City Compost

Durgan · May 1, 2014

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?XUOYZ 1 May 2014 City Compost
The city makes available vegetative compost during the month of May.Two garbage cans full are allowed once per day. I usually go every day and get about half a yard of compost each trip. This is all the fertilizer used in my garden.

rags57078 · May 1, 2014

I am afraid to get mine from the city , too many weed sprays and ect

Durgan · May 1, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by rags57078

I am afraid to get mine from the city , too many weed sprays and ect

I have been using this compost for ten years or thereabouts with no obvious problems.

The real issue is even if one procures animal manure or compost made by some supplier, one has no idea what it contains.

The city sells the compost to the soil providers for $15.00 per ton. They sell it to the public for $40.00 per cubic yard. I am not sure what a ton equates to in cubic yards.

The other choice is to use basic fertilizer chemicals.NPK.

So it is a case of take your choice.

Worth1 · May 17, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by Durgan

I have been using this compost for ten years or thereabouts with no obvious problems.

The real issue is even if one procures animal manure or compost made by some supplier, one has no idea what it contains.

The city sells the compost to the soil providers for $15.00 per ton. They sell it to the public for $40.00 per cubic yard. I am not sure what a ton equates to in cubic yards.

The other choice is to use basic fertilizer chemicals.NPK.

So it is a case of take your choice.

Durgan a ton of compost is about 1 yard.

You are paying over twice as much as the soil providers.
Therefore you are subsidizing the business by taking on their burden of cost.

Worth

greenthumbomaha · May 8, 2014

My city has the longest composting period in the country, min 15 months. Its widely available and cheap. However Clopyralid is present. You can read about it at Omagro.com

Lisa

OldHondaNut · May 17, 2014

I use the city compost and then allow it another 6 -12 weeks to cure before I use it. It is a bit raw when I get it - wood chips very easy to see. But the smell is right and all the cities are inspected.

It has been working for me for a long time and I think I have seen commercial vendors buying it also so that they can bag and resell it. If you live in or near a big city, I suggest that you take advantage of this even if you don't decide to use it in your veggie garden.

guruofgardens · May 19, 2014

The real issue is even if one procures animal manure or compost made by some supplier, one has no idea what it contains.

I think I'll stick with my known source of llama manure, and skip over whatever is bagged or made by the city.

When we first started our gardens, we bought a truckload of the city stuff- hopefully whatever was in it has been long gone. Never again. Intelligence comes with age. : )

OldHondaNut · May 19, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by Durgan

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?XUOYZ 1 May 2014 City Compost
The city makes available vegetative compost during the month of May.Two garbage cans full are allowed once per day. I usually go every day and get about half a yard of compost each trip. This is all the fertilizer used in my garden.

I viewed the pictures and can suggest a better method for retrieving the city compost. While we can take a truck or trailer and have them load it for free, I have used a car many times. Here is what I use:

Flat shovel
5 gallon bucket
City garbage bags (or Hefty but it must be strong).

Fill the 5 gallon bucket. Put the bag over the bucket and flip. Tie and put bag in car.

You can get two buckets into our trash bags (10 gallons) but be careful for splitting. It is also heavy.

There is quite a bit of demand for the stuff and it is best to call ahead to see if it is available before you go. Inspection information is posted inside where we have to sign in and show proof of residency. Either a drivers license or water bill works. This is in Mesquite Texas.

OkieDan · June 10, 2014

I live near Tulsa, OK. I pull up with my 12 foot trailer, and the fill with a big front-end loader. It is free. I watched them grind it up for a while, the machinery was unbelievable. Brush and big trees are placed in the top of a big machine that reminds me of a garbage disposer, it is about ten foot across the opening. As the big disposer runs, the big trees went around and around until they disappeared from site. The end product falls off a conveyer about 30 feet away. The end product is a finely ground wood and leaf mixture that smells a little like tobacco leaves, and has some courser wood shavings in it. Because of the quantities of big trees, I do not think there is much danger of it being contaminated with enough chemicals to do me any harm. Since I have been using it, I have noticed a lot of young worms in my raised beds. I never turn it under, just rake it a little each spring to deter grass and weeds. I add more every year. I add alfalfa pellets or soy bean meal to boost the nitrogen level. This has worked well for me.

Redbaron · June 10, 2014

I went to the Norman compost facility this year for the first time. So far excellent results.

May 1, 2014	#1
Durgan Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Brantford, ON, Canada Posts: 1,341	City Compost http://www.durgan.org/URL/?XUOYZ 1 May 2014 City Compost The city makes available vegetative compost during the month of May.Two garbage cans full are allowed once per day. I usually go every day and get about half a yard of compost each trip. This is all the fertilizer used in my garden.

June 10, 2014	#10
Redbaron Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 4,488	I went to the Norman compost facility this year for the first time. So far excellent results. __________________ Scott AKA The Redbaron "Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted & thoughtful observation rather than protracted & thoughtless labour; & of looking at plants & animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system." Bill Mollison co-founder of permaculture

May 1, 2014	#2
rags57078 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: South Dakota Posts: 278	I am afraid to get mine from the city , too many weed sprays and ect

May 8, 2014	#5
greenthumbomaha Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Omaha Zone 5 Posts: 2,514	My city has the longest composting period in the country, min 15 months. Its widely available and cheap. However Clopyralid is present. You can read about it at Omagro.com Lisa

May 17, 2014	#6
OldHondaNut Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Zone 8a Posts: 120	I use the city compost and then allow it another 6 -12 weeks to cure before I use it. It is a bit raw when I get it - wood chips very easy to see. But the smell is right and all the cities are inspected. It has been working for me for a long time and I think I have seen commercial vendors buying it also so that they can bag and resell it. If you live in or near a big city, I suggest that you take advantage of this even if you don't decide to use it in your veggie garden.

May 19, 2014	#7
guruofgardens Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: zone 5 Colorado Posts: 942	The real issue is even if one procures animal manure or compost made by some supplier, one has no idea what it contains. I think I'll stick with my known source of llama manure, and skip over whatever is bagged or made by the city. When we first started our gardens, we bought a truckload of the city stuff- hopefully whatever was in it has been long gone. Never again. Intelligence comes with age. : )

June 10, 2014	#9
OkieDan Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2014 Location: Sapulpa, Oklahoma Posts: 63	I live near Tulsa, OK. I pull up with my 12 foot trailer, and the fill with a big front-end loader. It is free. I watched them grind it up for a while, the machinery was unbelievable. Brush and big trees are placed in the top of a big machine that reminds me of a garbage disposer, it is about ten foot across the opening. As the big disposer runs, the big trees went around and around until they disappeared from site. The end product falls off a conveyer about 30 feet away. The end product is a finely ground wood and leaf mixture that smells a little like tobacco leaves, and has some courser wood shavings in it. Because of the quantities of big trees, I do not think there is much danger of it being contaminated with enough chemicals to do me any harm. Since I have been using it, I have noticed a lot of young worms in my raised beds. I never turn it under, just rake it a little each spring to deter grass and weeds. I add more every year. I add alfalfa pellets or soy bean meal to boost the nitrogen level. This has worked well for me.