On 8/7/10 9:48 AM, songbird wrote:
after nosing through the book
the other day the only thing that
struck me as different/interesting
from what i've read elsewhere was
that the author recommended not
using charcoal in the compost pile
saying that it did not decompose.

ok, this is true and fine, but
what other substrate would you like
to use for the bacteria/fungi/etc.
to have a happy home for when it
gets spread or used elsewhere?

i would think that using charcoal
in a pile would help keep some of
those nutrients in the pile and not
as many leached out...

so gardening gurus what do you think?
does it have to be activated charcoal
instead of the stuff i would get from
an enclosed fire?


songbird

The purpose of compost is to improve the structure of the soil, not to
provide nutrients. Since compost is often applied only to the top
inches of the soil, you should want any nutrients -- as few as there
might be -- to leach down into the root zone. Inhibiting the leaching
of nutrients would thus be counter-productive.

If you are instead concerned about making sure new matter for composting
gets the necessary micro-organisms, that is easily handled by mixing
some existing compost into the new matter. Then you should also top the
new matter with a layer of compost. The required watering of the
composting matter will then move the micro-organisms to where they are
needed.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary