soil,soil,and soil

[Tree Dude]

Do some of you use your own soil in your compost pile as potting soil? When I put in my soil in pots it becames hard,almost. Should the soil be soft or hard? I just planted some acorns in each pot. Should I keep the soil soft a little bit, or is it ok if it becames hard? I have been keeping the soil soft by using my fingers.

Also, how do you know that compost pile is "done"? Or, is the compost ever done?
Tree Dude

[janie_lew]

There is definately a time when compost is "done," and it can be a real problem if you use it before then. One way to tell is if it stinks. When it's done it won't have any ammonia in it. Also, watch out for the companies that grind it finely to make it look right, and then fudge on the aging.

When you try to grow something in compost that isn't finished composting, the compost steals all the good ingredients away from the plants to help itself finish composting. Not good. You have to be able to really trust your source.

[Gar]

Tree dude,
I make my own potting soil from my home made compost. I bought a 40 lbs bag of top soil, $1.10, at Home Depot and mixed it with the compost.
I dump the top soil into the wheel borrow and added probably another 20 lbs of compost. I mixed it up by hand until I could no longer see the top soil. I have been using this combination for three years. I start the garden from seeds and transplant the plants into the potting soil when they get about 2 - 3 inches tall. So far I have had 100% success. I store the unused top soil in covered 5 gallon containers. It also makes great top dressing for plants and trees.

[Dchall_San_Antonio]

If you know who Malcolm Beck is, this will surprise you. Malcolm is the founder of Garden-Ville. GV is probably the biggest composter south of Austin. Malcolm uses potting soil from Wal-Mart and amends it with greensand, volcanite (a GardenVille product), and compost. He likes the Wal-Mart soil as a base because he can get it anywhere at the same (low) quality. But when he's finished amending it, it is a really good growing medium.

Compost is finished cooking when every part of it smells fresh like a forest floor after a rainstorm. If any part of it smells rank, sour, acrid, dank, moldy, musty, yeasty, or like old socks, then it needs to be turned and let to sit for another week. Finished compost is cool to the touch. If you get compost that is still warm, it needs to sit a few more weeks. Commercial compost is screened so you should never see anything in it that you recognize - no sticks, leaves, twigs, or anything. Your homemade compost can be screened too. The stuff that doesn't pass the screen gets recycled into the compost for next year. I made a screen from some hardware fabric and 2x4s. I don't use it anymore, but it was a fun exercise.

Soil can firm up (harden) when fungal mats and strands form. When you break them with your fingers or anything else, you are killing the fungal strands. What the fungal strands and mats are doing is they are keeping the soil open for air and water to flow in and out. So even though the compost feels hard, it is hard (but open) like a dry sponge and ready to absorb air and water. Here's what happens without the fungal strands or mats...have you seen clay that cracks and curls up after it dries from a rainstorm? That's what you DON'T want. What you have with the "hard" compost is much better than the sterile clay. If you keep your soil moister, it will remain softer to the touch.

Are you fertilizing or just using compost. I would use a couple finger pinches of corn meal, wheat flour, soy flour, alfalfa pellets, or some other protein source every month in each pot.

[Tree Dude]

Thank you for the information. I guess using my fingers is just as bad as tilling the soil,correct?
When I went to the Arlington Show, I recieved free sample of "Compost Mulches Soil Mixes Sand" from Silver Creek Materials. I also got a free sample of Premium Organic Fertilizer 6-2-4 from Bluebonnet Farm. I was thinking about using one of them in my pots. Does anyone know what I am talking about?

Also, I put the two bags in one tough ziplog bag when I got home from the show. I forgot to put the bag in a dresser in my room (probably because I was tired), so I put it on my floor.After church on the next day, I found the bag near the cat bowl. One of our cats( I know for sure it was Pepper, because that is her personality), got hold of the compost and dragged the bag to the bowl. It had teeth marks and very small holes. It was not ripped.THANK GOD IT WAS NOT!!!! So I put the bag on top of my dresser. THEN I saw the bag on my floor once again.
I wonder if any of YOU have strange stories to tell about your cats or dogs or birds or gators or moose any other crazy little (or big) beasts. :lol:
Tree Dude

[Tree Dude]

Also, I have read hg and other gardeners say they put in 5 parts of composts or 3 parts of lava sand or 4 parts of dry molasses in this pot and that pot. How much is a "part"?

Tree Dude

[Dchall_San_Antonio]

How much is a part? If your recipe calls for a total of 15 parts of something, then measure your pot. Let's say you figure your pot will hold two quarts of water. If you want 15 parts to add up to 64 ounces, then you divide 64 by 15 to find out how much a part is for you. In this case a part is 4.3 liquid ounces or just over a half cup. So if you grab your 1/2 cup measuring cup from the kitchen, that's a part.

[Tree Dude]

Dchall_San_Antonio wrote: How much is a part? If your recipe calls for a total of 15 parts of something, then measure your pot. Let's say you figure your pot will hold two quarts of water. If you want 15 parts to add up to 64 ounces, then you divide 64 by 15 to find out how much a part is for you. In this case a part is 4.3 liquid ounces or just over a half cup. So if you grab your 1/2 cup measuring cup from the kitchen, that's a part.

Thank you for reply. Isn't mathematics interesting and fun? I will do some myself.