Compost, Vermiculture, & Soil Fertility Cynthia Sandberg Love Apple Farms www.LoveAppleFarms.com
Class Introduction Please keep your talking to a minimum, allowing you and your neighbors to get the full value of the class. What this class doesn't cover: ● Growing tomatoes, vegetables, and perennials ● Every possible soil amendment ● Every possible method of composting BUT WE LEARN LOTS ABOUT COMPOST AND WORMS!
It's All About the Soil ● Increase yields ● Decrease pests and diseases ● Increase nutritional value of crops ● Improve flavor ● Reduce erosion of topsoil ● Conserve water
Macronutrients ● Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium (NPK) ● Needed in larger quantities by plants
Micronutrients ● Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Molybdenum (Mo), Boron (B), Copper (Cu), Manganese (Mn), Zinc (Zn), Chlorine (Cl), Iron (Fe), Nickel (Ni) ● Needed in trace quantities, too much can hurt plants more than it can help ● Regular additions of organic matter essential
Soil pH ● Test your soil! ● Rainfall increases soil acidity ● Add lime to raise pH ● Add sulfur to lower pH
Importance of Soil pH ● Most vegetables want a pH between 5 and 7 ● 6.5 is a great pH for an all-purpose veggie garden ● Your pH could be way off ● Plants cannot uptake nutrients when pH is skewed
Soil Fertility DO'S DON'TS ● Double-digging ● Rototilling ● Cover cropping ● Fallow land ● Organic amendments ● Chemical fertilizers, fungicides, pesticides ● Compost!!! (organic ok) ●Soil Compaction
Double-Digging Technique
Incorporate Compost & Dry Fertilizer While Double Digging
Organic Amendments ● Feed your soil like you feed your body ● Cannot "Miracle Gro" soil into good health ● Vegetables are fast-growing plants ● Need more fertilizer than perennials because you are harvesting (taking away nutrients) ● Always amend beds before planting make amendment recommendations X ● Soil test will reveal deficiencies and
Bed Amending Recipe For a 50 square foot bed: ● 1 wheel barrow homemade compost OR 1 bag Gardner & Bloome Harvest Supreme ● 2 quarts G&B 4-6-3 Tomato, Veg, & Herb Fertilizer ● 1 quart pure Worm Castings ● 1 pound Mustard Meal
Bed Amending Step by Step If Your Bed is Already Double Dug ● Sprinkle all amendments evenly on top ● Turn over soil as deep as you can using a spade fork ● Rake smooth
Cover Crops
Cover Cropping Basics ● Cover cropping aka “green manure” improves soil ● Adds fertility ● Prevent erosion from wind and rain ● Produces and maintains top soil ● When you have nothing growing in the bed (such as in the winter time), put in a cover crop (maintains a “living soil”) ● Good cover crops: mustards, vetch, fava beans, bell beans, rye or a mix ● 4-6 weeks before planting vegetables, cut it down to the base, compost tops, and turn soil over, putting the tops upside down with roots exposed (or if able, break up clods after turning over)
Composting Definition: The controlled aerobic decomposition of biodegradable organic matter, producing compost.
Pallet-Sided compost bin ● Pallets are cheap and easy to find ● Wire together, then unwire to turn or use compost
Three-bin Compost System ● Easy DIY project made of lumber, wire mesh and corrugated metal top ● 2x6 lumber slats fit into grooves on 4x4 posts ● Add or remove 2x6s as pile increases and decreases in size ● Turn first pile into second and third bins to aid in decomposition
Compost Tumblers ● Promise to give you finished compost in 2 weeks ● Don’t live up to that promise w/o a lot of work ● Don’t get benefit of worms moving into compost as it finishes decomposing ● Don’t waste your money
Free-Form Compost Pile ● Easiest one to build ● Be careful of N and C ratios ● Don’t let it get too wet in winter ● Don’t let it dry out in summer ● Only works if varmints can’t get into it and scatter it everywhere
Building a Compost Pile ● Start with 6" layer of sticks and/or stalks criss-crossed ○ Use twigs, sunflower stalks, corn stalks ● Add a 2" layer of "green" matter (nitrogen) ● Add a 3" layer of "brown" matter (carbon) ● Water lightly ● Another 2" layer of "green" matter ● Another 3" layer of "brown" matter ● Water lightly ● And so on and so on... If you build large enough pile all in one day, it should exceed 130 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 days, then cool down.
