Growing Local

In response to my little survey, not as of this posting completed and what's in my head this rainy day, I have decided to write at least partly about compost. Compost has more than one definition and it seems to mean something else in different areas.

In the United States, we tend to think of everything that we throw into a compost heap as compost. In more British areas, I believe that they tend to think of the final product from a compost heap, and potting soil as compost. I have had a few clients ask me if I can deliver some 'soil' to their garden for topping when what they really mean is 'compost'. All that really matters is that you reader, wherever you are understand what I am saying.

OK, so where was I? Growing local, yes, I am trying to establish a self-sufficient garden, but I have imported a lot of material into it. The 1st is compost, meaning the final product. I get mine from a local source, Agrecycle. I also use Agrecycle to dispose of yard debris, both my own when it's bulky, and that of clients. They compost it and sell it right back to me. So that means that the compost that I have topped my garden with is local.

I also supplement my garden with various fertilizers. I am not a scientist but I try to balance out my various plants need, especially my tomatoes. This year I am finding it easier to fertilize them with my bokashi, which because it allows meat and cheese waste, is richer than other self-produced fertilizer. I also have buried a lot of pet hair and some alpaca fleece waste(I started spinning last fall after I acquired some very inexpensive western Pennsylvania raw alpaca fleece).

I became very interested in hair and other things composed of keratin after I heard about smartgrow. Smartgrow is simply a mat made out of human hair which sounds really bizarre. I won't explain it here, visit their site. Anyway, it seemed to me that I could replicate smart grow results just by using my hair, my pet's hair and all the alpaca waste I accumulated when I carded my fleece.

Anyway, It occurred to me today that not only am I reducing the waste I am producing but I am truly turning my garden into a locally grown garden in more ways than I thought. And by doing so I am greatly reducing my carbon footprint. I am also reducing my fertilizing costs.

And I haven't even discussed my rainbarrel project. There are multiple levels in which that is beneficial. But that is a future post.

One more tarp post

I do love my tarp. In this case I have some yard debris wrapped up tight. The load here was much bulkier before I packed it in here.

I decided to post this picture of lasagna to show how I load up my yard debris. Pasta is to tarps as tomatoes, meat and cheese is to yard debris.

You cannot see it here, but there are 6 layers of yard debris between 7 tarps, including my super-tarp. Why am I making such a big deal out of this? Because loading up your bed lasagna style saves a lot of time and energy, both in loading but more so in unloading. It also makes it easier to really pack it in.

I'll just pretend that most readers can figure this out without an extensive explanation. I impressed a number of landscapers, especially those working on a smaller scale like myself when they see how fast I unload at the dump, and all by myself too. I just pull each tarp out one at a time, each with a manageable load rather than one heavy one.

This last photo is from a previous post showing how I spread and secure my tarp when getting a load from a backhoe. For yard debris, I am not this elaborate. I don't use the blue cab tarp shown here and I only use 2 bungee cords though really i don't need any, it just keeps things in place in case the wind blows. What is pretty key here is packing down each layer, something that is harder to do without tarps.

The Final Tarp System

I have perfected a way to keep your pick-up truck bed and everything else tidy and also to save time unloading. If you are one of those weird people that has a truck and are anal about keeping it clean but love to garden, you MUST read this. I worked out this system over the past few years, perfecting it this spring.

WARNING: Please be aware of the weight capacity of your vehicle. Most things I haul are pretty light. A load of gravel that is the same VOLUME as mulch is much heavier and can do considerable damage to your suspension. When in doubt ask how much it weighs and consult your owner's manual.

What follows is a detailed explanation with photos that explicitly shows you too how to be a master of mulch and other bulk things, just like me. The 1st photo shows the final set-up. The key is to use 2 tarps. One should be larger than your truck bed, the other may be smaller. I have a compact truck. If it were full sized, I would need slightly larger tarps. I will trust you to do your own math, but get 2 new unscathed tarps for this. I have tarps I use for other things but these are my truckbed tarps.

The tarps however must be firmly secured. For this you need 3 four foot bungee cords, 2 carabiners and a weight, I use a brick. This picture shows where one carbiner and bungee cord goes. Remember, the cab tarp goes on top of the bed tarp. The brick(weight) goes on top of the cab to keep the cab tarp from blowing over.You kinda need rearview mirrors on both sides of your truck. If you don't have that well, I guess that will be a puzzle for you to solve. It's a good idea to make sure your windows are rolled up too.

The 3rd bungee cord goes under your tailgate, which should be kept open. You want the large tarp to fall outside the bed, sorta like a piecrust.

Here you see what an inexact science it is to dump a load of whatever into the bed of a truck. Some operators are pretty good. My guy knows whats up but some are pretty sloppy. Anyway, he doesn't worry about messing up my truck when I come around.

I did a post last fall showing my tarp method, but not with these improvements. If you compare, you'll see that this is superior.

I should do a post about saving time and effort when doing a drop-off. I developed a lasagna method of filling my truck with yard waste which I am certain more landscapers would use, especially small scale ones, once they realized how much time it saves.

How much compost do I need?

Maybe this should be in the sidebar but it is an important consideration. I keep putting off writing about this because it's kinda a basic consideration and for my garden I didn't exactly figure it all out because I developed my garden gradually out of a weedy mess.

The 1st thing you know, if you do things like me is the unit of compost is a cubic yard. To most easily translate that to your garden you need to figure how many square yards of garden needs compost. I like to put 2 or 3 inches of compost on each bed, especially if it's a new bed. Sometimes it's a good idea to cultivate a bed a shovel blade or 2 deep and to amend the soil with some compost. I believe that in most cases ideal soil is 25% organic material.

