I was hoping someone could recommend a place to get compost. We've been on a "waiting list" for a few months now where we normally get vermicompost, they're busy filling orders. The wife is also working on getting rice hulls as well as what is left after the mill processes sugarcane. Our farmland was used for decades for sugarcane with chemical fertilizers so the soil is dead. Weeds don't even want to grow; one of the ways I judge soil is how many worms you see...haven't seen a worm yet. I want to grow things naturally, which to me means no chemical fertilizers and no pesticides that aren't natural; not meaning I want to say "organic" as that is a process I'm not interested in. So far we've planted over 1000 bush beans and black eyed peas, which used up all the vermicompost we had. I'm not sure how much of a harvest we'll get as I'm more interesting in the nitrogen fixing and will till the plants under later. We also have over 30 chickens in chicken tractors that get moved around as the chickens leave their dung. Working on getting up to 50 shortly. Only 8 goats at the moment but they are also leaving their droppings. Also going to start amending the soil with sawdust from a couple lumber yards that we frequent. So some things started to bring life back to this clay soil. We have 100 dwarf coconuts coming as well as wanting to start building up to 300+ banana plants as we try to get the farm up and running. So, I need to bring in quite a bit of compost; thinking around .5 cubic meters of compost mixed with .5 cubic meters of soil for each tree and banana plant. Bananas are very heavy feeders. Anyway...if anyone could point me in a good direction to purchase compost it would be greatly appreciated. Shawn
I have had very good topsoil delivered here in Valencia much of the soil here is quite black it has been around p1000 for 1M3, mixing that with some course concrete sand and some rice hulls should give a good growing medium, getting top soil and giving the above treatment seems like a good way to go and perhaps a cheaper option than buy vermicompost?
shawn... i haven't been there in several years but did you check with Alex at GreenFarm Systems? he used to sell vermipost and african night crawlers. i suggest early morning would be best because he wasn't always at the plant https://goo.gl/maps/3tqVxWexy3RdNsX38 good luck
Yes, that is where we get the vermicompost; but they are quite backlogged. I'd like to find another source of compost or animal dung and will compost myself if needed. Once we get going on the farm I plan to be able to do all the composting to include vermicomposting for the farm ourselves. Just quite far from that and really want to start getting fruit trees established. Shawn
They are still having issues with providing vermicompost; so continue to look for sources for compost. The wife has found some limited sources of rice hulls and some sawdust, great amendments for clay soil but still lacking what we need to improve the dirt. Any other sources would be greatly appreciated! Shawn
what about sugar cane waste? i read in the past that growing sugar actually richens the soil but i'm not sure why. a quick i'net search brings up this page: https://tinyurl.com/2ywp24fp
You may have the answer on your doorstep, One of the best Animal manures is Rabbit droppings, these may be obtainable at Rabbiton in Pamplona? these can be used fresh straight onto plants and well balanced in available nutrients, unlike Hens Pen which can burn the roots and need composting. Rabbit droppings are available on Amazon UK but so very expensive and this would suggest they are in demand and just how good they are. Sawdust has a tendency to use up the nitrogen when it is rotting down, Rice hulls are a great soil improver also adding some concrete sand helps to get a good tilth.
From my understanding the Rabbiton spot in Pamplona is closing down, could be wrong but that is what the wife told me a couple months ago. I asked her to look into it previously. Agree...sawdust is not the best, which is one reason I am planting so many beans to help fix nitrogen. The wife said we may be able to get 20 bags of vermicompost this coming week; which will definitely be helpful but nowhere close to what we need. The chickens we have at the moment are basically running around in my future aquaponics area. Letting nature take it's course as I plan on a number of trees, mostly malunggay, around that area. Hoping the mulunggay will supplement the tilapia feed a bit. Coming up in the next couple months we will build the goat pen area which will make collecting their dung a bit easier than how they are hanging out at the moment. Similar to rabbit, goat can be used immediately without worrying about burning the plants. Slow process but is keeping us busy trying to amend soil, planting what we can and building infrastructure for the farm. Shawn
Yes, trying to source the sugar cane waste "mud press", especially as this is the season; wife is working on getting a truck and driver from a friend of hers to make this happen. No news on status though. Shawn
