Dealing With Fertility Bombs in the Garden

[@lesboucher542]

I'm 71 and my great grandfather had market gardens. When he received a 'fertility bomb' he would lay out for a new garden bed and dig a pit at one end. This he would fill with the produce and cover with the soil from the next pit, and so on. By the time he had reached the end on the "new Garden Bed" he could start planting at the place where he had dug the original pit. Maybe this idea will help someone out there.

[@REDGardens]

A good system, I think, and a handy way of managing organic material.

[@samlair3342]

This would be what u would do. Excellent idea!

[@waslias]

That sounds very reasonable, thank you. Do you know more or less how much time passed, before he planted? I mean, I'm trying something like that (very amateur), and I don't know if I have to wait until things down there have rotted, or not. Sources say differently. I'm planting tomatoes mostly.

[@VincentGonzalezVeg]

@@waslias people use cardboard to fertilize soil for planting, mabie mix that and some mulch in together for some hillkulture style decomposition

[@christal2641]

At least in an urban/suburban area, you need to bury in 1 ft. deep to avoid breeding rats.

[@sophieharper-pryce5045]

I don't know what it is about your voice and how you speak, but it makes the information you are conveying very managable and easy to absorb. Thank you for both being informative and easy to learn from. 🙂

[@REDGardens]

Wow, that is a cool comment to get, especially as I don't like listening to myself! Thanks!

[@CoolRanchSociology]

Just wanted to comment how much I enjoy how concise your videos are. Too many garden vlogs have endless intros, meandering subject matter, and ponderous monologues. In contrast, you keep on point and edit tightly. Love it!

[@REDGardens]

thanks. Glad to hear that you appreciate my approach and efforts.

[@leonardopab5]

I am surprised by your creativity when testing different methods and your level of details as you describe what and why you did something. Also, by your way of understanding all the natural processes in an instinctive way. Great job and great channel! Keep us informed, you help us a lot.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks. That is really valuable feedback for me.

[@timcent7199]

Something tells me there's more to this guy than meets the eye. He's smart, (no I'm not saying he looks dumb!)

[@MELODYMUNRO]

Pigs and chickens can do way more than just consume the waste. When there is no scraps you put them to work preparing the next garden - they will till up the weeds, eat the grass and pest insects for you.

[@REDGardens]

Indeed. I've had a batch of hens last year to help me with a lot of clearing.they didn't seem to like the apple pulp though.

[@Magicallstore]

@@REDGardens don't feed them for a while and you will see how they will eat everything

[@REDGardens]

@@Magicallstore Not sure about starving my hens, and disrupting egg supply, so that they will eat some apple mash. Easier to just compost it I think.

[@martinfaucher]

@@REDGardens You may want to watch Karl Hammer's method of making compost with chickens. The excess food scraps are only one part (about 10% he says) of the material he adds to a pile which will attract other life forms such as insects, worms, fungi that chickens are more readily to eat. Geoff Lawton also modified Karl's method which he calls "chicken tractor on steroids".

[@jeanpauldupuis]

I have also experienced the 'fertility bomb' you describe, and have begun stockpiling paper materials to absorb these events. I shred all my paper and cardboard throughout the year as it accumulates. None goes to the curb if I can help it. When a sudden influx of ultra-green material occurs, I have lots of ultra-brown dry bedding to balance the chemistry, sop moisture, provide loft and aeration, and reduce smells. I'll fill a weather-tight trash container halfway with shredded paper, dump in as much greens as I dare, top with another deep mat of paper, close the lid, and let it sit in the garage. I give it a stir with a pitchfork once in a while. It is easy to add or remove paper if the moisture balance is off. In warm conditions, the bin will become populated with flies, but they are not a nuisance with the lid closed. At some point, the material will be mixed and neutralized enough to add to my regular compost without attracting vermin. If I had too much material for bins, I guess I'd try some kind of tarp-covered lasagna bed.

[@REDGardens]

That sounds like an excellent system for you. The idea of partially processing really rich material in a closed bin for a while makes sense. Keeping a load of already shredded paper and cardboard is a good idea.

[@thebraziliangardener8481]

i have solved the problem digging a deep hole in the ground and covering it for some 6 months,than digging it afterwards

[@VincentGonzalezVeg]

do you seed any edible mushrooms so you have a strong fungal and root system when you choose to plant?

[@jeanpauldupuis]

@@VincentGonzalezVeg I have not (yet) attempted to cultivate edible mushrooms, but random fungi readily colonize the material.

[@dergluckliche4973]

I'd kill for the space and time to do all of that.

[@REDGardens]

It is great to be able to have the time and space to explore and grow lots!

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

Der Glückliche sacrifice for the space and time to do it in your community

[@Noodlepunk]

I am starting to save up to start! Looking at some areas away from town but close to go for work and to have the space to grow.

[@voidremoved]

Live for it.

[@chalkdeamon6070]

Hurry before illegals steal all of the open land buddy. Open space will be almost gone in about another decade.

[@rostislavkandilarov7649]

Just to confirm that all varieties of squash in my garden love to grow directly on top of composting piles :).

[@JohnnyCake12333]

Vining plants tend to grow pretty good in compost I’ve seen

[@YoushaAhmad]

Great information as always. I'm surprised your friends don't sell the apple pulp to livestock farmers or a feed dealer. They could perhaps even process it into pellets. For the RED gardens, you could try mixing the pulp with some soiled straw bedding from a local farm to create a balanced compost. The straw may also help prevent it going anaerobic.

[@REDGardens]

I suspect my fiends are glad thatI just take it off their hands, and collect it. perhaps eventually they will end up with enough to look at processing or adding value to it, but for now while they are smaller, I'll gladly take it. The spoiled hay or straw would probably do the trick.

[@lalystar4230]

I was just about to write about using straw, but then I saw your answer and was like.. Yes! Precisely that!

