[AG-EQ] Why Compost Is Good For Gardens

[dogwood farm]

Why Compost Is Good For Gardens
How I Learned Compost Is Good For Gardens

I learned about natural vegetable production early – it was the way my
grandfather, who’d grown up farming, raised vegetables every summer to
feed us.

Annually, grandpa grew a bountiful garden that provided produce all
year-long. He started by adding composted horse manure (what he called
“garden gold”) from the neighbor’s stable to the same sunny patch of
land each year.


Then he’d plant his favorite varieties, often saved from the previous
year’s harvest. Subsequent plant growth was rapid and lush, there were
few disease or pest problems, and what wasn’t consumed fresh was
canned or cellared for later use.

His system didn’t require chemical fertilizers, insecticides, or
herbicides. The horses processed hay and grass into manure; and when
that manure was composted and returned to the soil, it returned
fertility and friability.

The fertile, friable soil promoted quick, healthy plant growth; and
healthy plants seldom succumb to pests and disease.

Grandpa used crop rotation which further minimized the chance of pest
and disease problems.
And by saving seeds from his favorites each year; these varieties
slowly developed local disease and insect resistance while gradually
becoming better adapted to local climate and soil conditions

Grandpa learned his system from his father, who’d had it passed down
through countless ancestors before him. Instead of adding costly
chemical inputs, they used processes that mimicked nature.

How Compost Improves Your Garden
It all comes down to improving the soil. That’s how compost is good
for your garden!

Since our goats and chickens are producing “garden gold” for us, we’re
gardening the same way my grandpa did. Each fall, as winter
approaches, I add composted goat and chicken bedding to the garden
beds. Then we add a thick layer of chopped leaves and let nature work
over the course of winter

In the spring, I plant my seeds and vegetables directly into the
garden beds (we don’t till the soil), add more composted bedding
around the individual plants, and then cover the beds with grass
clippings (we also use only organic lawn products).

When we first started gardening here, the ground was compacted clay,
and our produce struggled. But after several years of using composted
manure, letting the vegetable roots create airways in the soil, and
using leaves or grass clippings to conserve moisture, the improvement
in the soil and produce production is incredible.

The soil has become fertile and friable – I never used to see worms or
insect life in the soil, but now every shovel full contains worms and
insects. The plants grow quickly and we seldom have any issues with
disease or pests – we used to have issues with many pests (flea
beetles, potato beetles, squash bugs, cabbage loppers, etc.), but by
following grandpa’s methods, they’ve gradually disappeared.

So, crop rotation, saving seeds, and mulching to conserve moisture are
all important elements in growing a great garden, but the one thing
that is really crucial is improving the soil. And for that, my grandpa
was right, compost truly is “garden gold”!

We’re fortunate to have the compost from the goats and chickens;
however, anyone can create compost for their garden.

*Garden Crop Rotation – A Simple System
from:  Bramblewood Farm

Garden crop rotation is one of the most basic techniques gardeners,
homesteaders, and farmers can use to assure plant crop success.

Everyone should consider rotating their crops, because it helps
maximize productivity while minimizing pests and disease.

But, the practice of rotating crops can be simple or complex – I like
this system because it’s simple and easy to follow year after year.

What Is Garden Crop Rotation?
Farmers have been rotating crops since farming began, and there are
many different strategies.

In effect, you’re just making sure that when the bugs and diseases
that like tomatoes wake up in the bed you grew tomatoes in last year,
there aren’t tomatoes there for them to conveniently feast on this
year.  Instead, perhaps they’ll find carrots which they don’t happen
to like, and die trying to find their way back to those tasty
tomatoes.

How This Garden Crop Rotation System Works (Legume <- Leaf <- Fruit <- Root)

I like this system that breaks the various garden plants into four
groups based on their nutritional needs: leaf (nitrogen), fruit
(phosphorus), root (potassium), and legume (fixes nitrogen).

In this system, the leaf plants go where legumes were last year,
because legumes fix nitrogen in the soil, and leaf plants need large
amounts of nitrogen.

The fruits follow the leaf plants because they need phosphorus, and
too much nitrogen causes them not to have fruits.

The roots follow the fruits because they need potassium and need
nitrogen less than the fruits.

Finally, the legumes follow the roots to put nitrogen back into the soil.

Because this is a simple sequence, and it makes sense to me, I can
remember how it goes each year. There’s a downloadable version of the
graphic below here, if you’d like to keep it for your garden file.

Crop Rotation
The Leaf Group
The leaf group contains all the big nitrogen dependent crops like
lettuce, greens, herbs, spinach, and the brassicas (cabbage, broccoli,
cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, and kale).  They need lots of nitrogen
to grow strong leaves and stems but nitrogen is the hardest nutrient
to keep in the soil.  That’s why they follow the nitrogen-fixing
legumes in the rotation.

The Fruit Group
The fruits include tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, and squash.
These plants need phosphorus to set blossoms and develop fruit, but
shouldn’t get lots of nitrogen or they’ll make all leaves and no
fruit.  Technically, corn is a fruiting crop but I grow it as an
exception in the leaf group because it does need lots of nitrogen.

The Root Group
Onions, garlic, turnips, carrots, beets, and radishes are all root
crops that need potassium but don’t need much nitrogen.  So, the roots
follow the fruits since there’s little nitrogen left at this point in
the rotation.  Potatoes are root crops too but I plant them with the
legumes.  That’s because they’re members of the nightshade family and
suffer from the same pests as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, so I
don’t want them to follow the fruits.  They seem to suffer a lot more
pest damage when they do.

The Legume Group
Beans and peas are said to be nitrogen-fixing because they pull
nitrogen from the air and store it in their roots.  So they follow the
roots and ensure there’ll be lots of nitrogen available for the next
leaf rotation.

Winterized Garden Ready For New Crops
That’s all there is to this simple gardem crop rotation system, now I
just need to get last year’s garden plan out and decide where
everything will go this year.

Wherever the peas and beans were last year, that’s where this year’s
leafy vegetables will go, wherever the leafy crops were, that’s where
the tomatoes will go, and so on.

It actually makes planning the vegetable garden pretty simple.

Susan