What is "composted manure"?

 

Today at DIGS we wanted to know what the difference was between "composted manure" and just straight manure? What is aged manure? Why do you age it? And what is "too hot" (nitrogen grabbing) to be applied to plants? So when I got home I googled up some quotes for this blog, so we can see what googles. :>)

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What is the difference between "cold" and "hot" manure?

Or, why does manure have to be aged like a fine wine?

And why does the bag say "composted manure"?

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Answer from:  Choose the best poo for you  - GrowOrganic

https://www.groworganic.com/blogs/articles/choosing-the-best-poo-for-you

Quote: Is Your Animal Manure "Hot"?

One thing you should pay attention to regardless of the type of animal it comes from is whether the manure has been aged or composted. Aged manure has simply been piled up; over time the nitrogen turns to a gaseous form and leaves the manure. This will turn a “hot” manure – one that would burn your plants roots if applied fresh–to a “cool” manure that is safe for your garden. All manures except those from llamas, alpacas and cattle need to be aged at least six months before use to be properly cooled.

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From: Australian Gardening blog:

https://flourishandbloomgardening.com.au/2021/10/the-type-of-manure-compost-for-your-garden/

Quote:

Hot & Cold Manure

Manures are generally put into two categories, hot and cold manure. Both hot and cold manure should be composted and aged first before applying it to your garden (between 3-6 months, the longer the better). Below is an explanation why this is.

Hot manure comes from chickens and horses and if used fresh it can burn plants and veggies as this type of manure is high in nutrients. Cold manure comes from cows, sheep, llamas and alpacas. It is low in nutrients and weeds can germinate if used fresh.

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From: Science Direct

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/composted-manure

Quote: 

Composted manure is preferred by many organic vegetable growers because composting reduces potential health and environmental risks of applying raw manure, and the compost contributes to more long-term soil fertility and health (Buchanan and Gliesmann, 1991). 

According to organic standards (USDA, 2017), “composted plant or animal materials must be produced through a process that establishes an initial carbon-to-nitrogen (C:N) ratio between 25:1 and 40:1 and achieves a temperature between 130°F and 168°F” (54.4–75.6°C). The C:N ratio is an important consideration when using various composts; it also is a controlling factor in the composting process itself. Composting operations that utilize windrow composting systems must maintain a temperature within the prescribed range for a minimum of 15 days. During this time materials must be turned four or five times (Fig. 2). Heat generated during the composting process kills most weed seeds and pathogens. 

The microbial-mediated composting process lowers the amount of soluble nitrogen forms by converting animal wastes, bedding, and other raw products into humus—the relatively stable organic fraction found in soil (Tyson and Cabrera, 1993). In stable humus, there is little free ammonia or soluble nitrate; as a large amount of nitrogen is bound as proteins, amino acids, and other biological components (Buchanan and Gliesmann, 1991; He et al., 2003). Other nutrients are stabilized in compost as well. 

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Well, now we know the long and the short of it. :>)

Clematis Corner

 click on photo to enlarge

click on drawing to enlarge

Under the shade cloth, and when you first enter the gate, if you turn left, by the blue wheelbarrow, you find a lovely set of raised beds, with herb pots in front of them. These are pictured above. Let's call it "Clematis Corner" (note: the hosta needs to move into the shade next year, doh.)

It is one gorgeous corner of the garden!

Here is some news for those who water those beds in front with the ever-changing veggie crops: Beds 17 and 15. Due to some changes in which bed is which, Jim and Jen are looking after the watering for Bed 15. Jen's got Rutabaga duty, and Jim is super-Dad to those carrots under the white cloth. So no worries.

Anyone sharing the watering of Bed 17 should meet eachother eventually. Just a thought (there might be FOUR of you!)

Here is a peek under the white cloth to see the carrots (click on photo to enlarge)

Happy cooler days after that heat wave! And whoops the raspberry canes got crashed by tiny humans (not just raccoons this year). Doh.

Jen

August seeding

Click on photos to enlarge.

 Beans are finally growing well!