[@benvoliothefirst]

@@lalystar4230 +1 internet points for reading the other comments first!

[@my_permaculture]

So cool the name. Fertilitybombs. And impressive that you took on these bombs with all work and all potential problems. Thank you for sharind your insights!

[@REDGardens]

I like the name too, as they can be useful but dangerous! Thanks!

[@greyman4208]

This is the second video of yours I've seen. You have a new subscriber. Thank you so much for providing useful information, experience, and insight in a clear and well presented manner, without all the lame humor, off topic chit chat, and horrible music I so often encounter in other videos. Well done!

[@REDGardens]

Thanks for subscribing. I am glad you appreciate my approach to these videos.

[@waarschuw1ng]

This is the best channel for information on starting a garden, thanks for dropping all the knowledge you do man! Your tips have really been helping and inspiring me to work on my garden.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks! Really cool to know my work is appreciated.

[@arkbennet8299]

Friend I am in the same boat as you. Since I got a job working at the meat department in a grocery store i have been helping our neighbor produce department by taking their bags of garbage scrabs and heaping up a massive compost pile. I usually get 5-6 kitchen sized garbage bags whenever I'm near my off days and 2-4 in the middle of the week. Tear the bags open pull the non degradable out and dump it on the pile before covering it fully with lawn clippings. Edit: i have had 2 piles long before getting a constant supply of fertility bombs so the piles were already established with neccessary composting fauna

[@arkbennet8299]

Also it's fun to have at it with a machete to chop it all into smaller bits

[@REDGardens]

What a resource to get! A steady supply of lots of vegetable craps. you would definitely want an easy to mange system with that kind of haul. Sounds good.

[@unicornbunny6190]

Its bcoz the Apple pulp r still decomposing... not yet fully became humus yet, so nitrogen r not available yet for plants to use. Suggestion... you could keep Chickens, goats n pigs for those excess organic food waste n bi-products, you'll get manure, milk n meat in returns. If your land is big try it.

[@REDGardens]

Interesting point about lack of nitrogen availability. I had a bunch of chickens, but they weren't interested in the apple pulp. I'd definitely stay away from goats, but pigs would be cool - if I had the space and time.

[@Constellation3232]

The apple pulp would be best used for apple cider vinegar ph down solution.

[@unicornbunny6190]

@@REDGardens : yes pigs will be better. If you r near restuarants supermarket you can collect their food left overs n feed to your pigs.

[@peterlawrence738]

Your videos are a valuable contribution. I would always have a large pile of sawdust to mix in with the high nitrogen fertility bombs, spread the mix over the planned garden beds and cover with the polythene sheet for protracted time

[@REDGardens]

I could use a large pile of sawdust.

[@palarious]

I love how each of your videos has a personal evaluation at the end.

[@REDGardens]

Glad you appreciate that aspect of my videos - I think it is important.

[@tyswan]

I suggest that you try large scale fermentation composting (I use a modified Bokashi system). Apples are perfect for this. It smells pretty bad (because it’s naturally anerobic), but will break down in 6-12 months. We ferment apples in autumn and the mix is ready to be buried in spring for planting on top of. Thanks for your channel, and Good luck!

[@tyswan]

Just thinking about how you could upscale the system I use. www.hugelkultur.com.au/diy-bokashi-bin/ I use garbage bins for the fermentation, but I think you could build a regular large compost bin and line it with old plastic sheeting (like builders plastic). If there aren’t already holes in the plastic, punch a few in so that it can slowly drain if it gets too wet. Pile all your apples in and mix with a fermentation starter (sour dough starter, mouldy bread, bokashi bran mix, or make your own from the apple pulp - the higher proportion the better). Put a layer of grass, dirt or leaves over the top (to minimize smell) water well (the whole contents should be covered with water) after you let it drain a bit, then cover the pile with another sheet of plastic and weigh it down (sheet of corrugated iron would be perfect). Check the pile every now and then to see if it’s wet enough (I water mine when I add new material). After 3-4 months, empty the bin contents into a bed and cover well with 20-30cm soil, grass clippings, growing medium, etc. (to finish off the composting, reduce smell and keep flies away). I hope that’s helpful to you.

[@REDGardens]

Very interesting possibility, thanks.

[@judyking9171]

The pressed apple pulp, known to me as cider apple pomace, is a useful feed for farm animals.

[@REDGardens]

It was interesting that my friends couldn't find a local farmer who was interested in taking it for they animals, which is why I ended up with it.

[@eleanorwilliams9245]

Recently found your channel, and love the videos. Really interesting listening to the narrative - and your approach is refreshingly experimental and clear. Thank you! :)

[@REDGardens]

Glad you found my channel, and that you like my approach to these videos!

[@iainmackenzie9503]

6:30 Looking forward to seeing how your bread crop grows ;)

[@REDGardens]

Iain Mackenzie LOL ... me too!

[@logicalson]

We are still wondering :)

[@safir2241]

I read a story on a juice company dumping their orange peels & other organic waste into a desert. A couple decades later, it was a lush forest. You should try an experiment like this! Crowdfund it!

[@hermesthegreek5247]

I've always wondered about that. What would happen if we slowly started reclaiming deserts with compost and hardy plants? Would it trigger a climate change? Would it rain in a future in that desert? Questions that probably will never be answered as no government is selfless enough to do something without an investment.

[@safir2241]

Lord of Potatoes I saw it on r/environment. That place is awesome. The fruit company was called Del Oro, & it was done in Costa Rica. Read about it.

[@hermesthegreek5247]

@@safir2241 Thanks! Didn't know about that subreddit. Joining right now.

[@yergman]

Your programs are great. You have so much material that it is so hard to get in all of the details of your research. Share as much of the details of what you did so people can make use of it. Of course, it takes money to make these programs but you have so much knowledge to share.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks. I try to find a balance between dumping lots of info, and creating succinct videos. Not sure if I have found the right balance yet, but I would struggle if I spent more time on it all.

