Comments on: Hitting the books: Composting!

By: Composting Enthusiast

Composting Enthusiast — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:42:31 +0000

This is a great book. I’ve actually just passed this book onto my mother to help her with her composting.

By: Mike (tfb)

Mike (tfb) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:52:08 +0000

Yes, I have no illusions about the power of manure–manure is great! By comparison, figuring out green manure is a lot more complicated. Nitrogen is the easily-depleted, main nutrient that our modern agriculture is concerned a lot about. So, we look to add N in sufficient quantities. BUT, it also seems that, given the right balance of macro and micronutrients in a healthy, active soil, the measurable quantity of N needed for good growth, good yield, can be MUCH lower than the usual recommendations, from both conventional and organic sides. It’s almost like there’s a…pro-nitrogen conspiracy! :) Of course, I have so much more to learn first-hand, and I’ll soon find out!

By: Ed Bruske

Ed Bruske — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 02:23:51 +0000

Seems to me Rodale was pretty insistent on incorporating some manure in compost. I will be very interested to see how your vegetable manure compares to what you were using in the past.

By: Rick

Rick — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 15:31:22 +0000

Green manures are OK and can really add bulk to the soil but animal waste is in my opinion without equal. I particularly like to use aged chicken bedding in lasagna gardening. It is a great way to control weeds and start new beds and is amazingly labor efficient. So better get some chickens again. I have heard rabbit waste is good too.

By: Mike (tfb)

Mike (tfb) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 20:32:41 +0000

Paul R: No-till (conservation tillage) is really interesting, a little harder to consider on this in-between 2-acre size, where we don’t do tractor cultivation, but it’s also a little big for completely hand work.

Kim: Thanks! That sounds great. I read your review, and looked up the book. And I found that the book in the photo here is, well, a descendant of yours. On Amazon it said, “[The Rodale Book of Composting] is an update of Jerry Minnich and others’ The Rodale Guide to Composting ( LJ 5/1/79), which itself updated J.L. Rodale’s Complete Book of Composting (Rodale Pr., 1960. o.p.).” But your book is 1,000 pages, and mine is just under 300. Where’d the other SEVEN HUNDRED pages go in the updating? The type in mine isn’t that small… I’ll look around for a copy!

I love buckwheat, and it’s so fast, but the seed here is really expensive. I’m now particularly looking into legume green manures for nitrogen-fixing, clovers, vetches…

By: inadvertentfarmer

inadvertentfarmer — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:27:24 +0000

One of my favorite old book is “the complete book of composting” circa 1969…over 1000 pages of everything you could ever want to know about composting, the history, science and practical application. I even did a book review of it on my blog. Gotta love compost!

Green manure is someting I am just getting into, so far it has been very successful. I especially like buckwheat because hubby’s bees go crazy for it!

Good luck! Kim

By: Paul R

Paul R — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:27:28 +0000

Mike,

A great way to green manure the new farm, the “No Till Revolution” from Rodale.

http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/no-till_revolution