September 2014

Compost is one of our main sources of fertilizer for the gardens. We use no commercial chemical fertilizers. So we make a lot of various kinds of compost. In the photo below, we've opened up one of the compost making boxes in order to use the material in the garden beds. We spread a light layer on top of the soil and lightly dig it in before planting the next crop. 

We make a variety of composts. Some have more manures for a nitrogen boost for the garden. But most commonly we make a compost based upon vegetable matter.....weeds, discarded veggies, old veggie plants, grass clippings. As we make the compost we add a little soil, lava sand, coral sand, wood ash, and crushed burnt bone. If we have it we'll also add a bit of biochar and mushrooms. We don't have an exact science about it, but the compost works. The veggies grow well. 

Above, these are bean plants in flower. This variety does real well at our location and produces heavily. An added bonus is that the pods are purple, making it easier or the volunteers to see and pick them. We find that purple podded varieties are a bit tougher, but not much. And raw they are just as fine as the green and yellow types. 

Another form of fertilizer we use is manure, compost, and grass clippings tea. We're experimenting to see if these three teas result in differences in the garden. We're just starting to try using teas. 

The garden is coming along. As one bed is harvested, the next crop goes in. So the garden is constantly looking different. Some weeks it is simply bursting in greenery while other weeks it looks empty because new plantings have just been made.