[@hydroponikstuttgart4515]

hey, totally love the fact that you took the time to compare the methods!!!

[@REDGardens]

Glad you appreciate my efforts. Thanks.

[@somatder]

very interesting that covering up the composting materials improves the process. I will keep this one in mind. Thank you!

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, i suspect it kept the wind and light away, so more hospitable for the microbes and worms.

[@ArtbyMagic]

You are absolutely amazing intelligent human. So much to learn from you.

[@REDGardens]

Ah, thanks. That is such a great comment to get!

[@jakeoutdoors9600]

I know you've said people always suggest livestock but I didn't see anything about a massive pile. People only have recently started feeding livestock grain. Can you imagine harvesting wheat or corn in the 1700s to feed it to chickens? I have seen people making massive compost piles and just letting chickens go to town on it. They will eat the fresh stuff, bugs, mold, rotten stuff, mice and rats. If I didn't have this hawk issue I would love to do this method myself. After the chickens have been eating on it for months make a pile next to the first one and start screening the first pile. Very informative video by the way. I tried to turn my backyard garden into a garden the neighbors can use too. But no one wanted to help. Lots of telling me how to do things. Not much participation. They just wanted the gains without chipping in. So I will not be doing that this summer.

[@catfunksfabulousfinds]

It cooks down faster in a tall pile. It needs to heat up to brake down. I added several dozen night crawlers to speed it up, but they need sawdust or shredded paper to get away when it gets too rich.

[@wendysalter]

Cat Funk - what are 'night-crawlers' please?

[@crowlsyong]

Dang I am continually impressed with the production here. Thanks for doing this.

[@REDGardens]

:)

[@shekharmoona544]

Pure genius. This would be great for very alkaline soil.

[@REDGardens]

Possibly. I wonder what effect it did have. - I should have taken a soil test.

[@bobidos123]

@@REDGardens I would say the acidity of the Apple pulp would spoil the soil for a year or two but adding a good dose of lime would benefit. Good vid.

[@KillstreakPB]

This video format is amazing

[@REDGardens]

Thanks.

[@timcent7199]

I really like you man. You're very bright and speak with respect to the audience. You speak with well structured thoughts and present the material logically and clearly. Thank you for your efforts. Can I ask you please to slow down about 10% so my brain can absorb the information. My poor hearing is somewhat of an obstacle too.

[@cheezmartian]

You can also playback videos at 0.75% if that helps you

[@REDGardens]

Very good feedback, thanks. I do appreciate your input, and the fact that I tend to talk too fast. It is something that I will try to do more with future videos.

[@kentandrews1054]

With the acidity of the apples you could try blueberries or another acid loving plant. They would thrive in those conditions.

[@REDGardens]

I wonder how long the acidity would last.

[@McDuffin]

My man, you need some chickens to help you with all that material! Great video, as always.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks. I tried to see if my hens would eat some, and they weren't interested - perhaps if I gave them nothing else to eat for a while ...

[@nosuchthingasshould4175]

Did you consider chicken composting though? As in a proper green/brown pile and then let loose the birds? Your no rules pile looks like it has varied and frequent enough input, and it already has the right sort of linear flow for that kind of thing. You'd still have to feed them if no input was available for a while, but much less, as they supposedly mostly feed on the worms, while working the pile. Maybe they'd also discourage the rats.

[@REDGardens]

I've been experimenting with the chicken composting thing last season, and it was pretty interesting to watch how they managed the pile. they didn't seem to be too interested in digging through the pile, only a bit on the surface. But the next time I try it out I'm thinking of using the method of adding grain as I turn the pile - give them something tasty to get used to digging for.

[@nosuchthingasshould4175]

I thought I watched all your clips, must have forgotten that one. From what I've seen they will only scratch the top, because that's as deep as they can reach, but if the pile is tall, it gradually collapses under their scratching so they get to deeper bits. I was wondering also if a sheet composting+chickens would work, in a rotation - fresh material on one patch, after they had a go and lost interest cover it with sth. like pallets so they can't scratch and it gets colonised by worms, while they scratch through a new fresh patch, then let them have a go at the worms. No I do not have chickens. I have rats though. @@REDGardens

[@yankeewayfarms1841]

Some chicken breeds are better then others when it comes to foraging.

[@minko2533]

I have been binge watching your videos, and I think I will setup a small herb garden using your tips. Keep up the videos, love the informative nature.

[@REDGardens]

Very cool. Thanks.

[@macdelttorres3366]

Great video... I had always wondered how to manage large amounts of of composting-materials

[@REDGardens]

Thanks. Glad the topic was useful for you .

[@JamieTannerPresents]

keep us updated, I expect the trench method will work better than tarp!

[@REDGardens]

I think you may be right.

[@nottelling6598]

Some of the biggest problems with composting a large quantity of mushy materials like rotten apples, apple pulp, or unbleached wood pulp and sawdust mixed with water come from it forming an air-tight barrier when it collapses under its own weight while wet. You want it wet to compost, but it's so fine you might as well have put a thick layer of clay down for how little air it lets through. You can get a surprising amount of air-flow without turning it by putting fist-sized "plugs" of something that breathes better, like straw, down along the center before you lay down the mush, and making sure that they stick up above the mush afterwards. A row down the middle works too, but a layer underneath doesn't, as the mush just seeps into it.

[@REDGardens]

Good suggestion.

[@tadhulacki1117]

Your talk of "money bombs" is especially amusing after the panning shots over the apples. In the UK we call overripe apples that fall to the floor "windfalls" - and a "windfall" is what we call a sudden unexpected drop of money, for example from an inheritance; in fact this is probably the more widely known meaning of the phrase. I listened to the video anticipating you making reference to this and was very surprised to not hear it come. LOL. I hope this is a new phrase to share with you!

[@REDGardens]

I hadn't made that connection before, but it makes so much sense.

