Most 'economical' method of building up soil?

Tania · August 20, 2014

Gardening folks use many organic materials to create nutrient rich soil - manure, compost, leaves, grass clippings, food waste, wood chips, newspaper/cardboard, straw, hay, coffee grinds, etc.

In our area, manure and compost are about $700-1000 per 20 cu.yd. truck load. We do not have chickens yet. Once we get them, I will be happy to have the free chicken manure!

Wood chips are free. Leaves are free, but we do not have them here, as we are in conifer forest.

Coffee grounds are free, and this is a great nitrogen source.

1st cut hay (18"x14"x36" bale) is $5-6/bale. 2nd and 3rd cuts are up to $12/bale. These are grass. Can have herbicide residue, unless certified organic (which is very expensive). Alfalfa hay is much more expensive and not easily available here.
Straw bale (same size) is $9-11/bale
Plus delivery $. ($12-25 in fuel cost for ~20 bales if we pick up ourselves, depending on how far we need to go)

I keep asking myself what is the most economical way of adding lots of organic matter into the soil.

Wood chips are great, but take a very long time (2-5 years) to break down, creating very rich soil.

Manure and compost turn into fine dust after short summer months. Need to be reapplied every year.

Coffee grinds are great, but so labour-intensive to spread around (well manure is also labour-intensive, especially when wet). Coffee grinds disappear in 1-2 months, very quickly.

My question for everybody is - what is YOUR most economical way of building up organic soil?

Please share.

Cheers,
Tatiana

ScottinAtlanta · August 20, 2014

Your local coffee shop is usually completely willing to save grounds for free - I give them 5 pound buckets with lids, and pick them up daily, swapping out a clean one for the full one. If you ask them for grounds, don't annoy them by not picking up regularly. No shop likes buckets of old grounds sitting around. I usually collect more than 1500 pounds over a few weeks that way.

Tania · August 20, 2014

We get our coffee grinds directly from the Starbucks garbage bins. This way they do not need to collect them for us (they usually forget), and we pick them up any time Stan drives by, so no commitment is needed on our part. If he does not pick them up then the garbage guys will take them away.

Tatiana

Tania · August 20, 2014

Oops, forgot to mention that we can usually get the 'old' or spoiled hay bales for $2-3 / bale + $12-20 for delivery (gas).

Tracydr · August 21, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tania

Oops, forgot to mention that we can usually get the 'old' or spoiled hay bales for $2-3 / bale + $12-20 for delivery (gas).

I'll also add cover crops. Even if it's just mustard seeds or fenugreek from the spice store, throw down something, let it grow and then turn it under, I think on a bigger farm, there's probably not a better way to add organic matter, at least anything that doesn't involve huge amounts of big equipment and a free supply of manure.

Tracydr · August 20, 2014

Find somebody with a horse. Offer to clean their stall and pen periodacally. Seriously, horses make a ton of good poo, usually have wood shavings mixed in and they also waste a ton of hay because they trample it into their poo.
You will need a pickup and/or trailer for most good sources of organics for a garden your size.
Try growing mushrooms. They are supposed to break things down quickly and there is a variety of oyster mushroom that will live on conifer.

kath · August 20, 2014

DH gets horse manure and bedding from a neighbor, rakes/shreds leaves from our property, we use our grass clippings, fruit & veggie waste, our neighbor farms and gives us spoiled hay bales, another neighbor has chickens and we get that manure, too. We mix it up and compost it and use it the following year.

Tania · August 21, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by kath

DH gets horse manure and bedding from a neighbor, rakes/shreds leaves from our property, we use our grass clippings, fruit & veggie waste, our neighbor farms and gives us spoiled hay bales, another neighbor has chickens and we get that manure, too. We mix it up and compost it and use it the following year.

Kath,

You've got such great neighbours!

I bet your soil is very lovely.

Tatiana

kath · August 21, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tania

Kath,

You've got such great neighbours!

I bet your soil is very lovely.

Tatiana

Yes, Tatiana, we are indeed blessed to live where we do and to have such wonderful neighbors. The soil has come a long way since we first broke ground here.

kath

joseph · August 20, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tania

My question for everybody is - what is YOUR most economical way of building up organic soil?

For me it's weeds and crop residues that get tilled back into the soil.

Tania · August 21, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by joseph

For me it's weeds and crop residues that get tilled back into the soil.

It must be good to have weeds!

We barely get any weeds. But my neighbour was nice enough to bring me 2 large garbage bags of their weeds.

Our garden is no till.

ScottinAtlanta · August 21, 2014

My worst weeds are oak trees. I must pull 10,000 oak trees every season. Georgia grows trees.

Tania · August 21, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottinAtlanta

My worst weeds are oak trees. I must pull 10,000 oak trees every season. Georgia grows trees.

Lovely! I wish we had them here - that would have made lots of high quality ramial wood chips!

joseph · August 21, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tania

It must be good to have weeds!

I'll send you seeds...

clkeiper · August 20, 2014

I agree with Tracydr. Find horse manure. I have chickens, but their manure does not add an enormous amount of organic material. It is really heavy if you aren't able to spread it across the garden. It creates big wet spots if you just dump it in a pile on the garden and it is nearly impossible to till in in the first year. I just dumped it in piles one Winter instead of spreading it. It was terribly wet in that spot that Summer. We weren't able to till it in until the Fall. I don't even "see" it in the garden this year. Now, where we spread the horse manure across the corn field we raise sweet corn in, the soil is much better this year than it was last year. We can pull the weeds very easily. We were able to get the manure for free and my son bartered with the neighbor for his manure spreader and tractor to move it. So, we didn't have much in the cost to do it, but there wasn't any other option for us, either as the other options are cost prohibitive to us, too. (This is a 1/2 acre field)

You could plant some "green manure" in your garden and til it under in the Spring. I buy a mixed bag of seeds for a cover crop for the winter specifically for this.

