Composting Secrets with Tony O'Neill (Q&A)

Compost is a fantastic soil amendment and composting is possible for every gardener, but there are many things to know to compost effectively. Tony O'Neill from the Simplify Gardening channel joins Gardener Scott to discuss methods and tips for easy composting, answer viewer questions, share gardening philosophy, and much more. Your Gardening Week (Live) #100

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[stephaniecole]

This is one of the best episodes! Both you and your guest have given so much practical information.

[MorningsattheAllotment]

Oh drat, I can't believe I missed this one. Just been too busy in the garden recently 😉 Just watched it now, and what a great video!

[brianseybert]

Enjoyed todays live stream as always. I see why you and Tony get along so well, you have the same compassion for gardening and willingness to share with us, not so experienced gardeners.
Composting is my major focus at this time, that and soil life. By the time I got my microscope the ground was already almost frozen, but it was amazing what I discovered. Testing samples from all of my beds, compost, leaf mold and worm castings. Not only did I hone up my microscope skills, I found huge variants in the samples, but also a lot of similarities. In none of the samples taken did I discover any large numbers of bad fungi, in fact 90% of the fungal strands found were beneficial. My last batch of compost was a nice mix of bacteria, fungi, flagellates, some ciliates and nematodes. I think it was because I let it sit a few weeks before I started using it. The worm castings were just exploding with life. In one drop of a 10% dilution of fresh worm castings I found no fewer than 6 beneficial nematodes, sometimes a lot more than that.
I am not to the point to do foliar treatments of my plants with teas, but I am certainty at the the point I feel comfortable using extracts into the soils. In fact, just the other day I fertilized all my seedlings with worm casting extract.
I guess it is easier to use miracle grow, bone meal, blood meal or something from the garden center. I am choosing not to at this point. I want to be able to supply all of the demands of gardening with what I can produce naturally. Mother nature has been doing it for millions of years, why can't I try to come close.

[joefrancis]

This was great! Good to have an explanation as to why some people dont have good results with the tumblers. They work ok for me, so I was always confused what could be going wrong for them - no mixing!

[jackiekranz]

Living in Colorado with a very dry climate I use straw bale compost bins its a bit larger than a pallet compost but it keeps the mosture in and warm in winter. I fill it with chicken and horse Manure, scraps yard waste and garden waste. Then I cover with loose straw use cloth pots of plants on top when I water plants on top it waters the compost. Then I break down the pile use the straw in the garden. It's so dry here one can last 5 or more years but I break them down as I need straw for the garden. This also makes my straw safer to use in garden. As I need straw take old bales out replace with a new one. Take compost out when I replace bales.

[Paula_T]

You both are so worth watching. Straight talk and you both really do know your subjects. Such different climates and yet so much value from you both. Thank you!

[ttb]

Really.nice collaboration and thorough coverage of a great topic. Thanks.
A very small nit @23:25: I know what Tony means by a cubic meter, but it should not be mistaken for 3-1/2 cubic feet (rather, it is a cube with 3-1/2 foot sides, so 42 cubic feet). A cubic yard is itself 27 cubic feet. Just making sure nobody gets lost in the conversion and thinks a small pile is sufficient when it needs to be nearly 10x the size.

[nomathembazwedala]

My favorite gardeners are in house. Good evening to both of you guys, you're my inspiration. I learned a lot how to grow potatoes from Tony. Thank you guys with your compassion to give us so valuable information as well as inspiration.

[riverdalegardens]

Such a great episode for your 100th! I'm very grateful it was on a holiday! River really enjoyed this 😀

[dellapeachey]

Just watch the replay. Very good. Love seeing you & Tony doing a live chat. What I like to know. Is there a different between compose & manure. when adding to the garden ? I hear people say add compose to your garden but not shure what that is. And if you have a tumbler for making compose, do I need to cover it in the winter months or move it to a shelter ? I live in zone 5b, SC Iowa. Have a safe trip & good week.

[ttb]

Wow, looking forward to the book. And the Baker Creek tour. Too bad I missed this live.

Tony had an interesting point about not putting a compost pile beneath a tree. Hmm. That is very difficult to avoid in my layout. So, can anything be done to prevent the tree roots from wicking so much water from the pile? Like laying some tarps or a couple strips of tarps between the pile and the ground?

Additionally, how do you manage nutrient leaching and runoff? Is it only really nitrogen that is mobile in the soil, or are phosphorus and potassium ever a concern as well? I am particularly interested in this not just for my garden plant growth, but also in regards to limiting runoff that would degrade and pollute close by pristine water bodies.

[sjk]

Gardener Scott, what is your opinion on using horse manure in your compost, which comes from horses that have "salt licks" or the salt licks with minerals in them. I have a great source for horse manure but I know the horses do use those mineral licks. Thank you.

[MichaelJosephJr]

QUESTION: About 90 percent of my yard is septic field. I am planning on saving the grass clippings for my compost this season. Is the grass that grows on the septic field safe for my compost?

[Horse]

No mention of the need for Sodium and I am at the 60 minute mark. Instead of 30 to 1, it should be 300 to 10 to one part sodium.
I would speed the process up by getting a lot of soil biology I get from Korean Natural Farming. Look up Chris Trump on YT. The pile should be ready in 90 days.
I would have a vermicompost bin and put in coffee grounds, volcanic rock dust, kelp and maybe some alfalfa (lucerne) along with regular worm food.

[sherylwoodham]

How do you distribute your compost over the garden?

[amygriffith]

Really enjoyed listening to 2 of my favorite gardeners, and I’m looking forward to getting the book. I’ve only tried composting a couple times and it was pretty much a failure, lol!

[articmars]

Is 130° sufficient to kill the pathogens and disease and seeds? I cant seem to get mine over 135° i have a 4x4 pile and its about 3 ft high.

[johnjude]

Without a microscope how can we test when we are doing this right ?

[nchestercountynews]

SLUG NEMATODES are not allowed in the US based on my research.