planting in compost

After moving my compost heap from the middle of the garden,i now have an abundance of natural compost.
I was chatting to a neighbour,who said that during the war,all Germans learned to garden,as food was scarce,and have learned many tips and tricks.One of which,is never plant in too much compost.It seems that compost is too strong,and seeds will not germinate.
Is this true,and if so,what would grow in pure compost.I mean,grass and weeds grow everywhere.
This is purely an interest question,i havn't tried it....well,not really

 

After moving my compost heap from the middle of the garden,i now have an abundance of natural compost.
I was chatting to a neighbour,who said that during the war,all Germans learned to garden,as food was scarce,and have learned many tips and tricks.One of which,is never plant in too much compost.It seems that compost is too strong,and seeds will not germinate.
Is this true,and if so,what would grow in pure compost.I mean,grass and weeds grow everywhere.
This is purely an interest question,i havn't tried it....well,not really

 

Will be interested in replies to this - one of my friends uses only her own compost for everything and her plants seem to do well but I seem to remember reading that you shouldnt, but dont know why! :confused:

 

Will be interested in replies to this - one of my friends uses only her own compost for everything and her plants seem to do well but I seem to remember reading that you shouldnt, but dont know why! :confused:

 

Just bumping this up a bit

 

Just bumping this up a bit

 

There are some plants where a high level of nutrients can inhibit germination. I think i remember that lettuce germination can be depressed by nitrogen. As it happens this year I have started a vegetable plot on ground that was unused before. On some sections I have used quite a lot of manure. Cabbages have been planted into soil that contains a good proportion of manure and they have rocketed away. However the rows of lettuce that are being intercropped have germination that is extremely patchy.
On the roots section where I have not used any manure the rows of lettuce are virtually 100% germination.
If you are putting in plants rather than seeds then it does not make much difference, unless you don't want too much soft growth. Compost has a relatively low nutrient content in % terms but that is all plants can cope with without suffering from nutrient overload - you can't get that with manure or compost but you can with inorganic ferilizers.
One of the most important benefits of compost and well rotted manure is that they create the perfect rooting environent for plants, the organic matter opens up the soil to air while at the same time hanging on to moisture. I line my potato trenches with well rotted manure and bed the seed potatoes directly in it. They then have a constant supply of moisture and it also inhibts scab.
If I have any spare manure in a pile I place a bit of soil on top and plant a marrow or squash on top. That plant will then grow enormous. All my cougette and marrow plants are grown by digging a hole, filling with manure and planting in soil on top.
Himalayan blue poppies, meconopsis, are grown in the same way because they are gross feeders.
Quite frankly you can never have too much compost or manure and I am constantly looking for ways to increase the amount. Every year the humus in you soil will diminish as it decomposes so it constantly must be replenished

 

There are some plants where a high level of nutrients can inhibit germination. I think i remember that lettuce germination can be depressed by nitrogen. As it happens this year I have started a vegetable plot on ground that was unused before. On some sections I have used quite a lot of manure. Cabbages have been planted into soil that contains a good proportion of manure and they have rocketed away. However the rows of lettuce that are being intercropped have germination that is extremely patchy.
On the roots section where I have not used any manure the rows of lettuce are virtually 100% germination.
If you are putting in plants rather than seeds then it does not make much difference, unless you don't want too much soft growth. Compost has a relatively low nutrient content in % terms but that is all plants can cope with without suffering from nutrient overload - you can't get that with manure or compost but you can with inorganic ferilizers.
One of the most important benefits of compost and well rotted manure is that they create the perfect rooting environent for plants, the organic matter opens up the soil to air while at the same time hanging on to moisture. I line my potato trenches with well rotted manure and bed the seed potatoes directly in it. They then have a constant supply of moisture and it also inhibts scab.
If I have any spare manure in a pile I place a bit of soil on top and plant a marrow or squash on top. That plant will then grow enormous. All my cougette and marrow plants are grown by digging a hole, filling with manure and planting in soil on top.
Himalayan blue poppies, meconopsis, are grown in the same way because they are gross feeders.
Quite frankly you can never have too much compost or manure and I am constantly looking for ways to increase the amount. Every year the humus in you soil will diminish as it decomposes so it constantly must be replenished

 

I have read in one or two places, things about compost and manure that tend to go against a lot of people's belief. But it makes good sense to me, what they said was that :-

Garden compost and manure are virtually identical in their effect. They are not fertilisers, but soil conditioners. The fertiliser values are less than 1% of each of the NPK values see http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002948;p=1 . An assumed part of the fertiliser value of manure is from the urine. But most of that will have washed out in well rotted manure. They are both the product of natural decomposition by microbes, one within an animal, and one outside.

