Don't Feed Your Plants. Feed Your Soil!

Still not sure why your soil needs compost? Here are a few reasons:

Healthier Plants

Plants do best in soil that is teeming with microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and earthworms.  These and many, many other organisms (known as soil biota) create a soil food web that provides the nutrients that plants need to grow and thrive.  All these organisms create an environment for roots that allow for uptake of nutrients.  This is natures “fertilizer”, the ingredients the forests of the world thrive upon.

Healthy plants create their own defense mechanisms that fight diseases and parasites.  Adding compost increases Soil Organic Matter, enriching soil so plants are able to draw the necessary nutrients to defeat pests. To be considered healthy, soil requires a minimum of 5% SOM (soil organic matter). Many soils contain less than 1% organic matter, preventing lawns and gardens from becoming lush and green. Think of your checking account; withdraw $20 here, $40 there, never depositing any green. You’d be bouncing checks in no time. Soil is the same. Lawns, gardens and plants ‘withdraw’ nutrients from the soil every day in order to grow. Soil needs a steady income of vital nutrients. No steady nutrient supply = bankrupt soil and lifeless plants.

Would chemical fertilizers help?

Using chemical fertilizer is like drinking a tall espresso. You get a sudden burst of energy, but benefits are short lived - soon you’re crashing, with no energy to complete your tasks. It’s the same with soil, requiring a steady source of nutrients to build healthy plants.

Conventional chemical fertilizers supply only a few nutrients.  Like all of us, plants need a wide range, and these are all provided when the soil is alive.  Organic composts are the basis of the food web from which all life feeds either directly or indirectly. Simply put - don't feed your plants, feed your soil!

Water Savings

As the level of organic matter is built up, your soil becomes more like a sponge.  Water now soaks in rather than runs off. More air space allows more water to be held, meaning you use far less water.

This is probably one of the most important aspects of compost use.  As in many states, California is in water conservation mode right now, and using compost can reduce you water consumption by as much as 50%.  How great is that! Reduce your water bill while improving/ maintaining a lush landscape.

Improved Appearance

Applying compost to soil, lawns and gardens will drastically improve the appearance of your landscape. Amending soil with compost before planting is ideal, working it into the soil to create the perfect foundation for plant life. Of course, lawns are another matter. Lawn top dressing will renew a dull lifeless lawn without having to tear out existing turf. Simply apply a thin layer of compost (¼ to ½ inch) over the lawn surface. Work it in with a rake or stiff broom, water well and in a few days your lawn will come to life. If soil is compacted, you may want to aerate first. For all the details, click here.

Less Labor

Applying a layer of compost prevents a large percentage of weeds from germinating.  For the few that do sprout, the soft soil allows them to be uprooted easily.  If cultivating the top layer of soil is part of your normal gardening chores, you can remedy that task with a layer of compost.  Soil organisms will work the organics for you. Just sit back and smell the roses!

Improved Pest Resistance

Healthy soils create healthy plants, and healthy plants are good at resisting pests and diseases.  Using insecticides kills not only the targets species, but typically kills all the organisms in the soil.  The end result is nutrient poor soil and weak plants. The cycle continues where the weaker plants are more susceptible, more pesticides are applied, etc. We don't want to ride that cycle!

For anyone who’d like more info on compost use, visit www.GotCompost.com. You’ll find helpful compost use tips under the DIY/Homeowner tab. If you need compost for your next project you can locate a Harvest Blend Compost dealer here.

Harvest Blend Compost - Building Healthy Soil...Naturally!

Got Compost: Confession of a DIY Composter

Got Compost: Confession of a DIY Composter: OK, hopefully DIY composters will read this and decide there is some value to my message. I’m a little afraid some may want to attack me wit...

Confession of a DIY Composter

OK, hopefully DIY composters will read this and decide there is some value to my message. I’m a little afraid some may want to attack me with rotten tomatoes. Then I remembered that die-hard composters would never waste good rotten tomatoes! They go in the compost pile, of course!  

Here goes, we’ve been composting at home for years now and I have a confession: I buy a couple yards of compost each year from a landscape supply center that carries compost from a local compost facility. They compost locally collected organics, supplying dealers with STA Certified Compost products.

