Kitchen Garden Forum

Again, stumbled on while looking for a bee book.

Morning Peter, and using those ingredients, you wouldn't go far wrong.

That certainly is all good information Peter. Reminds me when I attended Agricultural Technical School many years ago and we used to mix our own composts. Damn hard work it was too, my skinny little shoulders are aching from the thought of it all. We used to cut turf from the cattle fields and stack it until it all rotted down then sieve it (my shoulders are still hurting) for the loam. Perhaps we will all be mixing our own if the quality of the bagged stuff doesn't improve.

Barney

Hi Barney,
We used to use virtually the same method with turf and pass the sieved soil over an iron sheet on a frame over a good bonfire raking it across and from end to end and it was then classified as sterilized. Certainly it was hot enough to knock out any weed seeds lurking if not actually sterilized.
All component were assembled on the cow shed floor, the only piece of concrete in those days, at the right proportions and mixing began.
We used to do about 3 cubic yards at a time. We had a sieve built onto an angle iron frame and that was hard work being that I was about 12 years old at the time.
JB

from 1965....

Clive.