If you have a rectangular garden this is easy, if not you might need to measure each bed remember of course that 9 square feet is equal to one square yard. I like to have extra compost around for topping off beds, making some potting soil, or just to mix in as I plant something, or maybe it just makes me feel safe.

Potting soil is easy mixed yourself. The general formula is compost, peat moss, vermiculite, perlite and some sort of fertilizer. The idea balance depends on what you're growing but I guess I do about 1 part each except for fertilizer. Even though I have a bit of land I still like to grow some things in containers. I also use potting soil to start seedlings and to root cuttings or just to split things up, maybe to share something with a friend.

One thing to remember is that compost breaks down. In most areas it breaks down at the rate of about an inch a year. If your climate is warmer, and perhaps moister, all things living are more active. So in most places you probably do not need to top your garden with compost every year but...

I suppose I primarily subscribe to the author of The Vegetable Gardener's Bible, Ed Smith's W-O-R-D philosophy of gardening. He recommends WIDE beds, rather than skinny rows. The rule of thumb is just wide enough for easy access, so that's 3 to 4 feet wide. ORGANIC because well, it's just a better method. He also recommends RAISED beds, and that's the point I wanted to get to. Before I do that, just for completion sake, I must say he likes DEEP beds. I won't go into each point here, just read the book or maybe I'll paraphrase him more, though it is all echos of what others have said but he said it well.

OK, I was trying not to paraphrase anyone but that's it. I greatly enjoyed his book. The difference for me is that putting it ALL together takes a lot of W-O-R-K. A conflict I have in this blog is deciding what audience I want to speak to. I am perfectly willing to W-O-R-K for anyone willing to pay me but I also wish to encourage and H-E-L-P anyone less wealthy to realize their own garden. Or maybe you have money but aren't certain exactly what direction you want to go. At any rate I am here to help all of the above.

My personal philosophy towards gardening is a sort of evolution. Nothing is constant. So, a bed needs an average of an inch of compost topping it a year but my garden is evolving into a RAISED bed so I think I'll end up topping my beds with 1-3 inches a year until I either need to build something to contain them or I just let them spill over. I guess I am building little hills, not a flat topped bed. Now my memory banks recall something I read about rounded topped garden beds in Japan(?) perhaps in a Joy Larkcom book, but I digress.

In short 12-18 square yards is 108-162 square feet and may be covered adequately by 1 cubic yard of compost. That's a rectangle that measures 9 X 12 feet to 12 X 14 feet, though I fudged the larger rectangle. Really, the backhoe just dumps a big bucket into the back of my truck which probably is a bit bigger than a cubic yard. I haven't measured but above is a photo of my half-unloaded truck.

Any questions? Please, pick my brain!

I love my tarp

I guess I am allowed to only upload 4 photos at a time. Well gee.
OK, I love my tarp. If you are reading this you probably haven't read my 1st post about my wonderful supertarp.

I took all these pictures just to show how wonderful it is.

Here I have a few wheelbarrows shy of a yard of compost in my bed and you can see how the tarp works.

This next 2 pictures(above) show how I attached a carabiner type rings to my tarp, actually a bunch of them, which I use in conjunction with bungee cords and other things to keep things the way I want them. They let me quickly attach and detach things.

Next we have my wheelbarrow sitting on a smaller, cheaper tarp. This lets me toss my stuff faster and sloppier. Hmm, how many readers have I lost with this post?

Anyway this compost here is a must for gardens. You can either make your own by collecting various biodegradable things, or get it elsewhere. I explain below how more or less, commercial compost humus is made and how I arrange my tarp when getting a load. I decided yesterday that I might get a second tarp, about 6X6 to rest on my cab and slightly overlap the main tarp. I may or may not want another bungee to secure that one. I dunno, you can never have enough bungee cords or tarps. They all wear out eventually so I generally keep well stocked.

Tired

I am tired. I did 2 yards of compost today. The picture you see is not from today but last May.

Typically I go to this place and they dump a load in my little truck just like that. I told them it's OK to dump it on the roof of my truck. I guess some people don't like dirt on their roof, but I find it easier and they just can't dump it tidily in my bed.

I have a special tarp I call my 'supertarp' that I always keep in my truck. I have other tarps for doing other things but this one just lives there.

I have a special way I keep it spread on the bed so that the compost stays neater. I use at this point 3 bungee cords to hold it in place. In this picture you can see one bungee cord stretched from the tarp to someplace off screen which is my rearview mirror, there was another bungee cord attached the same way on the other side.

I've modified my method since last May by keeping the tailgate open and using a third bungee to keep the tarp secure at the gate. I also attached the other 2 to the actual corners of the tarp and higher up.

Not only does this keep my truckbed neater but it also makes it easier and faster to unload. I don't have to scrape my bed at all because when the compost gets thin, I pull the tarp and the dirt just slides down.

So anyway, compost humus, one small truckload is bout a cubic yard. If you have a garden, especially if you are breaking new ground, topping it with some compost helps a lot.

The compost comes from various sources, a good portion from landscapers dumping the yard debris from cleaning up things, this is weeds, branches, grass cuttings etc. This stuff is taken somewhere where it is composted with some other stuff, sometimes they accept roadkill, sometimes it's something else, like one place uses a lot of potato peels from a potato chip factory. Anyway, I do not know the specifics but they compost the stuff like you might if you had the space and were so inclined. It's good stuff.