[@oldgrunt0311]

Love your videos. Keep them coming!

[@blackteegab]

I liked your video very detail-ish and I like doing you express yourself… Sound you're very good at what you do keep doing what you do and I will patronize your videos

[@amandusodlingar4685]

I had large quantities of apple pulp myself and I made new beds on grass 5-10 cm thick with cardboard on top, a little layer of apple pulp again, mixed with leaves and grass clippings and finally about 15 cm of compost. This was done in the fall and I had great results with brassicas and straw berries. I would do more layers with cardboard and pulp. Seams like the worms really dig the apple and cellulose mix.

[@REDGardens]

That is really interesting, thanks for sharing your approach. It makes sense to have a layered approach.

[@pavlovssheep5548]

a rotating compost barrel container, would super aerate the green material, and decompose it amazingly quickly

[@REDGardens]

That would have to be a big barrel!

[@williamearl4774]

Thankyou for sharing your experiences. Proverbs there is safety in many counselors.

[@sc0tt500]

Love your channel. Fantastic resource. I think I would do a large scale trench compost. Bury the bomb under 10-15cm of dirt and just plant into it straight away. Solves the smell issue but its less likely to stay damn with good soil contact on all sides. Worms will convert the green material from below far quicker than just leaving it on the top as they can't access it in piles until it starts to break down. You could have a trench ready and waiting so you can dump straight into it then just shovel the dirt on top as needed and its ready to plant into straight away.

[@bigpete4227]

That’s what I was thinking but planting in between the trenches in case of any ill effects on the roots whilst the breakdown is in process. I was trying to think of possible down sides.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks. 'Bury the bomb' - I like that. I am thinking trench composting is a definite option. I should plan to have a few trenches ready for the autumn.

[@bernadettekeeshan9331]

Great information on this site. Very well presented

[@REDGardens]

Thanks!

[@kenneymadsen5710]

I would assume that the reason for slower growth and smaller yield in the area with the pulp/pomace vs no pulp/pomace is the C/N-ratio. The carbon to nitrogen ratio is likely around 50:1, meaning that the organism that eats and decompose the pulp/pomace will have to uptake additional nitrogen aside from what is in the apples in order to decompose it. That in turn temporarily lowers the avaliable nitrogen in the soil and will later in the season become avaliable when the organism that did the decomposition starts to die and also decompose. Optimum C/N-ratio is around 25:1 - So a too low ratio is also bad.

[@REDGardens]

You are right, the C/N ration is probably an issue, in addition to the possibility of the area becoming anaerobic.

[@camsmeltzer9388]

And I thought my composting problems were immense! I garden for a family of four and what works for me is to grind everything down. Found a old blender at a garage sale to turn scraps into slush. I use leaf chipper for outside items... Leaves, grass, small branches. Then all goes into a tumbler. Leftover material can wait or thrown into tumbler as needed.

[@REDGardens]

I assume you are mixing the chipped dry stuff and the ground slush together? Sounds like it soul work well. So many different options!

[@camsmeltzer9388]

@@REDGardens In hindsight they're not problems insomuch as lessons. I find that in tumbler with a good brown to slush mix I get a get a quicker finished product, which was my overall goal to start. Thank you for your insights as well. Look forward to more videos.

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, problems can be really useful lessons. I was thinking that the slush would really coat the dry chips, getting into all the crevices of the surface, and really speed up the decomposition.

[@Donkusdelux]

here we have 3 horses, pumpkins and squash will grow right in the manure pile. I have had a few instances of the plants and vegetables getting to hot and actually rot while they are still growing. never knew how big the squash and pumpkins could get in such a warm, and rotting setting

[@REDGardens]

I have seen pumpkins grow amazingly well on a manure pile. They do love the heat and the fertility.

[@Donkusdelux]

@@REDGardens Aye, they do well on a manure pile. Also, you make really well put together videos! good stuff to watch :)

[@REDGardens]

@@Donkusdelux Thanks.

[@jeffreydustin5303]

I live in an unusual place. I have been unable to locate fertility for my raised bed Square Foot Garden without resorting to buying bulk mushroom compost and 50 pound bags of blended compost and rotted cow manure. I was unable to buy rolls of hay for a reasonable price and I am tempted to buy a wood chipper and chip up the oak branches and saplings and other hardwoods into small chips as a way to import the forest fertility to my garden beds. I can't source a large enough feedstock to make compost.

[@REDGardens]

It sounds like you live in a place where any method of gardening that requires loads fo compost is not really an option - including square foot gardening, and the no-dig mulching with compost method. If you have wood, then finding a way to work with that sounds like a good option.

[@mhkoo1]

Thanks for the video. I suggest to inoculate the large piles of apples and pulp with some soil/compost to get the decomposition process going faster.

[@REDGardens]

Inoculation could help.

[@helicart]

I got a fertility bomb recently - fresh horse manure and soiled stable hay.....several 25kg bags for free from nearby racing stables and a pony club. I have a 10x3 meter vege patch, and only have half of it growing currently (Australian Winter coming on). So I dug a foot of soil off the remaining 15m2, put a lot of free rotting wood into it from nearby public forests, then some dirt and sugarcane mulch, then the manure, then the soiled hay, then the original dirt, then mature compost, then newspaper, then a final layer of mulch. I will leave it like this over winter. This is similar to a hugelkultur. An advantage of building up a mound like this is we get sub tropical storms that can easily flood garden beds and destroy seedlings. With beds built up into mounds, the torrential rain should be less damaging.

[@iiiiicp]

The excess could also be used in an anaerobic digester.

[@REDGardens]

Yes. that is an option. I'd love to build an anaerobic digester some day.

