RODALE PRESS 1982

PART II

Introduction (Cont.)

Composting

As you embark on a soil-building program, you’ll find no better source of organic matter than compost. A serious organic gardener would no sooner be caught without a good source of compost that a serious cook would be caught with an empty canister of flour. Compost is the lifeblood of a thriving organic garden, where it serves the dual purpose of enriching the soil and creating a light, porous structure conducive to good plant growth. In its finished form it contains roughly two parts nitrogen, one part phosphorus, and one part potassium, with pH of 7. It releases nutrients slowly, and they aren’t easily leached away by water seeping through the root zone. Thus, compost is a slow but steady source of basic nutrients. In addition to its fertility value, compost is a first-class soil amendment that can help turn hopelessly clayey or sandy soils into rich, crumbly, productive loam.

Composting is a relatively simple process, as long as you meet certain basic needs: you must assemble the proper blend of organic matter, nitrogen, and humus-forming bacteria, and make sure that there is adequate air and moisture present so the pile heats up and the process of decomposition gets under way.

The granddaddy of composting methods is known as the Indore method. With this classic method and its variations, you build up layers of organic matter, interspersed with a layer of manure or other high-nitrogen substance, and a layer of soil. The pile should measure 6 to 7 feet wide, 3 to 5 feet high, and 6 to 7 feet long (or longer).

If you’ve provided the right mix of organic matter, nitrogen, bacteria, moisture, and air, the pile should begin to heat up and begin to shrink in size within a couple of days.
You’ll need to turn the pile twice to help the decomposition process along.

If you’d like quicker results and have access to a shredder, you can try the 14-day California Method. For this method, you will need a bin of some sort to contain the material, which should be a mix of green garden debris or garbage, and dry garden debris. Begin by layering 2 to 4 inches of green materials, then 2 to 4 inches of dry materials. This organic matter should be shredded into pieces no larger than 6 to 8 inches. Moisten each layer so that the particles glisten, but don’t overwater so you end up with a sodden mess. A good size for a bin is 3 feet square, and the pile should range in height from 3 to 4 feet.

Frequent turning is the key to success with this method, for it provide the aeration necessary for the aerobic bacteria to do their breakdown work.

You never need to worry about overapplying compost, or about it burning tender plants. As a general guide, apply at least a half-inch layer to your garden each year. You can make a general application and work it into your garden plot before planting, add it to furrows before sowing or transplanting vegetables, or work it into the soil before planting a fruit tree or berry bush. Screened compost is a good seed-starting medium, and it can also be sprinkled over newly sown seeds in the garden to keep the soil from crusting. Use it as a top dressing or as a mulch in the vegetable garden. Build a mulch ring around fruit trees, 1 to 2 inches thick, starting 2 feet away from the truck, extending out to the drip-line. Or work 3 to 4 inches of compost into the top couple of inches of soil around the tree, or around berry plants.

Mulching

Mulching your fruit or vegetable garden figures into a sound soil management program, and in addition can help cut down on the time you must spend on garden upkeep.

A mulch is nothing more than a layer of organic, or in some cases inorganic, material that you spread on the soil surface. It will keep soil moisture from evaporating by protecting the soil from the direct effects of the wind and the hot sun. A mulch serves you well during any long dry spells, since you can get by with fewer waterings and make a limited water supply go further.

Mulches provide the immediate benefit of guarding against soil erosion. Organic mulches in particular play an important part in the long-range care of your soil’s structure and fertility.
Examples of particularly nutrient-rich mulching materials are straw, seaweed, various hays, corncobs, peat moss, wood chips, grass clippings, and sawdust.
Mulch (especially the black plastic type) is a weed deterrent of good repute and acts as an insulating blanket to guard against temperature extremes.
A fine-textured mulch can help keep the harvest clean by sparing it from mildew, mold, rot, and mud splatters when crops like cucumbers, melons, squash, strawberries, and tomatoes sprawl on unmulched ground.
Where soil is heavy and poorly drained, a thick mulch could do more harm than good. It would prevent the soil from drying in the spring, might sharply diminish aeration, and would increase the chances of crown-rot problems.
The Guide to Mulching Materials gives you a handy rundown of mulching materials and general tips on how to use them.
Woody materials such as sawdust or wood chips tend to utilize soil nitrogen when they first decompose, so extra fertilization would be necessary in order to guarantee sufficient nitrogen supplies for crop use.
Acidity becomes a problem in some gardens when oak leaves or pine needles are used as a mulch.
Even though you are an organic gardener, don’t ignore the benefits of certain inorganic mulching materials.