It's August 1st, and a quick glance at the BC Coastal seeding guide says we can still plant the following crops (by seed) in August, here at DIGS:

Swiss Chard

Turnip

Peas

Scallions

Pac Choi (and other oriental greens)

Mesclun

Lettuce

Leeks

Carrots

Beets

A mini-field-trip to Beaufort

 A quick mini-trip to our friends, the Beaufort Community garden yesterday, netted these photos shown below! You enter through narrow footpaths (from St. George in our case) and as you reach the public gardens, one side is a Food Forest (we got a quick tour from Alan and his grandson) and the other side, with a fence and gate, and full of flowers and young veggie transplants, are the allotment beds.

Enjoy these photos! Higher definition photos are avail. on request, but even better, call them for a visit (you can see the number on the sign when you click on the photos to enlarge them).

The Food Forest has of all kinds of interplanted food trees and bushes:

They told us that their Allotment Member's weekly work parties and potlucks had been halted for two years due to Covid, but have just started up again:

Lots of ideas to share back and forth in these field trips, for sure!

Harvest at DIGS July 16th

 This past Saturday we harvested LOTS of different fruits and veggies!

If you click on the collage above, you will enlarge it so you can peer into it.

There are potatoes, raspberries, snowpeas,  peas, garlic scapes, scallions, sweet peas (flower), rhubarb, lettuce, mesclun, and zucchini!

Next week we're going to see BLUEBERRIES ripening!! (go on down and have a look! The blueberries are on the right side lane in their own netted cage between the leaf-corral and the white greenhouse.

In the photo above there is featured a very colourful allotment bed with full grown broccoli!!! The squash and runner beans have taken off with the hotter weather, and there is so much to enjoy! Come and see, anytime!!

Field Trip to Co-op Cmty Gardens

 Back in June several DIGS members went to visit and explore the community garden at Beban park (near the golf-course) that produces starter plants for the public, all year round, using a giant new greenhouse.

I took lots of photos and have three collages here which you can click on to enlarge and really see the details. More photos (just ask) feature close-ups of innovations.

Firstly, this community garden ONLY produces starter plants. They are open one day a week for sales in the front yard.  Their members grow all kinds of things from lettuce to herbs to fruit and veg outdoors in corrugated metal beds, raised off the hard surfacing that was originally built as an outdoor bowling green (but after building it all they found it was too windy!)

At the time we visited, in June of 2022, the greenhouse was in the midst of being changed over from beds that grew winter starter plants (with heater cables and automated watering) to summer hot house beds. It was super hot inside and noisy from the fans, but obviously dearly loved by dedicated volunteers.

Some of the outdoor features were: Mason Bee Houses, raised metal sided beds, and incredibly good plant labels that were plastic/waterproof. Note the way they put blocks under their table legs to create the right height of table for potting up!

Our tour guide and host was excellent, and there were several features of community involvement, great sources of products for gardens, and donations from local businesses to find out about.

A very enjoyable fieldtrip. Lots of fun had by all. But it really made us appreciate how quiet and natural our DIGS garden is. It's a paradise. More to follow! Jen

Coolest Spring We Ever Saw

 

The Dessert Auction was a complete success! And the harvest of vegetables has begun at the DIGS community garden! Here are some of the things we have been harvesting (not all in this photo):

Scallions, Lettuce (red & green), Rhubarb, Potatoes, Broad Beans, Peas in the pod, Snow Peas (Mangetout), Mesclun, Organic Leafy Mix, and Asparagus (and of course earlier, radish and turnip).

We have planted Tomato, Green Bean, Squash, Potato Towers (short ones), Swiss Chard, Beets, and more, and have just finished putting the upper-most "roof" netting over the Blueberries and Raspberries.

Come on down and take a look. It's positively superbo' ! :>)

Dessert Auction will be June 18th

The Dessert Auction Returns!

When: 2:00 pm, Saturday, June 18th 2022

Where: Beacon House, Protection Island

(Covid-19 protocol will be masks optional)

Welcome back to the “DIGS Dessert Auction” at Beacon House, a fundraiser!

We are pleased to bring back one our favourite events, which brings our Community together and gives support to the Community Garden.