[@iiiiicp]

@@REDGardens Do it! It is not hard to. The only problem i think you may have is controlling the temperature of the digester. if you didnt see them already, i like this 2 videos on how to make the digesters kzbin.info/www/bejne/eajQZoWjbdp8qc0 kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnLOen6udph9o5I

[@REDGardens]

I know I should, just having trouble keeping up with all the projects I've already started, so am hesitant to start another one.

[@chigglywiggly]

I'd like to see that

[@DovidM]

For rotten or rejected apples from a local grocery, I simply trench them. I dig a trench in the vegetable garden, and rake the apples in. The trench is then topped with two to three inches of soil. The apples break down in a year. I’ve had no issues with growing lettuce peas or cabbages over the trenches. If anything, they seem to do better than the neighboring rows.

[@REDGardens]

Cool to hear that you had success with the trench method. How soon after trenching did you plant the vegetables?

[@seanconway1154]

Horse manure mixed with sawdust is a good mixing agent to counteract the high water & nitrogen content of fertility bombs, it adds lots of heat & dries out the material enough to allow it to stay aerobic. Good for hot beds during the cold winter months.

[@REDGardens]

I might have to try that next year.

[@MichelleHernandezcraftymaven]

I do remember reading that Pumpkins and Squash will grow well in more anaerobic conditions- like if you let your compost heap sit too long and it starts to smell. I had 5 trash bags full of lawn grass waste from my neighbor's yard. I observed that broccoli, radishes, Kale and Brussel Sprouts did not do well at all in those beds- the root veggies died off and the Brassicas all attracted way more aphids than usual but the Pumpkins went wild for it despite limited sun once the trees that shade that part of my yard got their full canopy for the summer. Maybe the apple waste should go on your Pumpkin/squash beds only if it's relatively fresh.

[@REDGardens]

Interesting observation you had about the squash doing so much better. Makes a lot of sense.

[@Well_I_am_just_saying]

I rototilled 400 pounds of apples and 1,000 pounds of dry shredded leaves into my 12 x 50 foot garden about one month ago. It was not easy incorporating that much material in, but I am optimistic that it will be very well broken down by Spring. I am also in the process of shredding 2,500 pounds of leaves to go into my improved version of a Johnson-Su bioreactor.

[@REDGardens]

Sounds like an interesting experiment!

[@nicholasb8799]

Good info sir, it sounds like more time was needed for the pulp to break down, it sounds good that you have a source of good organic materials.....

[@REDGardens]

Yes, more time would have definitely helped. I am slowly getting good sources of material.

[@winnipegnick]

Where I live, we have a vast amount of leaves. I started to bag the leaves when they are dry into plastic bags to keep them dry and use them when I need them. I also have access to a lot of egg carton type of card board material that come inside Dell computer boxes. You could post the request for brown material on a Craigslist or Kijiji and someone may help you. There's always people willing to help.

[@REDGardens]

I often gather up a lot of the cardboard in my neighbourhood, but would love to get a lot more leaves.

[@linpekngulom6611]

Collecting garage for compost. What a great idea 👌👌 Free n organic 👌👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@REDGardens]

Yeah! There is so much of the stuff out there.

[@DovidM]

I have dug trenches a foot deep to receive both apples and apple pomace. I fill the trench to within six inches of the surface with apples, and then cover with dirt. Radishes can be planted over the trenches the following spring, and beans can be planted when the ground warms. I was concerned that the zone with rotting apples would discourage the beans’ roots from spreading to the soil below (the layer of rotting apples is low in oxygen) but this was not the case. After harvesting the beans, I dug holes to check on the root system, and they appeared to be as wide ranging as in other beds. There is a kind of apple pomace that I haven’t tried, and that is pomace from which pectin has been extracted. Pectin is extracted from pomace using an acidic solution, so the residue would be more acidic than untreated pomace. Even pomace that was processed for its pectin may be OK since rain would leach some or even a great deal of the acid beyond the root zone.

[@REDGardens]

That is interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[@dave-in-nj9393]

I live in a very populated area and there are landscapes and tree removal people who dump large quantities of chipped vegetation, the tree surgeons usually have lots of excess they want to dump for free.

[@REDGardens]

I wish I had access to more chip wood - it is a bit scarce around here.

[@tahliel]

I noticed at the end of the video you showed a pile of wood chips. I'd recommend layering or mixing the apple pulp in a pile of chips for a good nitrogen/carbon wet/dry mix. After the initial work of mixing, just let it sit there and compost until you need it.

[@REDGardens]

That would be another option, though I struggle to gets enough wood chip - that pile was for another experiment.

[@tahliel]

@@REDGardens I contacted my local arbotists and they come and drop off loads of chips when they don't want to pay to tip them! It's incredibly dry where i live so I have to mix them with something wet or they just there being wood for years. I'd give an arm to have access to that Apple pulp!!

[@REDGardens]

Tahlie L I’ve contacted all the tree surgeons in the region, jus to it enough of that kind of activity around here I guess.

[@davidernesto6258]

I think the technical term for the natural version of what you are describing is called a "masting" event, i know many species of trees undergo such a process. essentially they cycle through a few years of little to no seed production, keeping forager populations lower, then all at once in one year they will produce so many fruits/nuts/foliage that the animals literally cant eat it all. Now this doesn't count for when someone expands their apple operation, but by keeping track through the years for the local masting cycle of various plants you keep, you can help plan for it. For example, the oak trees near us have something of a five year cycle, year 1 2 and 4 next to no acorns, year 3 has a fair bit, but year 5, you'll fill trucks full of acorns

[@REDGardens]

We get a few mast years around here, especially with the beech trees producing an abundance of beech nuts. I haven't yet noticed a cycle with the apple trees, but there was definitely a lot fewer apples last season.

[@davidernesto6258]

@@REDGardens well, i cant speak for wherever you are located, but it is certainly worth trying to look into. And for a nonexact science, it is hard to make actually usefull conclusions from it. But, if you have a product like the old farmers almanac, or even past local harvest yields from local farmers who have been around a while, it can be worth a look. Of course there will always be a level of guesswork and the fickleness of nature can play havoc on it. But looking at trends, how different years and weather patterns played out for what, it can be a fun and ecclectic hobby, with some useful information gained as well.

