My town has a free leaf compost and each year the (ENORMOUS) piles are turned and pushed further back into the lot until they're completely composted and then they're free for the taking. I have read/heard from my grandfather that there aren't many nutrients in leaf compost which wouldn't surprise me in the least. I figured however, since it's free, I might see if this would be a worthy base for my own organic mix, or what I could add to it to make a good cheap organic mix. I also have access to a compost pile at a stable, so plenty of horse manure compost there as well, which I have a feeling would be quite cheap.
Trees push down roots as deep as 20' and more depending on the variety. This results in some extreme high levels of minerals in the fallen leaves. Leaves are some of the best 'humus' that you can find. Sourcing from your local city government is a good thing, IMHO Hard to beat 'free' eh?' HTH LD
GREAT to know Lumper! thanks! The compost appears very dark and rich. If it contained grass clippings as well, will the resulting compost contain grass fertilizers or will they have washed out?
Our local private compost operation uses grass clipping in their compost. The problem with that being a majority of their grass clippings are dropped off by landscapers and yard maintenance operators who are probably 98% chemical fertilizer and pesticide oriented, which have to be heated during the composting procedure to comply with Oregon Tilth. For my in-ground grows I've used their compost and potting soil with great success. The county composting operation doesn't comply with any organic certification I'm aware of, they invite disposal of treated skids and painted wood products. It also uses sewage waste from the city in their composting operation, worrying some people about not only chemical fertilizers and pesticides but prescription drug residue.
madodah Wow! I really 'screwed the pooch' on this deal. You're ABSOLUTELY correct on your warnings. What I SHOULD have said is that my local government is run by organic terrorists (like myself) and the 'stuff' offered is separated - leaf vs. grass clippings from the landscaper folks. As modadah noted - you do NOT want to use grass clippings from landscapers, yard-maintenance crews, etc. My comments should have been limited to LEAF mulch. In my part of the country given the amount of rain, etc. trees are not sprayed with anything. They just grow and produce leaves (hopefully) which produces some outstanding worm bin bedding, general garden mulch, compost material (the 'brown' factor). Thanks to madodah for pointing out the issues with these type of products from local government agencies. LD
Yea i'm not positive but I think the compost contains grass clippings as well. The local hydro shop sells roots organic for 15/bag so I believe I'll be going with that + some perlite, dolomite lime (swamp grow), and maybe some worm castings or some organic compost. I still have a lot of soil research to do.
mouse, i used horse manure last year in my organic garden. its full of undigested seeds. cow is better.
If you have an organic dairy around, that's by far the best source. No seeds, no chemical growth or milk production enhancers. I have one in my area and during spring they're so popular for all gardeners one has to call ahead to be certain they have decomposed manure (bulk only).
Products List Search: compost | Organic Materials Review Institute Napa and Sonoma Counties offer OMRI certified compost. In past discussions Maddoah questioned how that was possbile, so I went on OMRI site and found that in fact Napa Recycling is listed as one of a few vendors who offer OMRI compost. Products List Search: compost | Organic Materials Review Institute Here is the link to the OMRI products page. I did a search for compost and the fourth "compost" down listed is Napa Recycling and Waste. The following is the description of what constitutes the compost. Status: Allowed Class: Crop Fertilizers and Soil Amendments Origin: Nonsynthetic Description: Plant and animal materials are composted through a process that establishes an initial C:N ratio of between 25:1 and 40:1 and maintains a temperature of between 131F and 170F for 15 days, during which period the composting materials must be turned a minimum of five times. Acceptable feedstocks include, but are not limited to, animal manure, by-products of agricultural commodities processing, and source-separated yard debris or "clean green." Compost must not contain more than 1x10³ (1,000) MPN fecal coliform per gram of compost sampled and must not contain more than 3 MPN Salmonella per 4 grams of compost sampled. See also MICROBIAL PRODUCTS for information on compost starters, other COMPOST listings, SEWAGE SLUDGE, and MUSHROOM COMPOST. See Glossary for definition of "compost." source-separated yard debris or "clean green." I really doubt they bother separating out yard waste as organic and non organic. Not sure I buy that one. At $7/CY it's hard to pass up. It really works great and there isn't much wood in it compared to other composts. I figure in this day and age just about everything has trace amounts of pesticides, pharmaceutical or petroleum products in it.....
I've grown leery of the OMRI certification. My cynical nature won't let me see how politics ($$$$) can keep from affecting the relatively small group of certification agents. I used Alaska Fish Emulsion for years and liked it until someone pointed out to me that despite its OMRI labeling it contains some serious heavy metals. That rant aside, I've used our local private compost products ( Oregon Tilth compliant) with great success for my in-ground grows. $45/CY, $1.67CF and still a great bargain. I've seen some of the unbelievable crap in our County composting operation, been guilty of dropping some off myself such as old lead-base painted wood, and I just can't bring myself to use it. Yours sounds a lot better than ours.
To ease any concerns about toxins in my organic amendments, I make my own leaf mold. In the fall I fill large garbage bags with whatever leaves are available from neighbors and friends.(I live in a townhouse so I have to scrounge a little.) After wetting the leaves down and punching a few holes in the garbage bag, it's time to sit back and let Mother Nature do her thing. After a few months of doing NOTHING, you're left with this beautiful, dark humus to use however you wish. And the beauty part is IT'S FREE!!! Happy Growing -JBC-
So I'd like to "cut" if you will, the Roots Organic with this compost if it is at all possible, seeing as it will cost me nothing and result in a larger volume of growing medium. Is there any reason not to add compost to the Roots Organic, or is there some safe ratio I should follow (I understand that roots already does include some compost in their soil)? I will be adding perlite as well, because it is a swamp grow and I'd like to be sure I have adequate drainage. I was just hoping I could add the leaf compost to the roots and end up with a better soil for less money. If the result is anything less than an upgraded soil I would simply use the roots as is. Any other soil amendments would be highly appreciated. I'm still a bit overwhelmed and I want to get started as soon as possible but I won't move forward until I know I'm doing everything right. Basically I guess what I'm asking is how much compost is too much... edit: SUPER psyched about growing some organic bud too. Hoping I never have to smoke anyone's mystery chemical weed again!