compost sources

paradoxlost · May 18, 2018

What is everyonea preferred compost source? There are dozens of different ones. Do you use what is cheapest or most locally available?

Personally I use mushroom compost. It's relatively high nitrogen source. Also mushroom compost fosters a fungi dominated microbial ecology in the soil. This helps speed up decomposition, especially when using a fiber heavy cover crop. Also relative low in salts. What do you use?

aridbud · May 18, 2018

Yeah, mushroom compost is great...doesn't burn. Be wary of commercial cattle/dairy sources...with all the crap they put in feed...hormones/antibiotics, etc....systemically, it'll affect your plants.

Had great luck mixing llama or elk dung. Good luck! Grass clippings if not treated with pesticides, fertilizers....hard to find.

Dozee · Jun 6, 2018

leaf from woods ,use a leaf chopper and b
lack leaf mold.

St. Phatty · Jun 6, 2018

those semi decorative plants with the orange berries, that you see in the landscaping at banks, shopping centers etc.

I used about 100 pounds of branches loaded with those berries one year, in a compost pile.

The worms REALLY liked it and the soil turned out great.

paradoxlost · Jun 6, 2018

Smug_Pepe said:
Watch out with large scale commercial compost a lot of it is made with literal garbage, pizza boxes, wood pallets and cooked foods and restaurant garbage that should not be added to compost.

For sure. Honestly I would only use compost from a farming operation. No municipal sources or whatnot.

But truly mushroom compost is legit. So much more humates and less salts than manure or mulched compost.

'Boogieman' · Jun 23, 2018

I mix 2 parts leaves from woods behind my house avoiding oak but some get in, with 1 part grass and comfrey (and plenty of weeds like dandelion) and make a huge pile and turn it a few times, a year later its really good compost. I also run the compost in my red wiggler bins for another 6-9 months.

Easy7 · Jun 23, 2018

Goat shit. Mostly a manure but it's from an area that gets a lot of traffic and is protected from rain.

Ideally I want a composter. I go thru a lot of coffee grounds and fruit rinds. Other things can be added to compost. Whatever you like but no fat or meat that's not fish.

I don't worry about what may be in the goat manure. It's very biologically active and aged. Chems break down from microorganisms. That is the idea of composting. It's decomposition. Natures cleaning and recycling.

The composter I want is a two sided deal. So I cam fill one side, then break that down while filling the other. Also makes 5 gallon tea. The freight charge I'm not preparred for yet. Which is sad cause I'm not growing much and throw out a lot of melon rindes and coffee grinds.

'Boogieman' · Jun 23, 2018

Easy7 said:
Goat shit. Mostly a manure but it's from an area that gets a lot of traffic and is protected from rain.

Ideally I want a composter. I go thru a lot of coffee grounds and fruit rinds. Other things can be added to compost. Whatever you like but no fat or meat that's not fish.

I don't worry about what may be in the goat manure. It's very biologically active and aged. Chems break down from microorganisms. That is the idea of composting. It's decomposition. Natures cleaning and recycling.

The composter I want is a two sided deal. So I cam fill one side, then break that down while filling the other. Also makes 5 gallon tea. The freight charge I'm not preparred for yet. Which is sad cause I'm not growing much and throw out a lot of melon rindes and coffee grinds.

Honestly those compost bins are just marketing and a waste of $ for the little amount of compost it produces, bigger piles also break down faster and need less attention. I suggest to find a spot safe from tree roots put down a 4×4 fence and fill it up, it helps to have a second 4x4 fence and transfer the composting material from one bin into another every couple weeks. Really the fence isn't necessary I make large piles on the ground and cover with burlap to prevent weed seeds.

Easy7 · Jun 23, 2018

If I composted leaf and yard waste I would. I have a brush pile that is from pulled shrubs/bushes and limbs and such. I also mulch with the mower to keep the yard green and put back into the soil the grass clippings and leafs.

But a composter I can make high quality compost and do not need tons. What goes into compost is what comes out, just like what we eat we excrete one way or another. I don't even need much compost at this time. The blueberries could use some as it wouldn't hurt. Also have a veggie garden.

I'm sitting on some local compost. Bought a lot for mushrooms and nixed the project.

Humic acid content matters a lot.

'Boogieman' · Jun 23, 2018

My pictures are bad but here is what I do, im sure the composter is fine on the small scale and makes great compost. My finished compost gets run through my worm bins and also fed pumpkin, coffee, comfrey, and kitchen scraps I keep in a deep freezer. I also have some horse manure in my piles when I can get it but its not a huge % probably only 10%. I am working on finding a better horse manure source the people I know only have 1 horse but large farms use chemical de-worming stuff which I worry will kill my red wigglers. My end product seems very rich though.

'Boogieman' · Jun 23, 2018

Those are my outdoor worm bins mulched with comfrey and stinging nettle, here are my indoor bins. Sorry for the bad pictured, one bin has been ready to harvest i will show a pick of the finished product here soon.

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compost sources

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