Homeowner Method - Bit by Bit If you're not building complete pile from scratch: ●Add your buckets from under your sink one by one. ●Ensure there is enough carbon in your bucket. ●Carbon can be paper towels, napkins, Kleenex, coffee filters, tea bags, torn up newspaper, junk mail, paper shredder refuse, etc. Caveat: If not enough carbon, pile will putrefy
"Green" Matter: High Nitrogen Content ● Kitchen scraps* ● Garden scraps* ● Grass clippings ● Coffee grounds ● Yard trimmings* ● Green leaves ● Most weeds ● Animal manure (vegetarians only) *Cut up into smaller pieces More surface area = faster decomposition
"Brown" Matter: High Carbon Content ● Animal bedding ● Fireplace ashes ● Hair and fur (shavings, straw) ● Cardboard ● Hay and Straw ● Paper ● Dried leaves ● Coffee filters and tea ● Nut shells ● Sawdust bags ● Cotton rags and balls ● Newspaper ● Dryer and vacuum ● Wood chips cleaner lint ● Wool rags ● Eggshells
What Not to Compost ● Black walnut tree leaves or twigs ● Oak leaves and pine needles ● Coal or charcoal ashes ● Dairy products ● Diseased or insect-ridden plants ● Fats, grease, lard, or oils ● Cooked meat or bones ● Pet wastes ● Yard trimmings treated with chemical pesticides
Now let's go outside and build a compost pile!
Vermiculture (Cold Composting) ● Can be done outdoors and indoors, even in apartments! ● Rich soil conditioner ● Worm casting tea: our favorite fertilizer!
The Container: Store-Bought Examples
The Container: Home-made Examples
Drainage Holes ● Drill holes in bottom for drainage and sides for ventilation.. ● Place tray underneath to capture excess liquid (use as plant fertilizer).
Cover Bins ● Retains moisture. ● Provides darkness for worms. ● If indoors: burlap sack or sheet of dark plastic. ● If outdoors: solid lid to keep out unwanted scavengers and rain.
Bedding for Inside Bin ● Necessary to provide damp bedding for worms to live in. ● Shredded newspaper, cardboard, dry leaves, chopped up straw, compost, sawdust. ● Vary to provide more nutrients and create richer compost. ● Add a few handfuls of sand or soil - necessary grit for worm's digestion. ● Wet as a wrung-out sponge. ● Fluff up to provide air spaces.
Compost Worms: Redworms Eisenia foetida ● Aka red wiggler, brandling, manure worm ● Live at or near surface Lumbricus rubellus ● Aka driftworm, garden worm, angle worm, leaf worm, red march worm, red wriggler ● Live further down Do not use dew-worms (found in soil)--they will not survive
Worm Bin Location ● Indoor all year round ○ Basements are great ● Outdoor during milder climates ○ Sheds, garages, patios, balconies, in yard ● Temperature range: 40 - 80°F ○ If < 40°F: move indoors or insulate well ● Out of hot sun and heavy rain
Feeding Your Worms DO's DON'Ts ● Fruit and vegetable ● Meat scraps, chopped up ● Dairy ● Pulverized egg shells ● Oily foods ● Tea bags, coffee ● Grains ● Citrus grounds, filters ●Onions
Food/Worm Ratio 1 lb food waste 1/2 lb worms : every week to start (roughly 500) ● If starting with less worms, reduce food accordingly ● Worm population will steadily increase over time ● Then you can start adding more proportionately
Maintaining Your Bin ● Add food for 3 months - little or no bedding should remain ○ Castings will be dark brown ○ Contents will decrease in bulk ● Harvest castings when your bin is AT LEAST half full
Harvesting your Castings ● Worms move up into food, leaving castings behind ● To harvest, remove top half of what is in the bin, which holds the worms ● Remove the top half to a tarp or box or bin ● Take away bottom half of bin (these are your usable castings) ● Add a couple of inches of new bedding on the bottom of the bin: shredded newspapers, shavings, dried leaves, compost. Add water to the bedding. It can’t be dry! ● Add back the removed top half. ● Store castings in a bucket or plastic ziplock until ready to use. Do not store in heat or sunlight.
Worm Cocoons
Problem: Worms Crawling to Sides and Lid Worms will crawl when disturbed or when first placed in new bin. If they are crawling to sides or lid at other times, then bedding may be too acid if you add a lot of acidic foods. Solution: ● Add a couple handfuls of dolomitic lime and cut down on acidic wastes Worms may otherwise be unhappy: too hot, too cold, too wet. Analyze what may be the problem and react accordingly
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