Can organic waste go straight into the soil?

Question

A group in our apartment building is starting our first garden in a new, raised-bed plot (about 70 sq.ft.) with very sterile, sandy-loam soil. We have some donated steer manure to add, and we may get a few other amendments, but we have a very limited budget. We can get quite a lot of coffee grounds, potato peelings, apple peelings, and banana skins very quickly, but we do not have time to compost them (not this year!)

I have read that worms will eat cooked potatoes, but not raw potatoes. (Not that we have worms yet, but I'm hoping to get some.) If I cook the potato skins, shred everything up, and add some molasses to help the bacteria along, can we mix the resulting mess directly into the soil?

No, it's not raw steer manure, it's already composted.

I'm learning a lot from all of you, thank you!

Answer 1

NO, organic waste should NOT go directly into the soil!! At least not if you plan to plant in your garden in the next six to eight weeks (the time it will take for the waste to compost).

While worms are a sign of a healthy soil, they are NOT a necessity for starting out. If you add the steer manure, you will have plenty of amendments to get started! If I had to choose between worms and manure, I would pick manure. It would take worms quite a while to make as much nutrients as you can find in a bag of manure!!

My second choice for a garden would be compost (with or without worms).

I think that you probably could add the coffee grinds directly to your soil (but not TOO much). For the rest of the items you listed, they should be composted before you add them to your garden or you will REMOVE nitrogen from your garden soil (the opposite of what you want to have happen).

Composting does NOT take that long. If you had 3 garbage cans with lids, you could have compost in 6 to 9 weeks! You need to have greens (veggie scraps - cooked or uncooked - count here, also grass clippings are good) and some browns (leaves). Layer them into your garbage cans. Add some of that steer manure! I would only fill the cans half full so that you can turn the stuff over in the can. Fill can # 1 (half full). Add a LITTLE water (no soaking). After a week or so (or more often if you have time), turn everything over with a shovel (to incorporate more air). Turn over again in another week. If it looks like it is composting, move it to Can #2 and repeat for a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, start new stuff in can #1. After a couple of weeks, move stuff from Can #2 to Can #3. Move stuff from #1 to #2. Start a new #1. Add a shovelful of stuff from #3 to #1 and #2 (this introduces some of the compost "bugs" into the new cans). REPEAT!! I think you get the idea!

I have five compost bins (three feet high each) and a three-box high worm box. If I could only have one for the benefit of my garden, it would be the compost boxes. (In fact that is all that I had for the first 5 years of my veggie garden).

Worms will eat ANY veggie - cooked or uncooked. They will also eat coffee grinds, paper etc. I don't think that the molasses would hurt the worms, but it is not necessary for them to do their work!

I love your enthusiasm!! Start with the steer manure and plant your garden. Then start a compost project on the side. By the time you are ready to start you NEXT set of veggies, you will have brown gold to put in your garden!

Good Luck!!

Answer 2

Yes, this is actually a well known method of composting. If it is ground up first so it degrades quickly and is not more than 1-2% percent of your soil it will not be a problem.
For example Coffee is acidic so in large amounts it will change your soil pH. You have sandy soil so it will be acidic
Coffee Grounds N-P-K 2-0.3-0.2
Minor source of calcium & magnesium. Use no more than 1-2 lb/100 sq ft unless on acid loving plants or composted first.

to counter the coffee try N-P-K 2-4-2
4 parts coffee ground
1 part bone meal
1 part wood ashes
Wood ashes are basic to balance the coffee.

Uncomposted manure in a large amount can be a problem. The nitrogen is strong enough to burn plants, if their roots are in contact, when it heats up in composting.
So put it in as a thin layer in the bottom of the bed (mixed with straw or paper) and cover with minimum of 4 to 6 inches of topsoil. It will warm the soil faster and help to retain moisture during the season.

C:N cattle 13-20:1
Veggie wastes 12-20:1
Paper 150-200:1

To get hot fast decomposition a C:N ratio of 30:1 is ideal
A rule of thumb on C:N ratio is about ¼ - ½ of the pile volume nitrogen materials and ½ - ¾ carbon materials.

For 10 lb manure add 0.8 lb shredded paper

(10/T x 20/1) + (W/T x 150/1) = 30/1
T = weight of both materials = manure + paper (10 + W)
W = weight of paper

Answer 3

Certainly add that steer manure directly to the garden. You will capture the phosphate in it. The manure is such an insignificant amount added to such a huge quantity of soil that if decomposes in the soil in "hours' and not months or weeks.

Farmers have been adding raw cowmanure or steer manure to the soil directly since around 2000 BC , yes, BC and it works just fine and decomposes in hours, not weeks.


On the other items you mention above. , you are going to need a compost heap. Many of those items you mention are garbage and they will attract rats and rodents. Their decomposure to useful garden organic is months, and that is not acceptable.

You might be unaware of the total number of tons of organic it takes to build up soil in a garden plot, yes tons. I dont think the idea of soil building is for an apartment project such as yours. Organic soil building is a long, long, term project for the serious gardner who works his garden for Years and Years and Years. .

I dont think youl want that waste around an apartment so I suggest for organic matter you simply head out to Lowes and buy a bag or two of Michigan Peat. Work that into the soil, it is decomposed organic matter from centries ago. One bag of Michigan peat is equal to a pile of compost about 3 feet high.

It takes years to build good garden soil. More like 10 years. Leaves in the fall are #1 in soil building.

I suggest you try to improve your soil directly around each plant and not the whole garden site. This is about the only practical thing to do on a new site such as you have to work with.

Answer 4

Fresh organic waste tends to use up nitrogen in the short term, some more than others. The benefits of so-called "trench composting" are that it is easier to bury these wastes and they will eventually decompose, but the drawback is that it will take longer than conventional composting. Having the steer manure is a plus, but your didn't mention if it was fresh or composted. If it's fresh, the nitrogen content will be very high and you risk burning your plants.

Answer 5

Check with your local county extension office. They can give you a lot of help and information on amending soil.