Compost & Newspapers

[stevec]

I collected a few paper at the FVille recycle center last week and
have been saving mine too. It's going to take a boat load for the
beds so I hope everyone will bring thiers and pick up some extras.

I plan on taking my trailer for a big scoop of compost next week but I
need a water bill from one of our Fay. members.

[Liev]

Great, Steve! And you're absolutely right - we need everyone to bring
newspapers, or else someone will have to take a trip with a trailer,
and with the 5th being the first Saturday of the month, we're going to
need to dedicate whatever trailers we have among us (or our friends or
family whom we can recruit to help in any way) to dumping sod and
picking up compost. The first Saturday is the only day it will be
open in Fayetteville till April.

[Steve Cattaneo]

Are you saying that the first Saturday is the only day to get compost? I've
been getting it anytime during the week.

I don't know if you've gotten a big scoop at Fayetteville but it's a lot.
I'd say at least 100 ft3.

**

[Liev]

It says on the site that it's only Tues and Thurs. Are those the days
you happen to have been going?

Sounds like you've got a big trailer! We'll be able to knock this
task out in no time. Can I give your email address to Austin so you
two can coordinate a time and place for him to get you a utility bill?

Liev

[austin]

Liev,

I emailed Steve personally to let me know when and where is a good
time to meet to give him the bill. I'll be getting newspaper as well.

Have you measured the area you want to cover with compost? If a big
scoop is around 100 cubic feet as Steve said, that's enough to cover
a 200 square foot area 6 inches deep. A 20ft by 10ft area is 200
square feet. If you can tell me the area we need to cover 6 inches
deep with compost, we can figure out how much compost we need to
prevent under or over purchasing.

Austin

[liev....@gmail.com]

Thanks, Austin! We're actually going to be marking the paths over the next couple of days. I'll let you know what we come up with.

Liev

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone, powered by CREDO Mobile.

-----Original Message-----
From: austin <able...@gmail.com>
Sender: yr...@googlegroups.com
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2011 16:06:29
To: Year-round Riverwood Comminuty Garden<yr...@googlegroups.com>
Reply-To: yr...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Compost & Newspapers

[Steve Cattaneo]

I can be at the compost site when they open on Thursday. That would keep a
trailer out of your driveway for 2 days. When we empty that load I could
get another one but will need a water bill from another person. They seem
to be getting picky about this for some reason.

Maybe someone else from Fayetteville can bring a water bill to the work day
just in case?

Steve Cattaneo
18060 Ferry Road
Winslow, AR 72959
479-409-4136

[Liev Aleo Black]

Thanks, Steve, that is fantastic.

I think that if you just take the same water bill, you should be able to purchase as much compost as you need.  I don't think they're limiting it to one load per Fayetteville resident.  

BTW, I didn't think of this before, but of course I will compensate for all purchases!  Show up with a trailerload of compost, get $20.

About mulch, I'm actually on the fence about using it.  I read about an interesting technique for dealing with clumps and large debris, like rocks, where you just rake the top of a raised bed, and these things get concentrated on the sides of the beds and into the paths, where foot traffic breaks up soil clumps and rocks can be picked up.  To restore beds for the next growing season, paths can just be shoveled lightly.  Sounds like it could be unpleasant after wet weather, though.  We might want to just use carpets, which we could tilt to one side to dump debris and sweep soil back onto the beds.  Or we could just carpet and mulch a bit narrowly, leaving a strip of bare soil on either side of the beds.  Thoughts, anyone?

[Steve Cattaneo]

I have heard otherwise so it’s good to have another water bill just in case.

 

Steve Cattaneo

18060 Ferry Road

Winslow, AR  72959

479-409-4136

 

[Liev Aleo Black]

Ah.  Drat.  Fortunately, we won't need a whole lot of trips, especially if your trailer is larger than ours.  Ours is 4'x6' and holds about 1.5 cubic yards.  How big is yours/how much does it hold?

[Liev Aleo Black]

Thanks, Austin.

I want to use topsoil and actually only 2.5-3" of compost.  I saw a really good argument for this in Gardening When it Counts - to keep the nutrients balanced.  And a side benefit is, it makes our job easier :)

I'm still marking paths and beds.  I think we're going to have to wing it, just eyeing how much we're putting down and gauging from there whether we need another trip and if so, one with our 4x6 trailer or Steve's bigger one.  But I'll do what I can to wrap up the measurements in time for tomorrow.

Liev