These creative masterpieces showcase the artistry of islanders. While you take a tour of these tantalizing treats, enjoy some light refreshments & lilting harp music.

This is a bidding auction, where the 1st prize for the dessert with the highest bid will go to the dessert creator and will be a lovely dinner for four, courtesy of D. Essig, either at his house or the winner’s house. Other prizes to be announced.

We will be accepting desserts from 12:30 to 1:30 pm on June 18th 2022.

The doors will be open to the public at 2:00 pm when bidding commences and bidding will stop at 4:00 pm. Come enjoy the afternoon with us, where sumptuous, desserts await your taste buds.

Lettuce & Radish Harvest

Dear Garden-Lovers,

Just a reminder that any of the many DIGS gardeners can join this blog as an author and can post about what's happening in the community garden, and put up photos too! Just get in touch with Marg at the above email, and we'll send you an "author invite" email. Using this blog is very easy and usually there are three or four blog authors at any one time. It's a good garden journal with dates and photos showing over a decade of garden events, so do join in! Handy to put lists and links too.

Radish Harvest

(click on photos to enlarge)

Today in the garden we harvested lettuce and radish. The radish are not "hot" and are very juicy and delish, plus completely worm-free as they were grown beneathe "Reemay" cloth which keeps those bugs OUT! 

See photo collages below, and inventive radish recipes to try! So nice to taste the first produce for salads after a long cool spring that's lasted til today! 

mounding potatoes & transplanting scallions

(click on photos to enlarge)

Also check out the mounding potatoes which are developing so fast now that the weather is warming up. There is so much to see in the garden these days! Go have a look at the herbs and asparagus!!!

A reminder from the garden meeting about cutting asparagus: if you just break the tip off at ground level it will not re-grow. If you scoop away a little soil and use a knife to cut it off below the soil level by two inches or so, it will re-grow.

The "cut and come again" Mesclun that's between the reemay rectangles of radish is cut down to two inches when it is four to five inches tall, so it can re-grow one more time; so wait for it.

Recipes below for all those radishes!

Radish Recipes

Dear Garden-lovers,

We will be harvesting many bunches of red radishes this Saturday (part of our "Coleman Project" where we imitate the Paris Market Gardens of 1875 mass plantings) and those who take them home might want some interesting red radish recipes, so I've dug some delicious sounding ones up for everyone to try. I'm curious to try them roasted!

Please feel free to write new recipes in the comments or email them along (email at top of page).

Red Radish Recipes: Naturally green salad, potato salad and coleslaw are all regular radish uses, but here are some different styles of radish cookery.

General information: Interesting ways to cook and serve red radishes.

Note: For speed, use the "Jump to Recipe" button near top of each page. 

Soup/Salad/Pickles:

Red Radish Soup with yogurt and ginger

A second Red Radish Soup with coconut milk and cumin.

Thai-style stuffed radishes

Cooked Radish Potato-style Salad.

Asian Radish Salad.

Radish spicy hot pickles.

Main: (I tried this tonight and it was delicious served with Thai noodle salad)

Thai Beef Salad with Radishes.

Side Dishes:

Roasted Red Radish with pork.

Roasted Red Radish in bacon cream sauce.

Roasted Radish Risotto.

Honey-roasted carrots and radishes.

Grated Radish Flatbread (I'm bound to try this soon!)

Plant Sale Photos

 We had a fun and successful plant sale today, even in the rain and slippery mud. And we'll let everyone know how much was raised to support the DIGS garden. Here are some photos of what it looked like today. Such glorious plants and greenery. Thankyou to everyone, especially Jim and the DIGS volunteers!

Note that if you took home transplants such as Tomatoes, Basil or Peppers, or other heat-loving plants, that you'll want to keep them warm at night until the weather gets much warmer than it is at present. Look for night-time temps of consistently 10 degrees C before you set them outside overnight.

The DIGS Community greenhouse was where we were protecting all the crops from this very cold spring. Once those plants are outdoors, the greenhouse will be made ready for ground-grown summer crops such as Melon, Eggplant, Peppers and Tomatoes.

We're also planning a field trip to see the new big greenhouse at the Nanaimo Community Garden.