The amendments to the farm’s soil are simple. In a year, the farm spends up to $1,500 for one dump truck load of mushroom compost.
While the myth persists that mushroom compost has too much salt and can harm plants, Pennsylvania State University research found otherwise. Researchers concluded that fresh mushroom compost:
improves soil structure;
provides plant nutrients;
increases plant nutrient availability;
increases soil microbial populations;
increases plant root structure;
increases soil aeration;
and reduces soil compaction.
In past years, we had to order the compost in the spring, when CSA memberships provided the money for it. This was a problem because the farm can be hard to reach that time of year, thanks to mud, and if you get the dump truck stuck, it’s $100 an hour until you get it unstuck. For this reason, we had the giant heap of compost dumped in our front yard, rather than up at the farm. No one liked this except Silas. We had to shift the compost up to the farm a little at a time (this was before we had a pickup).
The conclusion to this rather boring entry in the farm’s chronicle is that we set aside money last season to buy the compost early. So on a perfectly dry fall day we cheered the dump truck to victory as it charged up the path to the farm. Starting the season with compost at the ready has been helpful.
We spread compost by the bucketful, top-dressing the beds as we need them.
Mushroom compost is the only additive used in a significant quantity, but we also use a few bags of alfalfa pellets for Asian greens. Before we introduced the pellets, we had a problem with flea beetles chewing holes in the leaves. A few seasons ago, Jason decided to experiment with alfalfa pellets. For reasons we still don’t entirely understand, the pellets help. After becoming wet, the pellets kind of melt together and form a coat over the soil. Maybe this shields the plants from flea beetles? The pellets certainly help stop the weeds in these rows.
Here and there, we use a few other natural amendments, like a bucket of ash for tomatoes, or blood meal for garlic, but the most important addition is the mushroom compost.
His concerns about spiders and snakes are trumped by his devotion to endless digging.
Action shot.
~ Stella
Speaking of salt and soil … There are stories in history of people using salt to destroy an enemy’s crops. It’s unclear how many of these tales are truth or legend, but there is the case of the Távora affair in mid 18th-century Portugal. After an attempted assassination of King Joseph I, the accused Távora family was publicly tortured and executed, their palace destroyed, and their land salted. Thank me later if it comes up on Jeopardy.