[@thetommantom]

Try layering your old compost piles. Pull a small amount forward, add material, pull more forward until your left right piles start to double or triple in depth.

[@nickstraw1952]

I live in what was once one of the leading apple producing areas. There are now many untended orchards and houses built within the bounds of what were once highly productive trees. Seeing how many apples end up on the ground and inedible at my neighbours, I am a little surprised that more people iin what has long been an agro-centric area, don't have a pig or two in the autumn, to fatten up for xmas. They will clear land pretty well, tilling and weeding. Given the usual slaughter age of pigs these days, it would not be too difficult to find ground for them. Thanks for the video.

[@REDGardens]

there is such a waste of apples all around. that is what prompted my friends to start up their apple juice business - they don't even have their own trees! One of their big supplies of apples comes from a farm where they are eager for them to take the fruit as their cows were getting drunk off the fermenting apples on the ground, and the vet bills due to the cows falling over drunk were getting too high! I wonder if pigs would get drunk too!

[@nickstraw1952]

The worst of course are the wasps, getting turfed out of the hive by the queen in late summer, they taste the already fermenting fruit and get angry drunk. Not the nice kind. I must admit the thought of drunken cattle rampaging around makes me smile - not nice the idea that they may get hurt though. I did read that the bio factory that we call the digestive tract of a cow ferments the equivalent of several bottles of whisky a day.

[@REDGardens]

@@nickstraw1952 Thankfully this load of pulp came along quite late in the season after all of the wasps had gone to ground (or died).

[@sherrybrissette1614]

Wasps are an issue with our apples too. When we have a bumper crop of them and just cant find another use for the apples, we load them up and bring them deep into the woods for the deer, bear and other critters to feast on.

[@Theorimlig]

Sheet composting or burying the stuff in the soil have got to be the best ways to deal with large amounts of nutrient-rich waste like that. In a larger scale system than yours the common solution would be to spread it and then plough it under with a moldboard plough. There is a point in burying stuff in the ground instead of composting it, too. More nutrients and carbon are kept in the soil instead of being emitted as gases from a compost pile. If you're digging a new garden bed you can of course throw stuff like a big load of apples in the bottom.

[@REDGardens]

I think you are right about the additional benefits of composting in/on the soil, with more of the carbon and nutrients available to the soil biology.

[@brianwhite9555]

Sounds like you've figured out all the options. It might help if you owned a chipper/shredder to handle the various bombs. For example, you could shred apples and cardboard together to create a blend that may not become anaerobic. Perhaps a larger & separate compost pile dedicated to sudden & large influxes of material would be a good bet. When I saw all those loaves of bread you buried, I thought "hugelmound". :)

[@REDGardens]

A big shredder to mix it altogether would definitely help.

[@TheRustySpigot]

I really love your videos! Always a favorite of mine!!

[@REDGardens]

Thanks. Glad to hear that.

[@prjndigo]

You should make sure that the apple pulp is ground and re-pressed prior to being composted, something as simple as a roller mill does the job ok since you're not looking at keeping the juice for consumption. There's a difference between pressing and chipping since the pressing tends to tighten and cut-off the paths inside the fruit fiber. Deep freezing the pulp can do a great deal to it as well but is a bit of an expensive option. Overall if you have brutal dry winters simply running streams of frozen apple pulp through the chipper can make it soil ready at thaw. The way we dealt with this kind of material in our home garden in central Illinois was to use a post-hole digger and "pot" the pulp in rows, it would rot and seep in little compost piles through winter and into spring from its little holes. If you do the "potting" you just mix the pulp in with the dirt like making mortar and put it back in the holes. We commonly also had wood ash and the large variety of other components available.

[@nightrazer85]

Really like your videos. I thought that maybe local animal farmers would be interested to having their animals eat and mess around in the compost area. You have a very strategic and analytical approach to composting and I like to see what conclusions you draw from your own experiences.

[@REDGardens]

Glad you like my videos, and thanks for your supportive comment. I am not sure about the farmers wanting it. One of the reasons that there was so many apples is that they had to be all picked off the ground because the cows in the field were eating the fermenting apples and falling over drunk and injuring themselves!

[@TheUserid82]

There is a way to quickly process the materials by adding to a methane digestive tank with you just burning off any produced methane but you will end up with a liquid to spread on the garden rather then solid compost.

[@REDGardens]

I would love to have a methane digester!

[@johnsheppard8102]

very honest bloke

[@REDGardens]

:)

[@rons1440]

How do you (or would you) ideally set up a pre-prepared compost pile for dealing with these? Would it just be another compost pile or would you set up a system to integrate into your no-rules pile?

[@REDGardens]

It would be another compost pile - separate from my no-rules system. I'd probably set it up closer to where the apple pulp would be available, well away from the no-rules piles where the space is already crowded.

[@joe4324]

I am so jealous of this soil, I literally have, no less than 30/40% total mass as stones....

[@REDGardens]

I thought I had lot of stones!

[@SadSealo]

Atleast you don't got sand:)

[@jmad318]

Sounds like my backyard, which the previous owners leveled off with the cheapest fill available, so I also get bricks and chunks of cement too.

[@benjaminreid2335]

Great video RED Gardens!

[@REDGardens]

Thanks!

[@maverickh9]

In my experience the primary reason brown matter is critical to my pile was due to excess moisture. The brown material helped a lot with keeping the pile less dense, more aerated and much dryer as moisture tends to worsen both of the aforementioned things. Once I moved my pile to my greenhouse and turned daily, it really didn't matter how much green material I put in as long as I wasn't dumping loads of moisture into the system that would cool things down significantly. I've definitely had more successful piles that had pretty much nothing but green matter. Like you, I also didn't really follow the rules about what could or couldn't go into the pile; my only composting rule was no salty foods. If you don't mind the extra labor, consider better rain cover for your piles, possibly more frequent turning, and perhaps finding some way to press the green material to remove excess moisture. Maybe set the material out in rows covered with boards you could drive over.

