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--- garden:cultivate:tasks:compost:apply [2014/09/24 22:28] – davidbac
+++ garden:cultivate:tasks:compost:apply [2026/08/08 04:29] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+===== Applying compost =====
+{{ :garden:cultivate:compost:img_1058_60wiki.jpg?600 |Three steps of applying compost}}\\
+I take the fully cured compost from the pile and spread it out over the area (left photo). Then I work it in just a little (center photo) and water it (right photo).
+{{ :garden:cultivate:compost:img_1155.jpg?300|Compost spread over the winter garden soil}}Contemporary thinking is to leave the compost on the top and not work it in, even though the traditional method is to work the compost into the soil. This way the micro-organisms come up at night and integrate the compost in the the soil below with no more effort on my part.
+What I've found is that this top layer dries out very quickly and (I suspect) reduces the action of the microbes. I can't prove that but it seems to me that the compost is being digested only very slowly and that the process accelerates when the compost stays moist, so I water it often at first to maintain moisture. Sometimes, I work the compost into the soil lightly, "serving it up" to the micro-organisms where there is more moisture.
+I water in the compost not because it necessarily needs it but also because I want to encourage the seeds in the seed bank to sprout. I'll come along soon with a diamond hoe and chop off the tops. Then I'll plant with a minimum of disturbance to the soil.