Compost experiments

I am currently running two compost experiments. Well, they’re new to me.

First, I’ve started using partially-decomposed compost as mulch. I am desperately in need of mulch in this heat. And I don’t want to use anything too woody at this stage for a couple of reasons. First, I never use anything woody in my veggie beds, because I want to be able to dig the mulch into the soil when I harvest one crop and plant a new one. So I normally mulch with compost. But these beds are just eating compost so fast that it’s not acting as a mulch for more than a couple of weeks. I could use hay or straw, but I’d like something that looks a little more “mulchy”, since the beds are in my front yard. Second, even my ornamental beds are still in need of lots of soil-building, having been recently lawn, for the most part. So I am loathe to put down anything that won’t improve the soil in the short term. Woody mulches take too long to break down for the short-term improvements that I need.

So, out came the unfinished compost. This stuff is coming out of my middle bin. The only recognizable bits are egg shells, corn cobs, and the odd peanut shell. Oh, and some hay that I added when I turned it into the middle bin. The pile was a bit too “green”, so I added hay at that time, to balance with “browns”. It worked, and now the pile is nice-smelling and foresty. But still, I wasn’t sure if my next door neighbor would see the egg shells and give me a hard time. Or something. I don’t know, I just had this sense that maybe someone would call me out on a non-federation move. But no. Not a peep. Check it out:

That’s my new turk’s cap, with a nice, thick layer of unfinished compost cooling the roots. Just be very sure not to dig this stuff into the soil if there are plants growing already, or will be soon. When the soil life are busy decomposing large bits of plant matter, it ties up nutrients that the plants rather need. So as a mulch, this is a good idea, but not as a soil amendment, unless the bed will sit empty for a season while the compost breaks down further.

I’m happy with how this worked out, so I’ll give it a go in the front yard, next.

My next experiment is in response to the fabric scraps that we have at work. I haven’t been able to find a scrap fabric recycling facility that deals with small inputs like ours. So I’m going to see if I can compost the stuff. It’s all 100% cotton, most of it organically-grown, and smaller than 2″. I donate the larger scraps to quilters. Then Jan came home with four big bags of used coffee grounds from Starbucks. It’s free. Get it. It’s really good for our alkaline soil. Anyway, very dry brown fabric + very green coffee grounds = (hopefully in a timely manner) compost!

I’ll let you know how long it takes . . .