I happened to be at the garden this morning when Dekalb County arrived to deliver a new load of compost. Here are a few pictures and a short video:
Upper terrace, after mixing in the first batch of compost. It's there, but turned under a layer of clay. We'll continue spreading & turning over until we have adequate amounts of organic matter in the soil to prevent it from clumping together and forming a big brick.
The lower terrace, after initial plowing (no amendments added here yet - hence the bright red color)
About this time I heard the beeping of a Dekalb country delivery truck... Black gold had arrived!
The load was steaming hot.. and will remain that way until it's spread out.
The steam comes from CO2 and thermal heat - products of the breakdown of materials by bacteria and fungi (decomposers) in the compost. Products resulting from decomposition of rotting grass clippings, leaves, manure, ect include proteins, amino acids, and humic matter (the leftovers of fully decomposed plant matter). All the stuff plants love and need to grow. The humic matter will also help change the red clay into something more desirable.
Oh, one more thing: heat is not only good for breaking down material, it also kills weed seeds.
It's very important that we only use properly aged compost in our gardens, since adding fresh manure to a garden will cause our plant roots to burn among other things. So don't scrape up your chicken litter & toss in the garden.. Pile it up and let it sit for at least a year before mixing into your garden.
Lay on that noodle! Go DeKalb County Sanitation!
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