[HawfinchParticipant]

Ok. So maybe it’s a myth along the lines of advice on how to lower the pH of soil by incorporating lots of pine needles.
It can be quite confusing with all this “advice” or received wisdom that one so often reads here, there and everywhere. I guess an 11-year trial speaks for itself.

[HawfinchParticipant]

But surely raspberries and strawberries would not benefit from compost with terribly much wood ash in it as wood ash raises the pH – my impression is also that most vegetables prefer soil slightly on the sour side?

[HawfinchParticipant]

What would be wrong with growing the green manure on vacant land and then either letting it freeze down or cutting it at ground level later, leaving the green parts to compost on top of the soil? That is, after all, how many no-till farmers do it, sowing or planting into the ground cover.
Growing a green manure, to me, definitely sounds better than leaving the soil uncovered.

Helle

[HawfinchParticipant]

It sounds like it’s doing all right in your garden Ali. Yesterday I checked my veg patch, and in many places the thick layer of compost has almost disappeared, so I guess the worms and soil organisms didn’t mind too much. It has to be said that I did spread a good layer of composted manure under it at the time, so maybe that’s the reason why.

As far as the chemicals are concerned, the jury is still out for me, so I’ll be putting more effort into making my own compost which will be guaranteed to be without any chemicals.

Helle

[HawfinchParticipant]

Thank you, Charles. That is actually one of the other things I have wanted to ask ever since reading your excellent Myths and Misconceptions book. If municipal compost is rather inert, as you say, would you recommend spreading some other compost now as it is the kind of compost I spread on my established beds in autumn? Simply didn’t have enough of my own.

[HawfinchParticipant]

Do you mean recently? I had it in the greenhouse on my tomatoes two years ago and found it impossible to get rid of them with any kind of spraying. So last year I planted lots of marigolds and didn’t get a single white fly.

[HawfinchParticipant]

Hi,

first post on the forum.

I’ve been reading a blog called http://www.the-compostbin.com/ – she has a lot of information about using the hot compost bin, trials and comparisons with normal Dalek-type composters. Hope it might give you some answers.

[Author]

Posts