Topic: Is a compost heap enough ?

[T o m]

Would you say the amount of compost produced from an average allotment compost heap, is enough to keep a full 10 rod plot fertile? or am I kidding myself.

I do include all our kitchen and garden waste.

T o m

[BarriedaleNick]

I would say no - for me at least.  I guess it is possible but seems rather optimistic to me.  I have a half plot and I couldn't keep it properly fertile without input from local stables or city farms but then I do plant intensively.  Maybe if I got all my nieghbours organic waste and collected anything I cold get my hands then I might get close.

[manicscousers]

We, at the moment have 2 4x4x4 heaps, one we're using now and one full for next year. We also have 2 daleks with mushroom compost and grass clippings in and 10 bags of leaves from last year. Ours is a half sized plot and we still get well rotted manure as we're building the beds up 

[T o m]

Cheers folks,

I thought as much, but wondered what other's opinions were.

Looks like it's either up the production rate, or try and remember the combination number for my wallet. 

T o m

[daveyboi]

It does depend on the structure of your soil as to whether it needs a high quantity of organic matter addition.

Crop rotation and fertilisation also need to be added into the equation as well.

[davyw1]

A repeat for allotments NE Yorks
If you are struggling for manure or find 6X or Groworganic a bit pricey (Groworganic are putting up the price again) There is a racing stable in Stokesley that sells their own stuff called Puregrow, we sell it  at £3.60 you get discount if you pay cash. There is no web site so you have to phone. They also deliver.
Purgrow
Carr House Farm
Seamer. Stokesley.
Middlesbrough
0642 713177

[Palustris]

Our 2, 30 feet by 30 feet Veg growing areas and the 30 feet by 15 feet tunnel, get only compost.  We have not used animal manure in 16 years (not happy with the ethics of the way they are treated round here). We have 3 of 6 by 6 by as tall as I can reach heaps. However, we do have an acre of land to produce the compost from and we definitely do not waste any biodegradable material, other than diseased potato and tomato haulms.
The soil has retained its structure and fertility and the garden feeds us in a normal season without any trouble.

[T o m]

That’s interesting Palustris, looks like you’re producing enough for about 250 sq yds, which is not far off  a full size allotment.

So (thinking aloud) it’s not impossible, given a plentiful supply of compostable material and perhaps using green manures, hmmm.

One of the reasons I’m asking, is the dubious quality of some of the loads of manure I’ve seen delivered.

T o m

[manicscousers]

I forgot about the green manuring, we've done 4 beds this year, 2 with phacelia and 2 with red mustard 

[Palustris]

Should have added that we do not use fertilisers either. Green manures really do help a lot.
It also depends on your soil type. Ours is a peaty silt which holds its structure well and retains the humic material which we add. Our previous garden was almost pure sand and 20 tons of manure would disappear into it in one season, no trouble.

[Digeroo]

I think one heap for a full size plot is not enough.  I have four daleks.  One is full of leaves, I managed to source 13 compacted bucket loads to fill it up.  I use chicken pellets, green manure (mustard, phacelia and rye), comfrey and nettle tea as well as BFB.  I have also get recycled waste.   My soil is very gravelly so I am trying to darken it up so it does not dry out so much.  The first year it simply set like concrete. 

I am still too wary of aminopyralid to use manure.  It is too much of a pain to grow beans on each bucket load before use.  Though so far it has been clear.

I thought taking kitchen waste to an allotment was not legal.   

[goodlife]

Would you say the amount of compost produced from an average allotment compost heap, is enough to keep a full 10 rod plot fertile? or am I kidding myself.

Maybe not to start with..but there is potential that eventually it could be enough...
It is not only about how much you add to you plot to keep it fertile...you could pile good stuff on by the tons..and loose most of the goodness by 'bad' practices. And not only that..sometimes little bit of good stuff works better than 'heaps'..if there is not sufficient amount 'creepy crawlers' and other 'critters' in soil to digest the 'stuff', it is not going to be much help for your plants. Any compost and muck needs to be sorted smaller and smaller particles until it benefits the plants, so start small..build up the soil structure, add compost, grow green manures, use mulches, try to avoid leaving soil surfaces 'clean' so that there is always something on the soil for worms and other little things to hide under and feast on......and you will be awarded with good soil structure that is full of life where plants will grow very happily. You'll soon learn what quantity is needed by your plot.
I'm doing actual composting less and less now...and instead I use the compostable material straight on the soil where appropriate..my plots are 1/4 acre and I've got just one plastic 'dalec' going on, and even that is only half filled this year. I get some chicken manure and their bedding from my chickens...I gather some leaves in autumn..I use straw (bought in) as mulch and rest of the stuff in 'produced' on plot..other than that I may use some chicken pellets and/or BFB to boost growth for greedy crops during growing season.
It may take few years to see big changes to the soil...but slowly you will be rewarded with better results and less pest too......though this year on my plots, predators were over run by tidal wave of snails and slugs..

[kt.]

In February this year I used 2-3 full daleks on 1/4 of a 250yd plot in my brassica bed.  Less than 10% compost waste was from the allotment itself as most of my brassica foilage gets fed to our rabbits, guinea pigs and hens.  Most of the compost was made of cardboard, shredded paper, a little manure, 6-7 wheelie bins full of lawn clippings.  Excellent brassicas this year.  My spud bed got manure only.  My onion and legume bed got nothing and all did fine. 

With crop rotation and doing the above, then all beds will get a feed boost at different stages but at the right time in accordance with crop rotation.   I have never used any other feed and although I am more than content with most of what I grow and harvest, I am going to try the Growmore next year to see if it produces even better crops. 

[T o m]

Thanks again everyone some excellent advice there, and it’s interesting to see the different ideas.

I’m particularly impressed by goodlife’s holistic approach to it, as it’s easy to forget the biological  processes  involved.

I’m supposing (perhaps wrongly?) that compost is more concentrated in essential nutrients than manure, and so together with bulky materials like leafmould, could suffice.

Anyway, I think I’ll resist manure for the time being, and perhaps have some ‘growmore’ on hand just in case(where's the embarrassed smiley when you want one ?)

T o m

[powerspade]

I have three part compost bays  one for filling one after turning and one ready to use I also grow green manures and make Comfrey and nettle teas. I collect Bracken to use around the strawberries and also on the over wintering Parsnips at the end of the season all the bracken goes onto the compost heap I trying to make at least 2 ton  of compost per year which I use mixed with a couple of handfulls of chicken pellets per barrow load. Also I`ve been collecting leaves and up to now I have 22 large sacks of the stuff. I am on a new plot now, the ground was used to keep chickens for the past 20 odd years and after cleaning the cot out I got 27 bags of chicken poo and bedding so my new compost heap has had a great start. You can never get to much compost I still am always looking around I have even thought of going round collecting the kitchen waste before the council lorry get its hands on it but that may be a bit too cheeky

[manicscousers]

Straw that has been used under the strawberries and the old, mostly composted wood chips from the fruit cage paths either gets put straight on the beds or compost ed along with everything else 
 

[Katiepops1977]

Just a thought but try your local primary school. Younger children have fruit everyday and I collect the fruit waste from my class to add to the waste I collect at home. Also asking the staff to place teabags in an old used milk carton helps.

They might think you're a bit crackers but some school have an eco-friendly agenda.