April 7. 2010 14:50

You have been paying attention to what I was saying and I really appreciate that, Penny. My comments are specifically related to a garden center purchase of topsoil vs. compost. A topsoil has a high percentage of sand, the component you are trying to diminish or dilute further and a poor value. Compost has  little sand so you get much more value to your garden by adding it instead. Compost will break down and shrink in size as it is used by the plants in your garden whereas a sandy topsoil will shrink very little. Adding 4-6 inches of mulch to your garden each year keeps the soil from shrinking as much and maintains the healthy balance of organic nutrients and microbes. Remember that if you exceed the fertilizer rates on the bag you are adding a killing dose of salt to your garden and adding waste to Florida's water when it runs off and into the street.

Rick

April 9. 2010 09:29

Kimberly, So many composting articles and books are from north of Florida. Things happen so fast in Florida that it is hard to stop the microbial processes. In the north where seasons are short and winter is long they have concerns about tilling and disrupting the active layer and burying the active microbes too deep. We don't do much tilling in Florida and mostly we can layer on compost or mulch that soon becomes compost. If you have non meat table scraps and yard debris and want to make some compost fast, turn it. I like what Felder Rushing says about composting. His 2 rules are. 'Don't throw it away' and second rule is "pile it up." Works really well in Florida.

Rick