Extreme Composting

Looks like balance has been maintained and adversity concisely thumped on the head when necessary, in my absence.

I've made good use of the time while offline.
I'd hate to offend anyone who has issues with effort and determination, but my piles are much bigger now.....
There are a lot less weeds taking up space around the gardens, as well.

As time allows, I'll answer some of the more thoughtful questions posed, but it looks like my good friends have kept the ball rolling without me.

It's tempting to stay away and let the compost effort take on it's own life as it sees fit.

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“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater.
III

Very impressed with the timber/strawbale house you are building. Love the roof. Do you have an interior plan on your website? I did not see one.

Forerunner.....good to see you back online friend. Hope Rebel Lemming is doing ok with the pregnancy, little one must be due any day right?

Anybody that can help answer this questions?

What do the small muddy balls consist of ?
Is your moisture level too high ?

The addition of sawdust or even a little dry sand might help break up those balls and drop moisture levels. More specifics would help.
Are you in an area where you could compost on a larger, less high maintenance level ?

__________________
“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater.
III

Aw come on, haven't you ever heard of "iron sharpens iron", or "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger?" (or..."spank me!")

__________________
THE BEGINNING IS NEAR
5-star double-rated astronavagatrix earth girl

I live in eastern NC, the moisture may be high, I have extra ceder chips from dog bedding, would this work as an additive instead of sawdust? The balls them selves are about the size of a large hailstone, they are basically muddy compost. When I break them apart they don't crumble away just like mud.

The cedar chips may be a little coarse, but if they're dry, they would work for reducing moisture.
In application, your compost balls won't adversely affect your soil.
If you can't eliminate them, use them. Microbes in the soil and regular tillage will break them up soon enough.

__________________
“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater.
III

My first compost came out the same way in Western NC. 4crumleys, are you far enough East to have plenty of sand in your soil? I think Forerunner is right - a little dry sand would have helped my first batch, which was made in a plastic tub. We have a lot of clay here. Maybe even just add some of your soil, period?

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The three divine teachers of man: worldly calamity, bodily ailment, and unmerited enmity, and there is but through God alone a deliverance from them. Maine Farmer's Almanac

Compost balls

I use several different versions of tumblers. Balls of 'post are fairly common. The rolling effect makes them form and I find it is more prevalent with high moisture and long grass clippings. I have found that by putting the materials in first, tumbling to mix and then adding the water seems to help but not always. I usually sift the lumps out and throw them in the next batch.

Lloyd

QUESTION: We have had early blight in our tomatoes this year, and being greenhorns (2nd year of trying to grow some of our own food) we stupidly put the pruned sickly tomato branches into our compost pile. Our lovely, bigger and better very hard-earned compost pile!

Today we received a definitive ID from the county agricultural extension agent - yes that is early blight. She says next year mulch the tomato plants as soon as we set them out (we got some other good tips over at tomato problem - 3 photos.)

BUT she says our compost should be okay to use.

Any thoughts from you experienced composters and growers?

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The three divine teachers of man: worldly calamity, bodily ailment, and unmerited enmity, and there is but through God alone a deliverance from them. Maine Farmer's Almanac

I have four different plantings of tomatoes.
They are all four in different soil situations.
The first and second plantings are in good soil, but one patch of soil lays flatter than the other and the massive amount of rain we have had this spring has taken it's toll.
Some of the plants in both early plantings look a bit like yours, Jennifer, though not as advanced.
My third planting was in typical garden quality soil, off the farm, and I even mounded up large hills to keep their roots a little better drained. They still look horrible for all the rain and cool weather.
My last planting occurred after the worst of the rains, in some of my oldest, best dirt.
That patch is just setting fruit and the foliage is beautiful.

My conclusion ? The best soils can still fail you in the event of an inch of rain every other day combined with cold weather.
The blights/fungal infestations/bacterial maladies are definitely all compounded by the wet and the cold, likely collectively and singularly.

