I have a raised garden bed that I filled wholelly and solely with mushroom residue from mushroom farm. It has become fibrous and "knitted" together making it difficult to dig out. How would I break this down seeing I can't dig it out to replace it? Many thanks
These articles will help you.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/best-soil-raised-garden-beds.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/organic/the-importance-of-soil-for-an-organic-garden.htm
My friend is having a problem with his compost. The compost have gray on top. Is this mildew
If this is not yet "finished" compost, then this is probably just normal, healthy decay occurring with the organic matter in the compost. It might be fungi or actinomycetes. This article has more information:
http://compost.css.cornell.edu/microorg.html
Hi! I live in Washington, DC and I'm very interested in starting a worm compost. I saw you had something on your website about wooden worm compost boxes. I was wondering if its okay to leave these outside in a city like DC that get very humid in the summer? We have a yard and it would get partial shade during the day. Even with a lid would it get too hot? Thank you!
These articles will help with keeping them in the cold and heat!
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/vermicomposting/cold-climate-vermiculture.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/vermicomposting/hot-climate-vermiculture.htm
Does adding organic plant food benefit composting?
Your looking to have a mixture of brown and green materials in your compost.
So yes, you can compost organic fertilizer, and example would be fish emulsion.
The benefit would be if you are needing to increase your green portion.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/ingredients/browns-greens-compost.htm
Is it safe to compost maple leaves with black spots?
It really depends on whether this is insect damage, or a fungal/bacterial problem. If it is an infection as mentioned before, then it would not be wise to compost them. If it is, simply, insect damage then you will be ok to compost them.
Here is a link with more information: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/ingredients/compost-diseased-plant-leaves.htm
We want to build a small greenhouse this year so that we don't have to bring all of our tropical plants indoors during the winter. We live in Maryland and it does get very cold here. We were thinking about using a compost pile of woodchips to heat the greenhouse. Any help or comments would be appreciated. We are looking for a low cost eco friendly way of heating.
This sounds like a good idea! Given that it can reach 120 degrees in the center of a well established pile, I think that it could definitely help. It might be a good idea to keep in a container as the smell of compost can be a bit overwhelming. Here is a link to more information that will help your compost be efficient, and maintained, so that it will produce some heat: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/
which is better for this winter to put into my square foot boxes grass clipping or leaves????
Some leaves are not suitable for composting, so if you have any concerns then grass clippings will be better. Here is an article for more useful information: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/basics/composting-basics.htm