[@REDGardens]

Interesting method you describe, for managing compost with high green content. You are right that I need better rain cover for the compost.

[@justinmcleod141]

Another use for the apples and apple pulp would be to mix it with water and sugar in a large barrel or bin. It makes a rough-and-ready apple cider vinegar to use as an organic weedkiller.

[@REDGardens]

That would be an option.

[@flowergrowersmith449]

Excellent, interesting, clearly explained video! Can't ask for more than that. ☑️👍

[@REDGardens]

Thanks!

[@johac7637]

I have a cooler weather from Arizona heat in Canada, have used 10 yard loads of Cherries, peaches, apples, as the independent packing shed culls went to a feedlot, and it had so much they said no, to much, also have access to wine grape press, and it takes a year to really get broke down. It overwhelmed the worms, fungi I observed, Here in Arizona I help at Food banks, and occasionally the produce is not good enough to distribute, so it goes into a pit, the chickens keep the bugs down a bit. I also notice it needs to be broken down, just like wood chips, a thick manure layer. I try to cover crop after about 4-6 months, and use a huge mix, grains, legumes, herbs, sunflowers, and notice some thrive, some don't even come up. PH issues it seems.

[@real_wakawaka]

those whole apples you should make apple cider vinegar and sell it on ;) you could make barrel loads

[@REDGardens]

Unfortunately all those apples were mostly rotten - not even good enough for juice/cider.

[@JohnnyCake12333]

Perfect I have a rabbit fertility bomb in the garden… i solved it by flipping the soil. The rabbit manure had formed a composting fungus mat on top which was not optimal for plant growth. I also found an entire redwood tree in the soil which was acidifying the beds underneath.

[@ok5731]

I dig up hard clay soil and layer it between weeds, crass clippings, leaves, pine cones, finished compost. I usually have 3 large heaps. I use cow or chicken manure to help it along but NO food scraps, because they attract mice and racoons.

[@REDGardens]

Do you add a lot of clay or only a thin sprinkling?

[@ok5731]

I use a little in one pile and a lot in another . I have another pile with none. I have open piles , and I'm not in a hurry. I have a huge pile of river weeds and and thistle . I just heap the piles and wait. The one thing I don't compost are the leaves and stalks of vegetable plants , because of Disease. You can compost the fruit.

[@pavlovssheep5548]

under sheeting , could also sprinkle with yeast , or possible for mushroom cultivation

[@REDGardens]

Would be interesting to see how that worked out.

[@andreajohnsMyPotteryBliss]

There’s a lot of chicken feed inherent in much of your compostables. Pig feed too. I compost inside the chicken yard. I compost garden waste and straw together. The chickens love the food and they are healthiest when they have a job to do.

[@REDGardens]

I had a batch of hens last year, and gave them the first pass at a lot of the compost material. Worked quite well.

[@aaronblount3999]

I set up a Black Soldier Fly bin, and they handle pretty much anything I throw in there, they eat through material extremely quickly. Though, I do need to sift through it and transfer the castings over to my red wiggler bin for further breakdown. The larvae also go to feeding local reptile keepers stock, and the healthy population of house gecko's that enjoy my bins...lol

[@Dylanschillin]

Trench composting has been one of the easiest methods I've used for compost

[@DarkWolf3623]

im not even interested in gardening yet there videos are so interesting

[@wendysalter]

Bulk of anything is hard to manage - spread thin, layer and spread and mix again etc seems to achieve good results. Valuable debate going on here - this is such a boon to healing the earth, literally. :)

[@REDGardens]

I agree, thin layers would work - spread it over a wider area is better that concentrating tin one spot.

[@jakehaenlein1777]

i hope you get to see this comment as i hope its constructive a material shredder would really help you with fert bombs as it would allow exponentially more surface area for bacteria and really speed up initial breakdown, also would really reduce the amount of space you need to initially start your breakdown process. hope this helps i love your style

[@REDGardens]

Thanks. I have been thinking of getting a shredder.

[@jamesx2703]

Think of the methane emissions this man is helping to reduce! Thank you good sir!

[@REDGardens]

:)

[@peterkoolwijk]

Hallo Bruce, enjoyed the video. You're good at making them. Your a great gardener and always keen on finding new or better methods.educational stuff, thank you.Your tip to hold some drier material in storage is to remember, easy to get lots of grassklipping through the summer, will be more sparsly with them strawbales that came my way this winter. Can see from the footage when you are working that you enjoy getting work done and it shows in the gardens too. If you can get hold of this much already pulped apple, wouldn't it make some sense to just spread it thinly over these sizeable gardens you already are working? Have read about a strategy with trench composting before but there it was two-three feet deep and then leaving it for some time before covering again, not tried this myself.... When working cleaning someones garden for leaves and fallen apples, just chucked it all in one of those big plastic compostbins the lady had still standing little used in the corner. Put it in it in good layers and look and behold next august, the finest compost. Sometimes nature just works out fine on its own just because it wants to.(apart from all this: raising humus content in your soil turns out to be a important way to store co2 in the soil. Am trying to contribute on this little bit of soil in Scandinavia too ) wishing you a good spring and summer!

[@REDGardens]

Thanks! It would lake lot of sense just to spread it over a much bigger area, but I am trying to maintain a different fertility method for each of the different gardens. I am keen to try the trench compost method a lot more in one of my larger growing spaces, especially for really messy stuff.

