Kansas Compost & Vermiculture

Researchers make stunning discovery after examining farmland treated only with organic fertilizers for decades: '[Will] help us to move forward'
Juliana Marino
Sun, October 13, 2024 at 5:45 AM CDT·2 min read
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Sustainable farming is making headlines after researchers discovered a unique connection between organic farming and carbon storage in soil, according to an article posted on Phys.org.

As more polluting carbon ends up in the atmosphere and global temperatures continue to rise, scientists are trying to find ways to increase carbon absorption. This will help decrease the carbon in the atmosphere, creating a healthier planet for everyone.

Researchers at Kansas State University have been studying how different farming practices impact the amount of carbon stored in the soil. After comparing their results, the researchers concluded that soil treated with manure or compost fertilizer stores more carbon than soil treated with chemical fertilizers or no fertilizer.

While previous studies on soil carbon capture have also found organic farming techniques increase carbon capture in soil, the researchers at KSU discovered something else: how the carbon gets stored in the soil.

According to their findings, the carbon is preserved in pores, and some of that carbon attaches to minerals in the soil. Ultrabright synchrotron light — a type of light that is more intense and brighter than an X-ray — enabled the researchers to see how the carbon connects to the soil particles.

KSU researchers used the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan and the Advanced Light Source in Berkeley, California, to analyze soil from a Kansas cornfield that had been farmed with no tilling and only manure/compost fertilizer for the past 22 years.

Watch now: How did Hurricane Helene wreak havoc so far inland?
Published in the Soil Science Society of America Journal, the study underscores the benefits of sustainable farming. It highlights how organic compost and manure not only support the health of the soil but also directly fight rising global temperatures through carbon sequestration.

"Collectively, studies like this are going to help us to move forward to more sustainable, more regenerative agriculture practices that will protect our soils and environment as well as help feed growing populations," KSU professor of soil and environmental chemistry Dr. Ganga Hettiarachchi said, according to Rowan Hollinger of Canadian Light Source.

"As well, understanding the role of the different minerals, chemicals, and microbes involved will help improve models for predicting how different farming practices affect soil carbon storage," Hettiarachchi added.

We also sell Vermiculture!!

Get ready for your fall garden!!

Get ready for your fall garden!!

Did you know we offer bulk and bagged deliveries? We're delivering daily! 🚚💨

Rather it be picking up bulk/bagged product at our facility or delivery, we've got you covered!

We have the best, aged compost in the area (NO dirt added)! 🌺🥬🫑🌽🌸

Contact us today to setup a time for pick up or delivery. ☎️ 🛻

We're in full swing over here at Kansas Compost! Constantly doing deliveries and tons of bagged pick ups every day! 🌳🌱🌿🎋

☎️Contact Jim for your bagged or bulk compost! 🌷💐🌼

Compost season is in full swing!! Bags available. Bulk pick up or delivery. Come see Jim. He's hard a work making the best compost around.

We will be at the Tack Swap/Sale @ Wichita Riding Academy! (Open to the public) Come see us for compost, compost tea, arbor chips, and some hand made planter boxes! We can’t wait to see everyone 🪴

Kansas Compost is proud to offer Lil' Buddy Vermiculture. Lil' Buddy Worms is a worm farm owned and operated by an individual with autism that raises European nightcrawlers and red wigglers for the purpose of selling the worms for fishing and selling their castings as an all-natural fertilizer for gardening. Help your plants grow with Lil Buddy Vermiculture.

Can be purchased thru Air Capital Tack

Send us pictures of your gardens with our products! If we use your picture in an ad we will give you some free products!

How Much Manure Should You Add?

Manure refers to solid and liquid animal waste. It often comes with some of the bedding material (straw, hay, or sawdust) mixed in. Animal manure is an organic material that is often used to improve garden soil because of the nutrients it contains. It helps to know how much manure to add to your garden for the best results.

Manure Benefits
Added to compost and then used in the garden, manure improves the soil's texture with the bonus of adding some nutrients to the dirt, too.

At Kansas Compost animal bedding and animal waste make up the majority of our compost.

How to Add Manure to Your Garden
This resource of garden nutrition does require some patience, though. Fresh manure is high in nitrogen and ammonia and can easily burn plants if it comes in contact with them.

At Kansas Compost our manure is aged one to two years. So is actually mixed in that has been aged even longer.

Fresh manure can also contain bacteria that could contaminate any edible plants growing in or near it.

Manure needs to be composted or let rot for at least six months to a year before it is ready to be used in the garden. You can throw the manure in a compost pile or let it rot on its own, but it will have a strong odor if you do it this way.

