pallet compost bins at the bottom of the Edible Garden
....fertile, healthy soil.....its the heart and soul of food growing, and when designing the for the functioning of the whole farm, I have carefully considered the role that multiple aspects play in helping to make the garden as productive as possible in terms of adding to soil fertility.....cows, chickens, sheep, pigs, comfrey and nettles are all part of the design
...at the bottom of my Edible Garden sit my trusty pallet (salvaged) compost bins (tied together with recycled baler twine!) ...there are 3 bins here and one (overspill for the winter, when the contents don't compost down as quickly), in the little Forest Garden....each bin provides me with enough volume of composted material for a whole growing season for incorporating in raised beds, pots and other containers..... I generally add a thick layer to the surface of the bed (and then top with straw to prevent nutrients been leached), in autumn/early winter/early spring (depending on the crop and the weather) and totally replace the contents of each container in Spring, before planting seeds/young plants....old contents of the container get added to raised beds which need less less nitrogen content for the following season (carrots/parsnips/onions etc)....
...i don't house my cows in a building if the winter is very cold, so only get chance to collect their poo for short periods of time...this is heaped (with straw bedding), left and spread on the pasture land after rotting down for about 2 years.....I also use 2/3 year old cow manure/straw mix to add to my raised beds both in the polytunnel and outside, particularly for crops which like a heavy feed of nutrients (courgettes, potatoes etc).
layers in the compost bins
......so, layered in the pallet bins are :chicken poo mixed with straw, pig poo mixed with straw, garden leafy waste (including lots of nettles and conmfrey, cut specifically to be added to the compost bin), kitchen scraps, wool scraps (from the sheep clip) and some paper/card....I usually keep each bin covered with weed suppresent mulching material to keep some of the rain from making the mix too wet (our rain fall is very high, too dry is never a problem!)...when the bin is full I tuck the cover in to secure, and then leave it...for 2 years....after this time, the compost is lovely, smells amazing and ready to use
new compost added to this raised bed, prior to planting garlic a couple of weeks ago
making leaf mould
...for the first time this year, I have collected leaves from the garden to make leaf mould....half in black bin liners, half in hessian sacks....the plan is to make seed compost with the leaf mould, so will probably take about 2 years to break down to that consistency........
I feel really lucky that I am able to provide so much fertility needed for the garden from the farm itself....next year I plan to try incorporating a green manure system into the established one too.
I feel really lucky that I am able to provide so much fertility needed for the garden from the farm itself....next year I plan to try incorporating a green manure system into the established one too.
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