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Compost - Do It in the Garden

So you are considering a new garden plot. Ifkeep the soil damp until it sprouts, about 3
you plan on a 25 by 50 foot garden with 3" ofto  5  days  should  do.
compost to get it started that is going to
require 312.5 cubic feet or about 12 cubicThe cover of the ground will be intense.
yards of compost. Realizing that a third of aWeeds will try to grow but will be crowded
compost pile can be lost due to moisture andout by the buckwheat. Scientists have
carbon dioxide loss while it is being made,reported that the crop can be used to
about 18 yards need to be produced whicheradicate Canada thistle, sowthistle,
means in turn a pile 3 feet by 3 feet by 54creeping jenny, leafy spurge, Russian
feet. This is a lot of material and a lot ofknapweed and perennial peppergrass.
work. While there is still work involved, theQuackgrass will likely be controlled but not
material  can  be  home  grown.eliminated.
The simplest way of composting in thisOne of the problems with buckwheat is it may
situation is to perform an old farmingdeplete the nitrogen in the soil. This will
practice developed before the days ofnot be a problem for us because we will
chemical herbicides and fertilizers, greenreturn it with the composting. Once the
manuring. Just as a compost pile by passesbuckwheat is starting to bloom it is time to
the need for a horse to make manure, greenstop its growth before it seeds and becomes a
manuring bypasses the need for a pile toweed problem itself. There are two choices.
generate compost or usable organic matter.One is to cut it down and compost it
Instead of moving material to a pile and thentraditionally and then dig in the stubble.
from the pile to the garden, we grow it inThe other is to dig in the whole plant. This
place. One of the simplest materials to useis by far the most effective method. The
and an easy one to get seed for is buckwheat.stems are hollow and easily dug in with
shovel or tiller. It leaves all the nitrogen
First dig over the garden plat and get itavailable for the soil and adds a lot of
ready to seed. Do not worry about removingorganic matter, up to 3 tons per acre of dry
the sod as you might in a normal situation,matter plus the extensive root system. It
just break it up and bury it as you go. Sowalso adds a lot of potassium to the soil. The
the buckwheat heavily, as much as 1 to 2garden should be left for two weeks before
pounds of seed for the 25 by 50 plot. This isplanting the next crop to begin the breakdown
a heavy sowing if growing for seed but notor composting in the soil and ready it for
for organic matter. Just rake the seed in andthe next crop.



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