We dump grass clippings and shredded leaves in the Fall.

any bakeries in your area that you can get egg shell from? I have picked them up by the garbage bag full from there and dumped them right in the garden.

August 20, 2014	#1
Tania Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Anmore, BC, Canada Posts: 3,970	Most 'economical' method of building up soil? Gardening folks use many organic materials to create nutrient rich soil - manure, compost, leaves, grass clippings, food waste, wood chips, newspaper/cardboard, straw, hay, coffee grinds, etc. In our area, manure and compost are about $700-1000 per 20 cu.yd. truck load. We do not have chickens yet. Once we get them, I will be happy to have the free chicken manure! Wood chips are free. Leaves are free, but we do not have them here, as we are in conifer forest. Coffee grounds are free, and this is a great nitrogen source. 1st cut hay (18"x14"x36" bale) is $5-6/bale. 2nd and 3rd cuts are up to $12/bale. These are grass. Can have herbicide residue, unless certified organic (which is very expensive). Alfalfa hay is much more expensive and not easily available here. Straw bale (same size) is $9-11/bale Plus delivery $. ($12-25 in fuel cost for ~20 bales if we pick up ourselves, depending on how far we need to go) I keep asking myself what is the most economical way of adding lots of organic matter into the soil. Wood chips are great, but take a very long time (2-5 years) to break down, creating very rich soil. Manure and compost turn into fine dust after short summer months. Need to be reapplied every year. Coffee grinds are great, but so labour-intensive to spread around (well manure is also labour-intensive, especially when wet). Coffee grinds disappear in 1-2 months, very quickly. My question for everybody is - what is YOUR most economical way of building up organic soil? Please share. Cheers, Tatiana __________________ Tatiana's TOMATObase Last edited by Tania; August 20, 2014 at 02:53 PM.

August 20, 2014	#3
Tania Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Anmore, BC, Canada Posts: 3,970	We get our coffee grinds directly from the Starbucks garbage bins. This way they do not need to collect them for us (they usually forget), and we pick them up any time Stan drives by, so no commitment is needed on our part. If he does not pick them up then the garbage guys will take them away. Tatiana __________________ Tatiana's TOMATObase Last edited by Tania; August 20, 2014 at 02:47 PM.

August 20, 2014	#4
Tania Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Anmore, BC, Canada Posts: 3,970	Oops, forgot to mention that we can usually get the 'old' or spoiled hay bales for $2-3 / bale + $12-20 for delivery (gas). __________________ Tatiana's TOMATObase

August 20, 2014	#15
clkeiper Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: ohio Posts: 4,350	I agree with Tracydr. Find horse manure. I have chickens, but their manure does not add an enormous amount of organic material. It is really heavy if you aren't able to spread it across the garden. It creates big wet spots if you just dump it in a pile on the garden and it is nearly impossible to till in in the first year. I just dumped it in piles one Winter instead of spreading it. It was terribly wet in that spot that Summer. We weren't able to till it in until the Fall. I don't even "see" it in the garden this year. Now, where we spread the horse manure across the corn field we raise sweet corn in, the soil is much better this year than it was last year. We can pull the weeds very easily. We were able to get the manure for free and my son bartered with the neighbor for his manure spreader and tractor to move it. So, we didn't have much in the cost to do it, but there wasn't any other option for us, either as the other options are cost prohibitive to us, too. (This is a 1/2 acre field) You could plant some "green manure" in your garden and til it under in the Spring. I buy a mixed bag of seeds for a cover crop for the winter specifically for this. We dump grass clippings and shredded leaves in the Fall. any bakeries in your area that you can get egg shell from? I have picked them up by the garbage bag full from there and dumped them right in the garden. __________________ carolyn k

August 20, 2014	#2
ScottinAtlanta Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 2,593	Your local coffee shop is usually completely willing to save grounds for free - I give them 5 pound buckets with lids, and pick them up daily, swapping out a clean one for the full one. If you ask them for grounds, don't annoy them by not picking up regularly. No shop likes buckets of old grounds sitting around. I usually collect more than 1500 pounds over a few weeks that way.

August 20, 2014	#6
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	Find somebody with a horse. Offer to clean their stall and pen periodacally. Seriously, horses make a ton of good poo, usually have wood shavings mixed in and they also waste a ton of hay because they trample it into their poo. You will need a pickup and/or trailer for most good sources of organics for a garden your size. Try growing mushrooms. They are supposed to break things down quickly and there is a variety of oyster mushroom that will live on conifer.

August 20, 2014	#7
kath Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: zone 6b, PA Posts: 5,664	DH gets horse manure and bedding from a neighbor, rakes/shreds leaves from our property, we use our grass clippings, fruit & veggie waste, our neighbor farms and gives us spoiled hay bales, another neighbor has chickens and we get that manure, too. We mix it up and compost it and use it the following year.

August 21, 2014	#12
ScottinAtlanta Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 2,593	My worst weeds are oak trees. I must pull 10,000 oak trees every season. Georgia grows trees.