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TOPICS AND INFORMATION:

PREFACE TO “THE LIFE CYCLE AND MAN”

Long before the words “composting, organics, natural gardening, or sustainable agriculture” became as known as they are today, there was a man named Malcolm Beck. Malcolm was an experts “expert” on the subjects of natural gardening and soil health. He spoke in any and all venues, including our top universities, spreading the word on the importance of of paying attention to nature’s laws, the health of our topsoil, and what is now known as “organics”.

Malcolm was my mentor and also to many of the big gardening show hosts you hear on Texas radio. We met when I was a young entrepreneur wanting to get into the composting business. As it turned out, Malcolm hired me to run a compost yard he was starting, and I looked forward to what I expected would be days of sitting with the Master to learn what composting was all about.

Well - no.   Instead, he took me back in the composting yard, pointed at a huge front-end loader and said, “get in that and start turning the pile”.  Say What?  I didn’t even know how to start the machine, much less what “turning the pile” meant.  But I learned.  And by doing I eventually learned the art of composting..

Years later, large groups of people interested in composting would come to the yard - at the time the largest in the state. These folks would often ask about our instrumentation: the respirometers, moisture meters, thermometers, CO2 meters, oxygen meters, maturity indexes and so on. I would simply raise my hand and answer as Malcolm did - “Oh, we have those, but this hand is all you really need”. Now, the skepticism abounded - because it just can’t be that simple. - but to the trained composter, it is.

And that is so because, as Malcolm says in this pamphlet, “You can study the science books until the biology, physics, and chemistry of composting are well understood, but that doesn’t make you a master.  Composting is an art, and just like any other art, it can only be perfected by doing it and getting the feel of it.”

At Geosource we live by Malcolm’s philosophy and practice his composting and soil blending methods every day. I am proud to have Malcolm as my mentor and I know he would be proud of what we are doing today.

“The Life Cycle and Man” has many nuggets of wisdom. With the kind permission of Malcolm’s family, I am glad to share those nuggets here.

Bob Fly - Composter

Using Compost

Compost is highly versatile and can be used as a soil amendment or mulch, but there are limits to too much of a good thing:

  • Amending Soil with Compost:
    Compost should be blended into topsoil at a 75% topsoil to 25% compost ratio. There is nothing magical about 25%; it can be used at a much higher ratio but not more than 50%. Any soil is improved by adding compost. Compost turns into organic matter or humus that is the key to fertile soil.

  • Compost Mulch
    Although not as common a use, compost does make an outstanding mulch. It looks great and feeds the soil faster because it breaks down faster than other mulches - but that’s a good thing. Because compost is lighter and finer, it does not stand up as well to erosion. It will also have to be replaced more often because it is turning into soil - another good thing.

  • Compost as Potting Mix- DON’T DO IT
    Potting Soils or Mixes are designed specifically to grow plants in containers where drainage and aeration are extremely important, and they do not contain soil. Garden soil or compost soils don’t have the necessary structure for great container growing and can cause problems. “Fines” will eventually migrate to the bottom of the container and turn into a toxic aerobic muck. There are many quality potting soil products out there, and that is the way to go.

USING LAWN DRESSING

Top dressing your lawn with Lawn Dressing is one of the easiest ways to keep your grass vibrant, green, healthy and far more resistant to bug and diseases, as well as extreme drought and freezes. The fertilizer values alone don’t do all the good. In fact, all composts are low in the primary fertilizer nutrients N, P, and K (Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium). I often tell people that fertilizer ranks about a 3 on a scale of 1-10 of benefits to the lawn. The real benefits are inoculating the soil with new micro organisms; the fungi and microbes. This soil life forms beneficial symbiotic relationships with the roots of the plants. The organic matter (humus) continues to break down to feed the soil and provide the environment for healthy soil life.

  • Lawn Dressing can be applied any time of year, but it is best to generally avoid the intense heat of summer.

  • Use 1/4” to 1/2” of Lawn Dressing evenly spread over the yard. For the most benefit, immediately water in the Lawn Dressing to wash material down to the soil level. Letting the Lawn Dressing get too dry will also dry up a lot of the microbes, and much of the fertilizer value will be lost to the atmosphere. But, not to worry: soil life regenerates very quickly and all of the benefit will not be lost.

  • After top dressing the lawn will have a “littered” look. This is inevitable, but will mostly disappear after the first or second mowing.

  • Leveling up a yard: Lawn Dressing is not the best material for leveling up a yard; it does not have enough soil bulk. Consider using Garden Soil. When leveling up DO NOT put it on so thick that the leaves are covered. A thick layer can kill the grass. Water in after application.

  • NOTES ON USING FERTILIZERS:

    • Far more damage is done to lawns due to over fertilizing than any other problem. Yes, that nice flush boom of green growth after fertilizing - what could be so bad? Well fertilizers are to plants, as steroids are to bodies (not a great analogy, but then again…). Steroid pumped up bodies may look great, but abuse and overuse eventually leads to sickness and disease. Fertilizers to plants are the same. When used properly, and when necessary, fertilizers are great; plants need these nutrients. But overuse eventually leads to all kinds of soil and plant problems.

    • When in doubt - leave it alone. Don’t fertilize at all, or fertilize sparingly. And if you do, an organic fertilizer is highly recommended.