Compost Usage
Thanks for many people who have answered my question about the way to
supplement leaf compost.
compost from leaves has roughly 1/5-1/7 the nutrient content of cow
manure (per unit of dry weight), with similar N/P/K profile, according
to "square foot gardening" author Bartholomew (so 0.4-0.2-0.4 or
less).
This means I cannot totally reply on compost to add enough nutrient to
my vegetable garden.
Last fall, I only added grand total of one beg of manure to the entire
vegetable garden because I was counting on the leaf compost for the
rest. I guess I had made a mistake. This may have explained the reason
why the plants were not growing well early in this season. I finally
had to top dress with chemical fertilizer to boost the plants growth
(I was desperated). I will add more manure to the vegetable garden
when I prepare the soil in this fall.
In my own experience, kitchen scraps make the most fertile compost,
and manure comes in second. ...
I am also playing around the idea of adding kitchen scraps to my leaf
compost piles. Do you have a FAQ on the way to store kitchen scraps
and to use it?
Thanks.
Jay Chan
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