Here are a few reasons to buy bulk compost:

1. Quantity:  a home composter would have a difficult time coming up with enough compost to make serious improvements to a landscape. Many times, homemade compost will need to be supplemented with bagged compost, a costly addition if you’re amending soil or top dressing a lawn.
2. WEEDS!: Homemade compost usually sits in a spare corner of the back yard, attracting a multitude of seeds from ground and air. When lawns are mowed, seeds can be collected with the clippings, going right into the pile. Seeds can also survive in leaf debris or on mature weeds that you pull from your garden. The only way to kill off these seeds in your compost pile is to monitor the temperature of the pile. Within a week, temperatures in a properly constructed compost pile should reach 130 degrees. That quickly kills many seeds and stabilizes the composted material. But it takes 30 days of exposure to temperatures of 145 degrees or more to kill seeds from tougher weed species. How do you know whether you’ve achieved the right temperature? Though compost thermometers are ideal, you can also reach into the pile. If it is uncomfortably hot to the touch, you’ve probably achieved the temperatures you need.

Sound like fun? Didn’t think so. Plus, most home composters don’t have the time or energy to tend to a compost pile this carefully so weed seeds stay alive in the pile, just waiting for a chance to sprout in lawns and gardens. Leaving them unchecked is the same as physically planting weeds into flower and vegetable gardens.

The Solution

For less than $100 annually, you can bring in two yards of quality organic compost; top dress lawns, load it into flower beds and be done in one day. Can you imagine the time and effort it would take to make 2 yards of compost every year? You’ll be able to put those organic materials to work sooner and see faster results! A definite win/win!

Oh, just a reminder: fall is fast approaching. Our lawns could use a breath of fresh air about now, so why not take a little time and add a fine layer of compost over the entire lawn (top dressing) and work it in with a stiff broom. Water thoroughly and in no time your lawn will be strong and green. Contact your local Harvest Blend Compost Dealer for compost and all the details.

By the way, we’re not going to give up on our compost pile. We’ll continue recycling our eggshells, potato peelings and coffee grounds, for a small harvest of the dark brown stuff. But to keep soil healthy, top dress lawns and grow the veggies our family loves so much, we invest a little "green" to gain a vibrant, healthy lawn and garden. Naturally!

Got Compost: Soil. It's What You Find Under Your Feet!

Got Compost: Soil. It's What You Find Under Your Feet!: What’s the difference between soil and dirt? Dirt is what you find under your fingernails. Soil is what you find under your feet. Think of s...

Soil. It's What You Find Under Your Feet!

What’s the difference between soil and dirt? Dirt is what you find under your fingernails. Soil is what you find under your feet. Think of soil as a thin living skin that covers the land. It goes down into the ground just a short way. Even the most fertile topsoil is only a foot or so deep. Soil is more than rock particles. It includes all the living things and the materials they make or change.

Soil Organic Matter (SOM) is that fraction of the soil composed of anything that once lived. Most soil lacks enough organic matter to support healthy plant growth. The Strive for 5% campaign was developed to help us increase SOM for healthy soil!

Truly healthy soil has between 3% and 5% organic material. That level can be maintained ONLY IF you add organic matter to the soil at the surface year in and year out. The plants, the earthworms, and the microbes need that additional matter to sustain a healthy soil. In the woods and prairies, that added organic matter came from dead leaves or dead grasses decomposing each year. We need to replicate that process in our lawns to be able to maintain a healthy organic content in our soil.

But few residential landscapes have soil this rich with organic material. The reality is that the soil under American lawns typically contains less than 1% organic material. This is because over a ten or twenty year period not only was no new organic material introduced, but the most abundant natural sources such as leaves and grass clippings were regularly collected and disposed of in our weekly trash pick-up.

A healthy soil needs a steady source of new organic material. It is constantly decomposing and yielding nutrients for the grass plants and must be replaced. The black fibrous material (called "humus") that results from the decomposition of grass clippings and other organic material eventually has little food value left. But, it does have enormous value in aerating the soil, in storing water, and in feeding key microorganisms needed for other tasks.

While leaving grass clippings on the lawn provides some organic material, it is not enough to consistently provide 3 or 5 %. You must provide more. And how may I provide more organic matter, you might ask? The answer is simple; STA Certified Compost! Applying a layer of compost to lawns twice a year (called 'top dressing') adds vital nutrients, increasing soil's water holding capacity and soil structure. Top Dressing is widely recognized by landscape pros as the most environmentally responsible method of lawn care. Compost is also beneficial for erosion control, turf establishment, tree & shrub backfill mix and used in flower & vegetable gardens for vibrant blooms and healthy veggies.

