My husband and I were just talking about what to do with the compost he's pulling from our compost bin today! Thank you for this timely video. Yes - we have a small amount so it's so helpful to get your great advice. I will conserve it for next spring when I plant all my seedlings. Great advice!
For the last 5 years on my vegetable and flower allotment, I have been adding 1 to 2 inches of compost in the fall, to my no dig beds. The compost is what I can make plus rotted cow manure and sometimes mushroom compost. I grow plants from seed and plant them deep. In other words, through the compost into the soil. Those seedlings that require it, I pot on into 3” pots and use a large bulb planter to get them into the ground. For crops which are leafy and green, I add extra nitrogen, usually as chicken pellets. This year I’m trialling 2 types of cover crops and hope I can extend this practice in future years. Best wishes
Two of my favorite RUclipsrs in NC use and recommend a compost only available in GA and the Carolinas. It’s particularly good for our clay soils. Since both are horticulturalists and use it themselves, I am using it in my new SC garden. At 76 there are physical things with large scale composting, I just can’t do. So I do what I can. When I could do more, I was the neighborhood leaf collector. One year I gathered 140 bags of leaves. It made a difference to my Central Texas garden.
You’re so right about layering compost over beds. I have a couple of beds in my garden that I completely covered with compost. The plants in those beds did not do as well as the ones planted in ground. I had to give them so much more attention. I’m looking forward to learning more about using cover crops and will be trying this method.
Compost....so complicated! I really appreciate your videos and the way you explain the various subjects you speak about. Compost seems to be a never-ending subject that just when I feel I've got my hands around it there are two or three more considerations. I make my own compost, NEVER enough, so I'm feeling good 😅about that. I'd love to learn more about compost teas and extracts as a way to use what I can produce more efficiently . Thanks so mush for this very useful information!
Enjoy your videos and always learn something new. I'm fortunate to have well established garden beds now, after five years in my home. I also have enough greens and browns to make about a half a yard of compost annually. Not much but I will definitely just use it in the planting holes next spring after watching your video. Makes sense. Never seem to be able to get around planting cover crops but I do cover the raised beds with with shredded leaves and clean grass clippings in the fall. An interesting discovery I've made in the last couple of years is that my flowers and vegetables do much better planted in a low raised bed or directly in native soil. Wish I hadn't wasted my time making four high raised beds.
At the onset of this video, I thought that I was going to learn about cover cropping. But you reminded me about the dangers of adding too much phosphorus. I think we all get hooked on the next big thing without considering what we may have known but have forgotten. (I love your garden shed! A home away from home!)
I appreciate the effort and passion for your work that you show in your videos. Each video is a very rapid and highly detailed brain dump that really makes me laugh as my mind recalls good ol’ Ruth Stout dropping a few dozen potatoes into straw and walking away. Somewhere between you and her is a middle ground where enjoyment of a little satisfying work does the trick. You’re a pro and your in-depth knowledge is amazing.
So much information to wrap our heads around. Thanks. I saw a video recommending conposted chicken manure if one is buying bagged compost--fewer concerns regarding herbicides. We have such a rat problem locally that we're getting rid of our compost piles. We only put in garden waste, no food, but the rats use the piles for nesting. 😓 An acquaintance has had two batches of bulk compost kill off plants because of herbicide contamination. She said the herbicide persists for 5 years in the compost.
Thank you for sharing your valuable knowledge. Greetings from Canada 🍁 I have only found one problem...how do I tell my husband that I want a couple of pet sheep now.😬🙃
I love to hear you talk about PFAS and phosphorus and native crops. I watch every video. Can you temporarily put down a few square feet of wooden dance floor between your aisles of dahlias? I think you are the only person who could talk about your dahlias, PFAS, etc. all while spinning in toe shoes and leaping across a row of dahlias
Sheep poop -- an unavoidable hazard if you raise sheep. I generally use my compost sparingly and in a targeted manner just because I don't have that much. Glad to learn more about the science. Are there any common kitchen scrap materials you would not compost?
Thank you so much for taking the time to share this information with us. It's a complicated subject and all the different soil types further complicate it. I have similar soil to yours.... alkaline with an excess of phosphorus. How do you feel about adding Espoma fertilzers to plants/trees? My concern is that they all contain even more phosphorus, but my soil is deficient in microbials and micronutrients. I do add home compost but we just don't produce enough for our 2 acres.