Fertilizing the organic way

In the organic garden, your basic objective is to feed the soil, not necessarily the individual crops that are growing in it. When you incorporate a wide variety of natural materials you ensure that the proper nutrients will always be present in the soil, where they will be released slowly as the plants need them, rather than in a single massive dose, as occurs with chemical fertilizers.

The basic materials that boost and maintain your soil’s fertility fall into two categories: organic matter and rock powders. Organic matter encompasses such materials as animal and green manures, compost, leaf mold, bone meal, dried blood, and wood ashes. Organic matter supplies the major nutrients – nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium – in varying amounts, and also plays an important role in making these nutrients available in forms that can be used by plants.

Crops in an organic garden get most of their nitrogen as an end product from the decomposition of organic matter caused by soil bacteria and earthworms. In order for the decomposition process to continue, you must add regular infusions of organic matter. However, you must pay attention to the type of material you are adding. If, for example, you were to add some dry plant matter that was high in carbon but low in nitrogen, the bacteria would have to draw upon the nitrogen present in the soil to fuel their breakdown of the carbon material. Although decomposition of this woody material would eventually release nitrogen to the soil as an end product, there would be a temporary deficiency of nitrogen available for plant-growth. To counteract this drain on the soil’s nitrogen, you should add a high-nitrogen substance such as blood meal or manure whenever you add woody plant matter to the soil.

Organic matter contains considerably less phosphorus than nitrogen, but its value lies more in making soil phosphorus already present from other sources available to growing plants. A soil rich in organic matter is rich in soil bacteria, which secrete acids that promote the breakdown and availability of phosphorus. Without ample organic matter, phosphorus in the soil would be locked up in insoluble compounds.

Organic matter also makes potassium available to plants. Most of the soil’s potassium is bound up in mineral form and therefore unavailable to plants; some potassium appears in soluble form which plants can use, but there is the danger that it can be quickly leached from the soil before plants can draw upon it. Organic matter helps hold soluble potassium in the root zone, and helps change mineral potassium into a form acceptable to plants as they need it. In short, organic matter helps balance the potassium level in the soil.

Rock powders are substances derived from natural materials which complement the use of organic matter. Commonly used rock powders are phosphate rock, granite dust, and greensand; the first is rich in phosphorus, while the last two are good sources of potassium.

By using rock powders, you build the natural phosphorus and potassium reserves in the soil; by working in plenty of organic matter you boost the soil’s nitrogen level and ensure that the soil nutrients will be readily available in the form that plants can use as they grow.

Tricks of the trade: Compost and manure teas

These are nothing more than enriched water which can be added to give a midseason fertility boost to heavy-feeding crops. This supplemental feeding will come in particularly handy in gardens where organic methods have not been in practice long, and where the soil hasn’t achieved a high level of ongoing fertility. Compost and manure teas are also widely used as starter solutions for vegetable transplants, and when berry bushes and fruit trees are set in the ground. You’ll find that these liquids are easy and inexpensive to make and convenient to use.

For compost tea, fill a burlap bag with finished compost and suspend it in a bucket or water-tight barrel filled three-quarters of the way with water. Stir the contents several times over the course of two weeks. You can also make the tea by simply filling the container one-quarter full of loose compost, adding water to fill, and stirring as directed above. Tea made this way will need to be strained before using.

The mixture will bubble and deepen in color as bacterial activity and nutrient leaching take place. When the bubbling has stopped and the liquid is brown in color, the compost tea is ready to use. You should dilute it until it reaches a light amber color, and apply about 1 pint per vegetable plant, and more for bushes and trees. You can store the extra brewed tea in jars or bottles with loosely fitting aluminum foil caps. Tight-fitting caps are not appropriate, for they would hinder the release of gases which may occur over time.

For a smaller batch of compost tea, fill a sprinkling can halfway with finished compost and add water to fill to the top. Stir briskly, about 12 times, then pour it on. You can use the same compost several times before its nutrient value is leached away, and even then it is still of value to the garden. You should dig it into the soil where it will benefit the structure.

Manure tea is made in the same manner as compost tea. Fill a burlap bag full of fresh manure, then suspend it in a garbage can full of water. Let the manure/water mixture steep for several days before using. When you do apply it to the garden, dilute it as needed with water, so that it has the color of weak tea.

Organic Gardener's Guide Part 2