Manure and compost are added primarily to soil as a conditioning agent, to improve soil structure - either to open up a clay soil or to help bind a sandy one. They do supply some nutrients, but very much less than any chemical fertiliser. Organic matter also holds on to nutrients better making them available to plants. Without this the nutrients could be washed away by rain.

This sounds entirely logical to me, but may upset some manure traditionalists. Assuming it is true, the implication is that a soil conditioner on its own is not as much use as a soil conditioner which has been added to soil.

There is no doubt that manure and compost do a lot of good, but the mechanism may be different from most peoples perceptions. Another implication is that the addition of a chemical fertiliser to manure may do even more good.

Sorry if I have trodden on some toes. :D

PS I hadn't seen Geoff post as I was composing this, but I think we are saying the same thing.

 

I have read in one or two places, things about compost and manure that tend to go against a lot of people's belief. But it makes good sense to me, what they said was that :-

Garden compost and manure are virtually identical in their effect. They are not fertilisers, but soil conditioners. The fertiliser values are less than 1% of each of the NPK values see http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002948;p=1 . An assumed part of the fertiliser value of manure is from the urine. But most of that will have washed out in well rotted manure. They are both the product of natural decomposition by microbes, one within an animal, and one outside.

Manure and compost are added primarily to soil as a conditioning agent, to improve soil structure - either to open up a clay soil or to help bind a sandy one. They do supply some nutrients, but very much less than any chemical fertiliser. Organic matter also holds on to nutrients better making them available to plants. Without this the nutrients could be washed away by rain.

This sounds entirely logical to me, but may upset some manure traditionalists. Assuming it is true, the implication is that a soil conditioner on its own is not as much use as a soil conditioner which has been added to soil.

There is no doubt that manure and compost do a lot of good, but the mechanism may be different from most peoples perceptions. Another implication is that the addition of a chemical fertiliser to manure may do even more good.

Sorry if I have trodden on some toes. :D

PS I hadn't seen Geoff post as I was composing this, but I think we are saying the same thing.

 

Two very interesting posts - thanks G and P
You have both made clear what I found to be a very confusing subject
I had to halt my compost making for a time last year because rats decided to nest in the bins :eek: I know its not uncommon buy MY bins??? :D
Ive always added my compost whenever I plant something - I didnt have enough to start with to dig in the whole garden but will use some as a mulch shortly

 

Two very interesting posts - thanks G and P
You have both made clear what I found to be a very confusing subject
I had to halt my compost making for a time last year because rats decided to nest in the bins :eek: I know its not uncommon buy MY bins??? :D
Ive always added my compost whenever I plant something - I didnt have enough to start with to dig in the whole garden but will use some as a mulch shortly

 

I would stress that nutients must be low in concentration. For plants to take in nutrients in through the cell walls of the roots then the solution inside the plant needs to be less dilute in salts than the soil moisture. If that is the case then soil moisture will pass through the cell wall taking dissolved nutrients with it.
If you put on too much inorganic fertiliser and the soil moisture is less dilute than that inside the plant then the movement would be reversed and that would cause severe problems. That has happened to some people.
Another value of manure and compost is that the humus has a tremendous number of attachment points that hang on to essential nutrients. Clay particles also have attachment points but humus contains more than anything else. If you don't have humus then any plant nutrients arer quickly leached out of the soil.

 

I would stress that nutients must be low in concentration. For plants to take in nutrients in through the cell walls of the roots then the solution inside the plant needs to be less dilute in salts than the soil moisture. If that is the case then soil moisture will pass through the cell wall taking dissolved nutrients with it.
If you put on too much inorganic fertiliser and the soil moisture is less dilute than that inside the plant then the movement would be reversed and that would cause severe problems. That has happened to some people.
Another value of manure and compost is that the humus has a tremendous number of attachment points that hang on to essential nutrients. Clay particles also have attachment points but humus contains more than anything else. If you don't have humus then any plant nutrients arer quickly leached out of the soil.