So we have a massive pile of thick Colorado clay that was dug up for an outdoor seating area. We also have tones of finished and unfinished compost we have been collecting over a couple of years. We are hoping to turn that new clay pile into a pollinator garden and have several natives chosen. BUT from watching your videos for a couple of years I know just working all this compost and last falls leaves into the pile is a gamble. Would you use all those materials (leaves, compost, and unfinished compost) or choose a ratio of the finished compost and the fresher leaves from this fall in a clay pile?
This video made me feel kind of lost and hopeless because I need more soil in my beds because it gets washed away and my raised beds lower every single year… so if I can’t add compost, or only very little, than what do I add?? The video was really helpful, but in my case I just need to know what alternative solutions there are when you just need more soil for beds
Growing cover crops builds soil roots and green “manure” that you can literally turn into soil! Also be sure you aren’t pulling roots out of the soil at the end of the season at cleanup. If you’re experiencing erosion, then you’ll want to put something in place like plant roots during the winter time to keep that from happening. If you need to buy soil for raised beds find something certified organic (OMRI certified), but use a raised bed soil not straight compost!
I have gotten away with adding enormous amounts of horsemanure in my garden every year for 7 years. They are healthy horses (not medicated for worms as that would kill worms in the soil as well) and most years I know the source of their food (once in a while we have to buy from another country and then I dont know of course). I dont remove any leaves etc but let it go back to the soil and like you I get lots of leaves and grass-clippings from my neighbours. So far so good. I want to avoid buying soil as we all know by now that it has pesticides that kills some plants.
Oh my gosh!! The garden montage at the beginning. Wow wow wow 😮
Your gardens are beautiful. From ballerina to homesteader, is a quantum leap! Very impressed.
Oh thank you!
You are so informative! Thank you for all of the research you do for your videos and for explaining everything so it’s easy to understand 😊
My husband and I were just talking about what to do with the compost he's pulling from our compost bin today! Thank you for this timely video. Yes - we have a small amount so it's so helpful to get your great advice. I will conserve it for next spring when I plant all my seedlings. Great advice!
Thank you for having this channel and putting in the extra effort to share your experiences. This is what I needed. Thank you, thank you, thank you! 💜
For the last 5 years on my vegetable and flower allotment, I have been adding 1 to 2 inches of compost in the fall, to my no dig beds. The compost is what I can make plus rotted cow manure and sometimes mushroom compost. I grow plants from seed and plant them deep. In other words, through the compost into the soil. Those seedlings that require it, I pot on into 3” pots and use a large bulb planter to get them into the ground. For crops which are leafy and green, I add extra nitrogen, usually as chicken pellets. This year I’m trialling 2 types of cover crops and hope I can extend this practice in future years. Best wishes
Two of my favorite RUclipsrs in NC use and recommend a compost only available in GA and the Carolinas. It’s particularly good for our clay soils. Since both are horticulturalists and use it themselves, I am using it in my new SC garden. At 76 there are physical things with large scale composting, I just can’t do. So I do what I can. When I could do more, I was the neighborhood leaf collector. One year I gathered 140 bags of leaves. It made a difference to my Central Texas garden.
You’re so right about layering compost over beds. I have a couple of beds in my garden that I completely covered with compost. The plants in those beds did not do as well as the ones planted in ground. I had to give them so much more attention. I’m looking forward to learning more about using cover crops and will be trying this method.
Compost....so complicated! I really appreciate your videos and the way you explain the various subjects you speak about. Compost seems to be a never-ending subject that just when I feel I've got my hands around it there are two or three more considerations. I make my own compost, NEVER enough, so I'm feeling good 😅about that. I'd love to learn more about compost teas and extracts as a way to use what I can produce more efficiently . Thanks so mush for this very useful information!
Enjoy your videos and always learn something new.
I'm fortunate to have well established garden beds now, after five years in my home. I also have enough greens and browns to make about a half a yard of compost annually. Not much but I will definitely just use it in the planting holes next spring after watching your video. Makes sense. Never seem to be able to get around planting cover crops but I do cover the raised beds with with shredded leaves and clean grass clippings in the fall. An interesting discovery I've made in the last couple of years is that my flowers and vegetables do much better planted in a low raised bed or directly in native soil. Wish I hadn't wasted my time making four high raised beds.
Your chemistry is impressive!
At the onset of this video, I thought that I was going to learn about cover cropping. But you reminded me about the dangers of adding too much phosphorus. I think we all get hooked on the next big thing without considering what we may have known but have forgotten. (I love your garden shed! A home away from home!)
I appreciate the effort and passion for your work that you show in your videos. Each video is a very rapid and highly detailed brain dump that really makes me laugh as my mind recalls good ol’ Ruth Stout dropping a few dozen potatoes into straw and walking away. Somewhere between you and her is a middle ground where enjoyment of a little satisfying work does the trick. You’re a pro and your in-depth knowledge is amazing.