[@deborahhanna6640]

For apples specifically- i would trade anyone who has horses for their organic manure. Horses love apples & the older horses often like the slightly soft or almost inedible squishiness texture for their teeth & they still consider it a treat. If you don't trust manure, it can be burned to ash before you add it to either a garden bed or compost pile. The "gross" version of the apple juice that is too wet for thick piles can be made into 'slurry' to water established beds but usually must be diluted. (I know there is a proper name for it but i usually just call it swamp water.)

[@deborahhanna6640]

Also, for 'fertility bomb' you might consider it as food for your own vermicompost bin. Worms are simpler to maintain long term than chickens or pigs although one good pregnant sow can handle a lot of volume before delivery as long as she has weaned her brood (if you don't plan to keep her past a certain date, like Thanksgiving) instead of trying to keep an entire herd. Apples also smell super sweet so i imagine it also draws a lot of pollinators as well as the vermin. You might try a drying bin to keep dogs away. This means using specifically something that breaks down slow like wood chips & char that absorbs in thin layers in multiple racks. They also make good fire bricks if you add shredded paper but usually better outdoor pits than fireplaces. Not sure if it would work as well with the others pests but prob worth a try if you can keep the racks high enough off the ground. If you stay on good terms with these neighbors it sounds like it could become a very beneficial long-term sustainable set-up so it would be worth the few times you don't have the extra material if you can find really creative ways to change the volume to manageable bite-size portions. I imagine the very freshest material would still be good for some home-made applesauce or fritters if you were certain it was still sterile by the time it came to you. I wish my neighbors were that cool!

[@X35O]

One loaf of bread delivers 10 to 20 grams of natrium... that's a lot of salt in those trenches...

[@REDGardens]

Yes, but salt is good for the soil, so long as you don't add too much. I've added several hundred grams of salt to gardens to bring up the sodium levels (after a soil test).

[@danielallouche2493]

A bit of salt is actually a good thing.

[@X35O]

Hm ... "The Intelligent Gardener" recommends salt. But Erica Reinheimer corrected the levels for natrium input on her website to zero. But maybe it works well in a sandy soil. On my clay ...

[@deborahhanna6640]

Bread could also be used to draw birds away from seedlings etc. by crumbling it in another area.

[@antonaargh1268]

I don't know why i did click on this video. I'm not interested in gardening. But there is a reason why I would comment. Because: holy shit this is a good camera you are using here. Most ppl I see doing youtube professionaly aren't looking this good and should be ashamed by themself for being beaten in technical competency by simple gardener.

[@petrunak4579]

There seems to be a lot of veggies (carrots) that could have been eaten in that compost. Also the apple pulp can be made into horse treats.

[@REDGardens]

Lots of food waste is like that.

[@bigpete4227]

The trench method looks interesting. Perhaps mixing the apple mulch with dry wood mulch and trenching it rather than one large area. Perhaps planting in between to encourage the roots to seek out the nourishment. I don’t know, I’m just thinking aloud.

[@REDGardens]

I have read in a lot of older gardening books that some crops like runner beans, squash, etc love growing on top of a trench of compost.

[@bigpete4227]

RED Gardens after a period of time allowing for breakdown or straight away? You did mention the squash struggled early on in the season but recovered toward the end. I just wondered if planting in between the trenches would correct for that. Protecting the roots, placing a buffer sort of thing.

[@bigpete4227]

Sorry, the cauliflower not the squash,

[@REDGardens]

I suspect if the roots were farther from the decomposing material for the first while it would help.

[@kgarden8960]

@@REDGardens Definitely. "When I was a boy" :) all the old boys opened a trench in the winter, threw everything in - including hard to compost things like Brussels Sprout stalks, but also plenty of newspapers - and then planted Runners on top. My Mother did something similar for her Sweet Peas (another Nitrogen-fixer), although she tended to favour manure. My understanding is that it is partly moisture retention for the crop - reduces irrigation requirement for Runners - whether something as Acidic as Apple Pulp would work I don't know, but looks like it holds plenty of water ... I don't remember that you grow Runners, but if you do you might like to consider a frame named after "Munty", although such a structure is better suited to a permanent location so not great for Rotation [not that Runners need that, but other crops could benefit from following Runners]. chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=50801.0

[@elijahskaggs431]

Great video, I agree that mixing high quantities of carbon in with all that nitrogen rich material will probably help the soil ecology. It might also be helpful to chop up some of the bigger pieces like those loafs of bread. Hope everything works out!

[@REDGardens]

Thanks. I was wondering if the apple pulp is actually so nitrogen rich. It is wet, but I don't know what the C/N balance would be.

[@rochrich1223]

I'd like to hear from anyone with experience using soaker hose to aerate soil. The idea is to bury the hose below where your tools regularly go and then use a few psi compressed air to put air into the soil. An aquarium tank air pump would go a long way to keeping a soil aerobic. A hose under a pile of apple pulp would cut down on acid production, smell, and accelerate decomposition. At least I assume so not having field experience with it. The most likely failure mode I see is all the air going out the largest holes. Not the worst problem, but an efficiency loss. The second failure mode is it taking more air than can be afforded. I can readily find the aquaponics use of diffusion hose used to provide air but none in the soil. In order not to ask silly questions already asked of Mr Google, my exhaustive(2 page) search revealed that someone else had the same sort of question on a forum, a patent was issued in the '70s and air is sometimes injected into irrigation water with useful benefits if not advertising hype.

[@REDGardens]

Interesting idea.

[@thecurrentmoment]

Also, you can probably predict when certain fertility bombs are likely to occur, for example during apple season. This, you can probably plan your beds around, although at other times the bomb would be unable to be predicted.

[@REDGardens]

You are right, a fair amount of it is predictable, and having a plan would help.

[@BrokenLifeCycle]

Do you have a tractor? You might be able to make use of a three-point-lift attachment called a poultry litter blade. Poultry farmers use this to scrape vast amounts of litter material (mostly composed of wood fibers and chicken manure) into windrows to pasteurize it.

[@REDGardens]

I dint have a tractor. Everything by hand at the moment.