As for composting problem foliage, yes. Make sure the pile is big enough to heat.
Bury the stuff a couple feet deep in that hot pile and then layer another couple feet of well mixed raw material (balanced C/N ratio, etc.) and then let it rot.
If winter will kill the spores, you can bet that good compost action will do the same.

If you can burn the stuff, that is a viable option, but you can bet that you are spreading those spores as you kick the stuff around to burn every bit as much as if you kick the stuff into a compost pile.
As for mulching supposedly helping keep the fungus etc. at bay, I've had mixed results, myself, this year. It makes sense on paper, but may not always afford the desired results in reality. That said, I always mulch as soon as possible after planting most garden crops....most....

__________________
“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater.
III

Thanks, Forerunner. I do think the pile really heated up after most of the tomato prunings were added - that was back when we found all that freshly cut grass that we hauled back. The pile was about three to four feet high by four feet by eight feet and though we don't have a thermometer it felt HOT and it even got a tad smelly (we didn't add enough of our carbon, newspaper - oops) it still broke down quickly and got much smaller. I don't want to burn; that seems wasteful to me. So we'll follow your tip to bury the rest of the prunings and cover it well with a good mix of C to N. Yay! We're keeping our compost .

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The three divine teachers of man: worldly calamity, bodily ailment, and unmerited enmity, and there is but through God alone a deliverance from them. Maine Farmer's Almanac

A tad smelly ?

I love the smell of a hot compost pile steaming in the morning.

From the sound of it, all that your pile needs is more.

__________________
“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater.
III

Welcome to my tomato growing world. Sometimes it's a cabbage summer, sometimes it's a tomato summer--compost ain't a magic bullet. Though it sure sweetens the pot.

__________________
THE BEGINNING IS NEAR
5-star double-rated astronavagatrix earth girl

I wouldn't announce how much pot you're growing on a public forum, if I were you (even if it is sweetened by compost).
What you smoke ain't none of my business . . .

mudburn

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The greatest waste in life is life itself.
H. L. Roush, Sr. (Henry and the Great Society)

:smiley-laughing013:

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Galations 5:9
You may as well eat the devil as sip at his broth.
Mom

okaaaaay, so my comment regarding that climatic and rainfall conditions effect the outcome of growth of plants more so (perhaps,... Forerunner gave a perfectly good comparison from his own experience--must mean you think he doing the dope too) than throwing gobs of compost at them is born of a drug induced happy haze? You ridicule the fact that I expressed that where I live the weather conditions vary so much from summer to summer that I have "tomato" summers(hot and dry), or "cabbage" summers (cool and wet), and it's my psychadelic halucinations that temperatures and rainfall make a difference in how heat loving plants grow?

And all you got is to laugh me (and your Forerunner's) climatic observations off as I grow the weed?

SO back atcha (and this is what I REALLY think this whole thing is all about)

Well I'm upper upper class high society
God's gift to ballroom notoriety
And I always fill my ballroom
The event is never small
The social pages say I've got
The biggest balls of all

(I can't print the rest cuz I'll get an infarction)

__________________
THE BEGINNING IS NEAR
5-star double-rated astronavagatrix earth girl

I wasn't ridiculing your climatic observations. I was having fun with your choice of words ("Though it sure sweetens the pot"). I thought it was funny. Still do. . . (The effect compost might have on pot is an interesting question, but, alas, one that I will not investigate firsthand.)

You've made it obvious that you think the whole thing about "extreme composting" is a testosterone-induced competition to claim to be/have the biggest and best, and I'm quite aware that you have issues with the whole idea (you're welcome to have all the issues you like, of course). Personally, I don't care who has the biggest compost pile (or the biggest balls -- I'm not much of a social dancer), just as long as mine are big enough to get the job done to my and other involved parties satisfaction.

mudburn

__________________

The greatest waste in life is life itself.
H. L. Roush, Sr. (Henry and the Great Society)

well that was a little TMI, does your wife know? (just joking, back atcha)

__________________
THE BEGINNING IS NEAR
5-star double-rated astronavagatrix earth girl

My poor thread.

__________________
“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater.
III