GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post - Suggestions on large-scale compost-making???

17-03-2003, 03:20 PM

(Joe Jamies) wrote in message . com...

My experience with wood chips vs clay is that they do not improve the
soil all that much - worms just don't like them as much. I would think
that sawdust, mixed with other organic matter, will do a much better
job as it is more bite-size to them. Manure does a good job of
conditioning the soil. I concur that

1) you will need some 30 cubic yards of stuff, and that will
ultimately give you
less than one inch of top soil (half the matter volatilizes during
composting, and the other half compacts some)
2) a cover crop will help with the N and will also provide some soil
structure when their roots rot and form channels. It will also shade
the soil allowing uninterrupted earthworm activity

Also, if you do have a truck to transport chips, you probably can find
a place that will give you free manure. A 50/50 sawdust/manure mixture
will probably give you close to ideal C/N ratio, if you need more you
can go with the cover crop or you can buy a 50lb bag of urea.