Great information. Thanks!
This video is saving my back and my wallet this year!
Great topic and information!!! Love your new intro!!
Thank you for your videos and valuable information
So much information to wrap our heads around. Thanks. I saw a video recommending conposted chicken manure if one is buying bagged compost--fewer concerns regarding herbicides. We have such a rat problem locally that we're getting rid of our compost piles. We only put in garden waste, no food, but the rats use the piles for nesting. 😓 An acquaintance has had two batches of bulk compost kill off plants because of herbicide contamination. She said the herbicide persists for 5 years in the compost.
Thank you for sharing your valuable knowledge. Greetings from Canada 🍁
I have only found one problem...how do I tell my husband that I want a couple of pet sheep now.😬🙃
How do I tell my wife I'd like a pet ballerina?😂😂😂
Thank you for making this video, it is really helpful.
Lovely tutorial, enjoyed the video.
👍👍such a great informative video❤your channel, always learning something new.
So what would you recommend toping off a raised bed with?
Great info. Thanks.
I love to hear you talk about PFAS and phosphorus and native crops. I watch every video. Can you temporarily put down a few square feet of wooden dance floor between your aisles of dahlias? I think you are the only person who could talk about your dahlias, PFAS, etc. all while spinning in toe shoes and leaping across a row of dahlias
Thanks for some really useful information 😊
Thank you for sharing your experience, find your channel very helpful. Any views on the use of coffee grounds?
Cover cropped this year first time !🤣sheep poop!love it
Sheep poop -- an unavoidable hazard if you raise sheep. I generally use my compost sparingly and in a targeted manner just because I don't have that much. Glad to learn more about the science. Are there any common kitchen scrap materials you would not compost?
I’m starting to feel like we need to start a compost business before we start our farm. 😂 😵💫
Thank you so much for taking the time to share this information with us. It's a complicated subject and all the different soil types further complicate it. I have similar soil to yours.... alkaline with an excess of phosphorus. How do you feel about adding Espoma fertilzers to plants/trees? My concern is that they all contain even more phosphorus, but my soil is deficient in microbials and micronutrients. I do add home compost but we just don't produce enough for our 2 acres.
great content! What's your opinion on leaf mulch?
Doug in Lakewood..What do you think of Llama waste. It's been years since i have added any to my beds. Thought id try this year.
So we have a massive pile of thick Colorado clay that was dug up for an outdoor seating area. We also have tones of finished and unfinished compost we have been collecting over a couple of years. We are hoping to turn that new clay pile into a pollinator garden and have several natives chosen. BUT from watching your videos for a couple of years I know just working all this compost and last falls leaves into the pile is a gamble. Would you use all those materials (leaves, compost, and unfinished compost) or choose a ratio of the finished compost and the fresher leaves from this fall in a clay pile?
"I think I'm sitting in sheep poop... yep." Story of my life (except it's chicken poop). 😂
What are your thoughts on worm casings? I use the company, Urban Worm and I’m curious about the combo of home-made compost + worm casings… thoughts??
This video made me feel kind of lost and hopeless because I need more soil in my beds because it gets washed away and my raised beds lower every single year… so if I can’t add compost, or only very little, than what do I add?? The video was really helpful, but in my case I just need to know what alternative solutions there are when you just need more soil for beds
Growing cover crops builds soil roots and green “manure” that you can literally turn into soil! Also be sure you aren’t pulling roots out of the soil at the end of the season at cleanup. If you’re experiencing erosion, then you’ll want to put something in place like plant roots during the winter time to keep that from happening. If you need to buy soil for raised beds find something certified organic (OMRI certified), but use a raised bed soil not straight compost!
Any different advice if it is chicken bedding compost?
I have gotten away with adding enormous amounts of horsemanure in my garden every year for 7 years. They are healthy horses (not medicated for worms as that would kill worms in the soil as well) and most years I know the source of their food (once in a while we have to buy from another country and then I dont know of course). I dont remove any leaves etc but let it go back to the soil and like you I get lots of leaves and grass-clippings from my neighbours. So far so good. I want to avoid buying soil as we all know by now that it has pesticides that kills some plants.
Do you use benifical nematodes
I don’t. I have concerns about artificially throwing off the balance of the soil food web.
Now I'm scared stiff everything's gonna die😮😮
Phosphorus is immobile and hangs out in your ground but it also leaches out at the same time? Those statements seem contradictory.
Sorry, just seeing this. Phosphorus is immobile to a POINT. Once it reaches excess levels it will leach.