Tilling question

[ehellis]

Hello folks,
Next week I will be tilling a bunch of compost into my soil (not really soil, more like clay w/some sand) and have straw covering most of the area now as erosion control. Do I need to remove the straw or will it till in with the compost? Not too big a deal to remove it if necessary.

Thanks,
Emil

 

[Egon]

Till it in. It will add tilth.

 

[SkunkWerX]

Till it in!! YES.

Also consider adding some Peat Moss, it adds loft and aeration.
Of course, if you are doing many acres that may not be possible.
Gypsum will also help break up the soil.

Clay + sand = concrete, for the most part.
Just keep adding organic matter, whenever you can.

 

[jbrumberg]

I agree with Egon and SkunkWerX. You should also consider adding some powdered rock fertilizers like greensand, granite dust, slag, and phosphate rock. The nice thing about rock fertilizers is that you do not have to worry about adding too much. You could also add wood ashes. Jay

 

[PA hayseed]

Till it all in.

For peat moss, the cheapest way I have to get it is by going to lowes. If a bag is damaged, they sell it to you at half price. I filled up a pickup bed of damaged topsoil bags, peat moss, and some potting soil for almost nothing.

You could get a ton of free shredded paper from any local business too. I use it in clay areas as well as gypsum wallboard, which i get for free from drywallers and lowes. I also get free manure from a dairy farm, and sometimes I get free sawdust from some sawmills. The free sawdust is getting very hard to come by, so go to smaller woodworking places.

In alot of cases it depends on what you are going to grow there next year, for my pusposes it beats the heck out of shale, clay, and rock.

 

[randy41]

if the straw pieces are long they may give you a problem by wrapping around your tiller. how big of an area we talking here?

 

[ehellis]

Thanks for the replies.
The area is around an acre and I'm planning to work lots of compost into it.
Gives me more seat time on the tractor.
I will let you all know how it goes next week.

Emil

 

[Luremaker]

I agree with Egon and SkunkWerX. You should also consider adding some powdered rock fertilizers like greensand, granite dust, slag, and phosphate rock. The nice thing about rock fertilizers is that you do not have to worry about adding too much. You could also add wood ashes. Jay

Jay, does powdered rock alter the soil's ph? Steve

 

[jbrumberg]

Steve:


Great question ! I did some quick research in the "Bible"- "How to Grow Vegetables and Fruits by the Organic Method"- J. L. Rodale (1974) and did not find anything about the rock powders affecting pH. You can direct broadcast on plants without damaging them, but the best way to apply rock powders is through tilling. Wood ashes are another story. Wood ashes are pretty alkaline. I do not put wood ashes around germinating seeds and/or young plants when side dressing. Tha amount and type of manure you use with rock powders probably will affect ph more than the rock powders. I test my garden for pH and NPK with a Home Test kit. I put over a ton of (free) well composted cow manure in my garden this year once I could "prove" to "She Who Must Be Obeyed " how deficient the N was in the garden !. Powdered rock works real slowly and adds many necessary trace chemicals to the garden. Jay

 

[Egon]

Rock powder will the PH of the source rock. EG: powdered lime.