City produced compost

Greetings all!
Just discovered SFG this week and want to take the long weekend to get started.
My question is regarding a compost that is made available from the city I live in called Dyno-Dirt.
This is what they say about Dyno-Dirt:
Dyno Dirt is nutrient-rich compost made using anaerobically digested biosolids from the Pecan Creek Water Reclamation Plant and yard waste. Dyno Dirt is considered Class-A compost for unrestricted use.
My question is can this be used as more than one of my compost selections?
Thank you for the help!
Tim
p.s. My city is Denton, Texas. Just north of Dallas/Fort Worth

  TMaddoux.

You'll get some really good info here!  Unfortunately in this case, not from me, lol.  But I think it would only count as one.

If you take the time to make your own (regular method or quickly with the Berkeley method)you have full control of making the finest compost for your garden and expect the best results.  Anything else is putting your trust into the unknown, then  go through all the gardening motions and wait to see the results.  It depends on your gambling comfort level, I suppose.  Mel recommends you make your own.  I'd rather put my best chance of success in my own hands.  
Maybe contact your extension service for a local opinion.

 This is off the web page for dyno dirt------Materials used in making Dyno Products include the yard trimmings collected from the Solid Waste Department's yardwaste collection and waste activiated biosolids recycled from the Pecan Creek Water Reclamation Plant. Not only are Dyno Dirt products an efficient use of resources, they are excellent soil additives.

It doesn't say it is for veggie garden use.  Here is the page for more info and  bottom line is I would not use it...
http://www.timetorecycle.com/residential/program_details.asp?citycode=1140

tmaddoux wrote:Greetings all!
Just discovered SFG this week and want to take the long weekend to get started.
My question is regarding a compost that is made available from the city I live in called Dyno-Dirt.
This is what they say about Dyno-Dirt:
Dyno Dirt is nutrient-rich compost made using anaerobically digested biosolids from the Pecan Creek Water Reclamation Plant and yard waste. Dyno Dirt is considered Class-A compost for unrestricted use.
My question is can this be used as more than one of my compost selections?
Thank you for the help!
Tim
p.s. My city is Denton, Texas. Just north of Dallas/Fort Worth

 I'd treat that muck as utter dirt , save myself plenty of time & money.
Lots of folk on here over the years have used such materials and had very very dismal crops.
 
 BIO digested solids from a water treatment plant ..humanure seems to be what most folk politely call it . It will have traces of all sorts of residual medicines etc. in it that have passed or not passed through the human body .

Yard waste ..just how much feed & weed treated grass cuttings are in there that contain a very long lasting residual hormone weed killer that stops your seeds germinating . You're looking at millionths of a part lasting for a couple of years and totally killing a square foot per micro part .
That's not to mention other poisons & toxins that other folk have put on their yard waste rubbish piles

You won't know until you try it. 

If it is certified class-A unrestricted use, that includes everything, certainly veggies.  What I did several years ago was get a truckload, shoveled it into a compost bin (pallets), dropped in 30 red wigglers, covered it with a blue tarp for a year... except the 5-gallon bucket of it that I spread in a marked spot in the unfertilized hayfield.  It took a few weeks to notice how GREEN the spot was in an already green field.  So I used it on my flowers and they did VERY well on it.   But it was BF (Before Veggies) here.

You have to give the evil eye to ANYTHING you add to your garden.  But you have to be ralistic as well.  Black Kow is widely used... does anyone know if the cows were dewormed right before their poop was collected?  Or vaccinated?  Or what was on the grass they were eating for that last meal?  Or were they even in this country and if not, were they fed other COWS, which lead to Mad Cow Disease?  Or was their grain source sprayed with Round-up or was it GMO or was it....?

You can drive yourself LOONY second-guessing any compost source, including your own, since we share water tables and air and most of us eat from the same food chain as everyone else.

But when they certify the compost class-A, I don't know what could be better.  As ONE of your sources.  But you could try it on a patch of grass and see for next year's compost.

I appreciate your view about not going crazy .
 
However we are trying to promote Mel's method of making his formularized soil less growth medium called, "  Mel's Mix " or " MM "    it works every time , anywhere in the world .

If you read back in the threads you'll  find quite a lot of folk who decided on their own way of making a growth medium came to grief by not using Mel's method .

My bad.  I thought we were talking about the usefulness of this as one of the five composts that equal 1/3 of MM?

T Maddox,  Welcome to the Forum!  The SFG bug can really take hold!     

