Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 9th July: The Johnson-Su system takes some 400 days for the compost to mature.
The lovely drop or two of rain we had last week made an amazing difference to the plants but now we are back to watering again as it continues to be warm and mostly sunny with thunderstorms passing us by, although we can hear the thunder rumbling around in the distance.
As well as helping our vegetable plants, the weeds have benefitted from the rain showers too and are starting to take over in some places which will have to be tackled next week or they will be robbing the water from the vegetables.
The courgettes have started to arrive, and it is likely we will pick our first dwarf beans next week, just as the potatoes are finishing. The spring onions are starting to swell, the first sowings of lettuces are now bolting, and as yet, the badgers have not discovered the beetroot. An executive decision was made to harvest them small or as soon as they are large enough to make something of, in case they should suddenly disappear! Our first outdoor tomato arrived from a Sungold plant – always a difficult decision as to who should have the very first of anything that has been grown, however all volunteers know that we will fairly share whatever has been grown between us, and/or with any visitors (including the wildlife which seems to get more than a fair share!)
We are starting to make some progress with our new composting system, although we know it is a learning curve on our quest for the perfect compost, and we are only just starting on this journey. We have certainly had to dedicate a lot more time and effort to making it, from the collecting of the materials to the mixing, and we know we are missing some ingredients which we need to source.
We are grateful to Alistair, one of our dedicated team, for his DIY skills and determination in the making of our new compost bays, and Johnson-Su style compost bins. There are four compost bays –
The first bay is for the green waste (food waste, weeds, finished plants, and pruning materials) which will enrich the compost with nitrogen.
There is a bay for brown waste (wood chips, dried grass, shredded paper/card, and dried leaves). These materials feed the compost with carbon.
There is a bay for manure/compost to include cow manure, spent mushroom compost or green waste composts. These add nitrogen to our compost mix which we hope will also provide a diverse biology. We are grateful to Farmer Tom at Pent Farm for the cow manure which has come from the cow sheds where the beef herd have been housed over the worst of the winter months, before being turned out into the fields.
The final bay is for maturing the made compost for several weeks/months until it can be put onto the vegetable beds. This compost will have been through the Johnson-Su style composting system before being placed into this bay.
The Johnson-Su system was invented by a Dr Johnson and his wife Hui Chun Su. Their system takes some 400 days for the compost to mature; however by turning the compost several times, it will speed up the process. The successful outcome depends on the materials being as small as possible which is an issue for us as this relies on the use of shredders and electric power which we do not have at the community garden. It therefore means we have to manually chop the materials into as small pieces as we can, which is often hard work and takes time. Our results so far have been mixed. Sometimes the compost mix is too hot and at other times too cold – we gauge the temperature with a thermometer, and heat is required to kill off any seeds, harmful bacteria, and can apparently break down any herbicides and pesticides 32 times faster than a cold composting system. Sometimes the compost mix is too dry which then halts the composting process. One thing which is fascinating is how quickly the mix is infiltrated by all manner of organisms; in as little as three days after putting the compost mix together, there are worms and all manner of minibeasts to be found just under the surface! Incredible! As we make new discoveries in this composting world, we will bring them to the newsletter to share with you all.
What’s next?
- Prick out the lettuce seedlings
- Create a space for all the pots and seed trays
- Weed where the weeds are taking over
- Sow some more chicories/endives
This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.