STA Certified Harvest Blend Compost can do many things for your soil. Benefits include:

·        Improving soil structure, porosity and density to ensure a healthier root environment

·        Infiltrating heavy soils, thereby reducing erosion

·        Increasing water holding capacity of soil so that water is used more efficiently

·        Stabilizing pH and improving the soil’s ability to hold nutrients

·        Supplying valuable microbes, micro and macronutrients and organic matter to the soil environment

·        Helps to suppress soil-borne plant pathogens

·        Binds and degrades specific pollutants

We encourage you to schedule a visit to one of the participating STA composting facilities to get a first hand look at the commercial composting process. To locate a facility in your area, visit http://www.compostingcouncil.org/ & click on "Buying Compost" under the Resources tab. Please visit the US Composting Council’s website for more information on the Consumer Compost Use Program and all issues related to compost.

And if you need compost for your next landscaping project, be sure to give us a call us @ (805) 925-2771 or email Info@HarvestBlendCompost.com. For the scoop on compost visit www.GotCompost.com

Got Compost: Cover Crops - Summer and Winter

Got Compost: Cover Crops - Summer and Winter: "Why should I plant a summer cover crop? You can get a head start on improving the quality of your garden soil for next season with some sim..."

Cover Crops - Summer and Winter

Why should I plant a summer cover crop?

You can get a head start on improving the quality of your garden soil for next season with some simple steps taken in the summer - boost the amount of organic matter in your soil with summer cover crops.  A summer cover crop will add significant amounts of organic matter to your soil, yielding a variety of long term benefits. Increased organic matter improves the water holding capacity of soil, improves drainage in clay soils and provides a range of macro and micro nutrients that optimize plant health. In a recent study conducted by a university Ag Department in the mid-west, plants that were grown in soils amended with compost did significantly better than those grown in un-amended soil.

Summer’s the perfect time to fix problem soil, so why not go all out! Work 1½-2” of compost into soil before planting your cover crop and you’ll have a vital foundation for future vegetable gardens. After compost has been added just scatter some seeds, water and before you know it you’ll have a carpet of green. A crop of hairy vetch and rye will add nitrogen equivalent to 13 pounds of 10-10-10 fertilizer and 57 lbs. of biomass to a 400 ft garden.
 

What are the best seeds to use?

There are several choices for cover summer cover crops in our area. Legumes of any kind make a great cover crop (peas, beans, soybeans, etc.) because they add significant amounts of organic matter and help fix nitrogen in the soil by taking it from the air and passing it into the soil through nodules on its roots.  Buckwheat is another great choice. It’s known for its ability to keep unwanted plants in check, making weeding even easier. It matures quickly and can be tilled or dug in in as little as 4-5 weeks. (Remember that even if the cover crop doesn’t reach full growth while in your plot, whatever green stuff is there when you turn it into the soil will make a difference.) It also has pretty white blossoms but be sure to cut them before they go to seed. Another fast grower is annual rye grass which yields huge amounts of organic matter after only several weeks of growth.
 

How do I do it?

If you can sow seeds you can grow a cover crop. Whenever you have an area that’ll be unused for more than a few weeks, a cover crop can go in. Scatter seeds over the area, rake them in - more vigorously for large seeds like peas- and then water just like you do the rest of your garden. If there is enough time for the crop to get several inches high turning it under is easier if you mow it first. The mowing also chops the plants into smaller pieces which will break down more quickly in the soil. The plants should be turned in when they are in about 75% flower or, for buckwheat, when frost is near, whichever is sooner.  A series of cover crops can be grown, one right after the other, if there is enough time in the season. 

What about winter cover crops?

You bet! Cooler temps limit the variety of cover crops we can successfully grow, but there are a couple that will do the job.

For organic matter -  Winter rye is excellent. It grows vigorously and produces lots of green stuff to turn under come spring. Just remember to turn it under at least 2 weeks (more is better) before you wish to plant your edible crops.

For nitrogen fixing -  Austrian winter peas or hairy vetch produce a surplus of nitrogen fixing legumes for spring turning. And those few that don’t get turned in will give you some lovely blossoms, interesting greenery and make for some very happy bees!

Where can I get the seeds?

Check with your local nurseries or garden supply centers. If they don’t have what you’re looking for, click on Peaceful Valley Farm Supply - they’re a great source of many different types of cover crop seeds.

Remember, building your soil through the addition of organic matter is one of the best things you can do for your lawn and garden. Naturally!

Keep in mind the benefits compost offers lawns. A fine layer of compost spread over grass is called top dressing. Experts recommend top dressing lawns twice a year; during spring and fall. For the more info on lawn top dressing, click here.