However, I want to caution that you get everything right at the beginning.  It will save you heartache and playing catch-up all season.

Please get a copy of the book if you don't have it:  All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew, 1st or 2nd edition, new from the bookstore or used on-line.  You need to find the following sources:  1.  vermiculite or perlite in larger size bags to save money  2.  peat moss which needs to be broken up and fluffed before measuring 3.  5 different sources of compost.  This is the hardest part for most Newbies because they haven't had time too make their own and they have to research/search to find 5 sources.  Mel recommends composted herbivore manures such as cow, horse, chicken, llama, rabbit, elephant, etc. as one source.  Whole foods Market sometimes carries composted produce and Ecoscraps Compost at Home Depot contains wood and produce.  That's two.  Composted wood products, sea weed/kelp, and worm castings are three more.  There are a lot

Hopefully some Texans will be able to direct to some good sources.  Look on Craig's List for composted manures and worm casting. There is a place in Texas that was featured on YouTube under GrowingYourGreens by John ____. ? totally forgot his last name.

Hi Tim, Welcome to the forum. 

My daughter-in-law lives in Denton and has a magnificent vegetable garden in which she uses dyno-dirt exclusively. 

She doesn't SFG, and I haven't tired dyno-dirt personally, but I would think that it's perfectly acceptable as one of the compost ingredients in MM.  I just wouldn't use it as more than one. 

The concept of MM is that using five different composts ensures you have a wide range of nutrients for your plants.  With a single source, you can't be sure that's the case.

For other sources of compost try Marshall's Grain in Grapevine.  They carry a variety of composts, and also have the Coarse Vermiculite you'll need.

Hope this helps, 
Happy Gardening.
Gloria

Thank you all so very much for the input! It truly is a big help.

I happen to see a YouTube video this week on SFG and was very intrigued.
An hour and a half later and after dozens of YouTube videos, I had to give this a try. So I bought the book, 2nd edition, Thursday and spent the day today building my boxes and setting them up in the back yard.

My intention is to do it Mel's way which is why I asked if this compost could be one of my choices. As pointed out, finding five variates is going to be a challenge. The city website does say that it is suitable for flower and vegetable gardens so depending on how my search goes tomorrow I'm not ruling it out.
And Gloria, thanks for the Marshall's tip! I'll be paying them a visit for sure tomorrow!

Again thank you all so very much. I really do appreciate it.

Tim

While still have the floor...
What are thoughts on the following compost?


Lady Bug Revitalizer Compost

Our best quality compost! This unique blend of humus, cow, horse, and turkey manure composts also has a trace of granite sand, ground rice hulls, and humates to provide a wide variety of beneficial fungal and bacterialmicroorganisms.

Well, we don't use sand or dirt in MM. . . . If you can sneak a peak at it to see if the sand is particularly noticeable. If it is, please don't use it. Besides, you already have a manure source. Along with Marshall's , check on Craig's List, even hydoponic shops. Mushroom compost??

Thanks Sanderson!
I noticed you mentioned worm castings in your previous post. I found this on Marshall's website but it wasn't under compost. Can this be one of my choices for compost??

Hi Tim,
Perhaps I can help a little. 

Dyno-Dirt is compost not soil.

Lady Bug Revitalizer Compost is fine.  The "granite sand" is a trace element used to increase the potash (K) portion of the compost for healthy root growth.  I have used it as one of the five composts in my SFG's without any problem.

Worm casting are basically worm manure.  They are an excellent compost for the SFG.  

There are lots of different types of compost available in our area depending on how much you want to invest. In addition to the worm castings, Marshall's carries Bunny Hill Farms rabbit manure,  Turkey manure,  Mushroom compost, etc.  Calloway's carries Cotton Burr compost which is another good one for the SFG.  Black Cow and Peat Moss tend to be less expensive at Lowe's. 

There are also several sources of inexpensive or free compost around such as alpaca farms who would love to give you some manure, etc.

And I would encourage you to start a compost bin/pile of your own so that you have home-made compost soon.

FWIW - You will also find that Marshall's carries Lady Bug brand SFG mix which I don't use.  The ratio's appear "off" to me when I look at the mix.  Its extremely fine (almost powdery) and doesn't appear to have "coarse" vermiculite.  I haven't done a test to see how it compares to a home blend so this is just an observation.

Maybe Lady Bug is for raised boxes and they are calling it SFG.  But, is it Mel's Mix?  My last bag of vermiculite was medium and it does make the MM finer grained.

