Kitchen Garden Forum

For many long years I had thought it possible to make a multi-purpose compost using Barley straw as the bulking agent and comfrey as the nutritional agent and composting initiator and after many years and many disasters in 2002 I finally succeeded. Sadly due to circumstances beyond my control 2007 was the first opportunity I had to complete the experiment and grow a crop from start to finish using only the MP compost and a few additional feeds of Comfrey concentrate.
Although straw is used for animal bedding it is not at all absorbent and Comfrey Goo simple runs through it and you are left with an awful mess that attracts flies and is quite odiferous. I had tried chopped straw but even that is not absorbent enough so in desperation more than anything else I pulverized some straw bales using a hedge flail
And then passed it all through a high powered shredder a couple of times. (The size was dust to about 4mm)Six inches of pulverized straw becomes absorbent enough to compost Comfrey over the top and not run out at the bottom. As the straw is becoming saturated another six inch layer of straw and so on until the bin is full. Six inches eventually reduces to just less than two inches. My bin is 72”x72”x48” and it took me the entire season to fill the bin. Although I didn’t use the compost until 2007 I took core samples in 2003 and 2004 and it could have been used then.
In 2007 I was able to carry out the long awaited experiment and grew 20 Shirley F1 tomatoes in home made grow bags each holding approx 45L of compost. I also grew 4 Shirley F1 Tomatoes conventionally for comparison. Both were late sown and grew extremely fast. I used sifted compost for the seeding and normal MP compost for the comparisons. The differences were very marked throughout their lives and you would scarce believe that they were the same plant from seed out of the same packet.
I took the last of the crop to the Malvern Autumn Show picnic and although the Tomatoes all disappeared when I asked, on forum, for comments I got no takers so I guess I fell at the last hurdle and failed.
JB.
PS Details of the bin are available if required.
Details of differences in the plants available if required.

JB, I have no recollection of you asking for comments on your tomatoes after Malvern in any case, I didn't eat one so I can't help, sorry.

Hi JB

Sounds interesting

What were the differences then?

Please

Mole

I remember JB's tomatoes at Malvern and yes they were very nice.

It would be good to see details of your method JB. Sadly I don't have access to a shredder, as I've often wondered how much better my compost would be if I could add more woody/sticky vegetation to all the green stuff.

Colin

I think they were very nice too.

Don't think it was a failure at all.

Dear Johnboy, i don't know if this would help, but if straw bales are left outside over the winter the rain penetrates right through the bales.
I didn't know if this might help speed up your proccess.

Just a thought.

The tomatos were very tasty JB. I personally ate about 4 of them

I don't have access to a shredder either. I'll be interested in further details though

Hi OH,
To start off with saturated bales would totally defeat the whole thing. I need totally dry straw because I want it to take up the liquid produced by the Comfrey. It is only when the straw is saturated with 'goo' that the decomposition starts. It is using one decomposed thing to induce the decomposition of the other. This process takes at least a full year and even after five years there are slight traces of uncomposted straw. In order to get the quality needed for the seeding process I had to sieve some out.
JB.

It was just a thought Johnboy, just a thought.

Good ole you Johnboy, you have given us all the detail apart from the important detail, what dear chap was the difference between the conventional and the home made compost tomatoes?

Compo

To quote JB Compo

"I took the last of the crop to the Malvern Autumn Show picnic and although the Tomatoes all disappeared when I asked, on forum, for comments I got no takers so I guess I fell at the last hurdle and failed. JB."

The plants were obviously better but a for taste, well there lies the rub.

We must read it differently Piglet, the results are not obvious to me from the wording, but I understand how you have gained an implication from JB's text, and you have probably gained the right implication but there are at least two of us, including Chantal who do not see it that way.

Yours

Compo

For the Attention of Piglet and Compo.

Below is the posting. As for the Tomatoes I feel they were succulent, thin skinned and sweet and of good salad quality. If you care to note I do not ask for favours only an honest opinion. If anybody had disliked them I would have accepted their valued input.
JB.


Tue Oct 02, 2007 10:21 am

Well what a wonderful day. Weather was just right for a change. The picnic was made all the better by the new faces Heyjude, Colin M to name but a few.
Poor Lyndon having to cope with an orgasmic Tigger!!
Chantal having a whole £10 note all to herself!!
Seedling produced a wonderful home made loaf which really was tasty and I am hoping that she will post the recipe on forum. Any chances ???
If it had not been for poor Lizzie who very bravely lent me her elbow and led me round the show I would not have managed to see most of what I did. I only hope that it didn't spoil her day bless her.
I feel that this has to be the very last show that I will manage. (OK cheers from the gallery!)
I would like an honest opinion from anybody who tasted my Tomatoes as they were part of an experiment using Comfrey and no other form of nutrient from sowing to picking. I will post all about the experiment later on today.
JB.

Johnboy, I know you were waiting to hear how the taste test went, but as I read it, and I might be wrong... you were trialing standard compost vs the barley straw compost? I just wanted to know which plants were healthier and more fruitful? I guess it was the barley straw compost but you have not (unless I missed it) been explicit in that information. Please do not misconstrue my comments as provoking, I am genuinely interested as I can get access to Barley Straw and Comfrey.

Hi Johnboy
I seem to remember that the tomatoes were lovely and sweet. They disappeared fast enough didnt they and if they werent nice we wouldnt have eaten them. We arent that polite
Seedling