access to a lot of horse manure. I'm thinking I may skip the compost and go with a little horse poo instead. What ya all think I should do?
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#2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: PNW
Posts: 4,743
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Without tests for toxic substances, it would be impossible to
say what might be in land fill compost that you would not want in your garden. (They probably make it out of collected yard waste, plus maybe manures from commercial livestock farms of one kind or another; out here there would be a lot of composted commercial wood waste in it, too, bark and sawdust, but there is probably not a lot of that produced in Iowa.) Horse manure is usually safe. You might ask whoever provides it whether they lime their stalls (some race tracks do that to keep odors down). If they do, that makes it an alkaline soil amendment that can raise pH in the garden. Unwanted possible toxic components aside, both are excellent soil amendments, with the horse manure usually having more nitrogen and phosphorus and the compost more potassium.
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#3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: South Of The Border
Posts: 1,169
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For me, it's the aged horse manure which is usually mixed with stall shavings. It's all I have used for 20 years or more. We had giant piles that the husband would flatten out with the tractor 3 or 4 times during the year and then pile it all back up. I have NEVER had to fertilize my garden or add any commercial products. The garden here feeds 4 people all year and we get more than enough to eat fresh or can or preserve in some way. I also have earthworms out the kazoo...
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#4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: iowa
Posts: 31
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ok, sounds like I should probably pass on the compost. Thanks for the help :-)
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rod |
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#5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Back in da U.P.
Posts: 1,846
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i will be getting horse manure from a neighbor down the road with 6 or 7 horses. i have a truck, and he has a front end loader. he said i can have all i want. i've also used composted yard waste, mainly leaves, and grass from the town pile when i was in the U.P. i would go with the manure for the biggest bang. the compost would be a good soil amendment. not sure about life of chemicals in the compost. i would ask the folks at the compost place, if they know anything.
keith |
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#6 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: South Of The Border
Posts: 1,169
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#7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Tulsa, OK
Posts: 630
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In my city they give the compost away for free, but it's all from sewage waste. I thought about getting some, but it almost certainly has chemicals from waste water treatment, plus pharmaceuticals, etc. in it. And I'm not going to feed my plants with that stuff, even though the chemicals are probably only present in trace amounts.
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#8 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 2,591
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If you are short of greenhouse space, fresh horse manure works great in a pit cold frame. We used this method for years when i couldn't build a greenhouse.
Dig a pit about 2 feet deep. Add back about a foot of fresh horse manure. Stomp it down. Add a thin layer of sand on top to cover the manure. Place flats of plants directly on the sand. Have plastic for over the top with at least a foot or 2 of air over the plants. The fresh manure will give off enough heat to keep the plants warm on frosty nights, enough for maybe about 10* protection. If the temp is supposed to go down below the upper 20s I would also cover with a tarp or 2. The other thing about the fresh manure is that it gives off quite a bit of gassous Nitrogen. Some mornings it would look like "fog" inside the cold frame. Makes for some very green possibly over lush plants. Adjust your fertilizer accordingly. Carol |
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#9 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: iowa
Posts: 31
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Praxxus55712 I love your youtube videos! You're totally cracking me up with your humor and I have to thank you for all good info in your videos. Keep up the good work!
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