The Bovine Bugle

Planting season begins and demand for compost starts

The sunny, dry weather had given a jump start to spring around here. Everywhere you went farmers were actually starting some field work, and homeowners were out raking and picking up their lawns. Planting season for trees, shrubs, and perennial plants was starting, too.

We had a call for compost from one of last year's customers. He was planting fruit trees and asparagus and wanted compost to mix in with the soil while setting out the plants. We had a full windrow of finished compost under a compost cover all winter. I brought some up from the windrow with the manure spreader and piled near the road for easy loading. The compost looked great, and Jacob seemed happy with it. Two bucketloads filled the back of his pickup and he was off to start planting.

We're coming closer to composting all of our dairy manure. Seeing the transformation of the raw material of hay and manure into a rich brown/black compost is very satisfying. We love having this rich material to put back on our pastures, and to sell to people who want to feed their plants and gardens with something really good. I plug my nose when I drive by farms spreading liquid manure, but I love to smell sweet, earthy compost.

--Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont

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Posted by Blogger Chris at April 28, 2005 12:26 PM