Tim, great that you found worm castings.  Some say to make it less than 1/5 because, because,    

It looks like in one evening you are getting good advice and good success in finding 5 different sources.  Worm casting, mushroom compost (a little high in peat moss, I think, so reduce the peat moss 1/3 as needed to adjust for that source).  Lots of choices for manures.

If you want, when you have decided on 5 or 6 sources, share with us before you start making the MM.  Don't forget to fluff up the peat moss before measuring!

Ok,
Here's what I can purchase locally for my five compost choices.
Thoughts?

Lady Bug All American Turkey Compost is a classic organic gardening soil amendment. It's so good you may not need to fertilize!
All American Turkey Compost consists of 100% composted turkey litter. Use it in the vegetable garden to help promote healthy root systems, water retention, and more fruit production.

Lady Bug Farm Style Compost
For hundreds of years dairy farmers have been applying composted cow manure onto their farms. Lady Bug Farm Style Compost is straight from the dairy farm - made from 100% properly composted dairy manure with wood shavings to provide a fine-textured, high quality, and all-purpose mix.

Natures Guide Mushroom Compost
This is a composted mixture of straws and manures left from musroom growing facilities. 100% organic. Adds valuable organic matter to the soil.

Earthworm castings
Earthworm castings are the best fertilizer on earth! Odorless & non-toxic - they improve water retention, aereation, and plant growth without the danger of burning delicate plants. Use alone or mix with soft rock phosphate or other amendments to boost root development. Or add to your pots.

(not to sure about this one)   
Natures Guide Cotton Burr Compost
Harvested from cotton plants grown on the high plains where no chemical defoliants are used. It's 100% organic. Great for either clay or sandy soils. Holds moisture and provides nourishment for healthier root systems.

Thanks!!

I'm short on time this morning so I hope others chime in.

LB Farm Style + LB Turkey + Dyno Dirt = 1 or 2
Mushroom compost = 1
Worm castings = 1
NG Cotton Burr = 1

sanderson wrote:I'm short on time this morning so I hope others chime in.

LB Farm Style + LB Turkey + Dyno Dirt = 1 or 2
Mushroom compost = 1
Worm castings = 1
NG Cotton Burr = 1

Seems one of the best mixtures acquired by a complete beginner and I feel you can go ahead and use this with confidence.  You have read Mel's book and have taken his advice.
Keep us posted on your results as we like to be sure that we ourselves are correct in our advice.
Read up on worm castings.  They are expensive to buy and I would use them as a booster.  e.g. add some when planting transplants etc.

tmaddoux wrote:Ok,
Here's what I can purchase locally for my five compost choices.
Thoughts?

Lady Bug All American Turkey Compost is a classic organic gardening soil amendment. It's so good you may not need to fertilize!
All American Turkey Compost consists of 100% composted turkey litter. Use it in the vegetable garden to help promote healthy root systems, water retention, and more fruit production.

Lady Bug Farm Style Compost
For hundreds of years dairy farmers have been applying composted cow manure onto their farms. Lady Bug Farm Style Compost is straight from the dairy farm - made from 100% properly composted dairy manure with wood shavings to provide a fine-textured, high quality, and all-purpose mix.

Natures Guide Mushroom Compost
This is a composted mixture of straws and manures left from musroom growing facilities. 100% organic. Adds valuable organic matter to the soil.

Earthworm castings
Earthworm castings are the best fertilizer on earth! Odorless & non-toxic - they improve water retention, aereation, and plant growth without the danger of burning delicate plants. Use alone or mix with soft rock phosphate or other amendments to boost root development. Or add to your pots.

(not to sure about this one)   
Natures Guide Cotton Burr Compost
Harvested from cotton plants grown on the high plains where no chemical defoliants are used. It's 100% organic. Great for either clay or sandy soils. Holds moisture and provides nourishment for healthier root systems.

Thanks!!

 Wow your home and dry with that lot  remember the compost side of MM is a minimum of five finished composted materials so the more the merrier .

Re the Earth Worm castings ..if neat  ... use a reduced amount as not only is it expensive  but it is also higher than the rest wrt nutrients and trace elements .


The basic idea of the MM formula  is to get a nutrient & trace element balanced viable soil less growth medium that is light to work , easily draining as well as containing oxygen to help break the decaying composts down even more to give plant roots a gentle continuous supply of feed  through the growing season.
 
 You may not yet appreciate it , but you can indeed make your MM too rich in nutrients & trace elements , then your plants will suffer just as they do if you don't have enough of them .