To reduce the odor of fresh manure, allow it to dry out and mix in or cover it with a brown composting material such as dried leaves or shredded newspaper. The odor is strongest when manure is kept in anaerobic conditions, which is why mixing it in with compost is a better practice than simply letting it rot on its own.

Compost should have an earthy smell when properly prepared.

The USDA National Organic Program (NOP) recommends you apply fresh manure at least 120 days before the harvesting of vegetables that come in contact with the soil (root crops, low-growing leafy crops) and at least 90 days for vegetables that don't come in contact with soil, such as tomatoes and peppers.

Don't be afraid of manure piles with a lot of bedding in them. The more bedding there is in fresh compost, the faster it rots.

Bagged manure costs more, but it is already composted for you and ready to use.
Use rotted manure as you would compost. Plan on amending your beds with it annually.

Remember Kansas Compost does deliver!
Call or message us for delivery fees!!

We deliver bags and bulk.

We are in full swing for this weekend. The weather looks great and we have bagged compost ready to go or can load up your truck/trailer with bulk! We are booked on deliveries for this weekend. So if you need delivery it on the books! Don't forget our vermiculture and compost tea is also available.

Vermicompost (vermi-compost) is the product of the decomposition process using various species of worms, usually red wigglers, white worms, and other earthworms, to create a mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and vermicast. This process is called vermicomposting, with the rearing of worms for this purpose is called vermiculture.

Vermicast (also called worm castings,[a] worm humus, worm p**p, worm manure, or worm f***s) is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by earthworms. These excreta have been shown to contain reduced levels of contaminants and a higher saturation of nutrients than the organic materials before vermicomposting.[2]

Vermicompost contains water-soluble nutrients which may be extracted as vermiwash and is an excellent, nutrient-rich organic fertilizer and soil conditioner.[3] It is used in gardening and sustainable, organic farming.

Kansas Compost & Vermiculture sells several quantities of Vermiculture. Come by and see us.

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You can add-on Compost Tea, Planter boxes🌷(We make them in many different sizes including raised beds), vermiculture, and arbor chips to any compost order! We will even bring it along if you get delivery. Our Planter boxes and compost tea is also on-sale right now!

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🌸 Compost season has started and we've been incredibly busy with lots of bagged and many bulk deliveries already! Contact us today to get yours! 🪴🌽

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The Farmers Almanac Recommends:

Amend your soil. Compost, leaf mold, or well-aged manure will increase the ability of your soil to both drain well and hold moisture
—the sponge factor. However, never use fresh manure! It can harbor dangerous pathogens and will burn tender plant roots. Compost it for at least 6 to 12 months.

Good soil is the key to a successful garden. Plants depend on the soil for nutrients, stability, and drainage. To grow your best garden, start with well-drained, sandy loam and add as much organic matter as possible.

At Kansas Compost & Vermiculture our Manure is aged and turned. Don't be fooled by cheap "compost" from people wanting to just get rid of their manure pile.

If you get green manure put it where it can age and be turned to encourage the decomposition of material and the growth of essential bacteria

Time to get those garden and flower beds ready for planting! Give us a call to get your compost reserved for pick up or delivery. Prepay for 10 bags by March 15th and get 1 bag free.

We will start bagging for the year as soon the it drys up a bit. Keep an eye on our page for when we are ready!!

Kansas Compost & Vermiculture Producing quality compost!

COMPOST 101 - WHEN & WHY TO ADD COMPOST TO YOUR GARDEN

Compost can be confusing. We all know it's "good", but good how? And when should we use it? Do we even need to use it? Here is a short good-to-know guide for when and why to add compost to your garden. Compost is an efficient and practical fertilizer. Composed of decayed organic matter, compost is a basic tool for the organic gardener. Brown leaves, compostable materials like cardboard and newspaper, grass clippings, food scraps, twigs and more can all be broken down into compost. Compost is created through the process of thermal decay and then added as humus to the garden. Compost is home to millions of active microorganisms which help to continue breaking down organic matter into bio-available nutrients - food for plants!

Quite simply, compost adds nitrogen to a garden. Nitrogen is what contributes to a plant's healthy, green growth. This is an excellent excerpt from an article on the role of nitrogen in the garden.

WHAT CONDITION IS THE COMPOST IN?
No two compost heaps, piles, or bags are created equal, so the first question to ask about compost is - what condition is it in? Newer compost needs more time to break down, which keeps all those beneficial microorganisms busy decomposing. Essentially, this 'ties up' nitrogen as it's being used by microorganisms to digest high-carbon material, as opposed to being readily available for plants.

With older compost - that which has been more thoroughly broken down - the material has more nutrients readily available to plants.

Either way, it's good to note that, once applied, all compost will continue the natural process of breaking down and decaying into rich, nutrient-dense soil. And remember, as microorganisms break down compost, nutrients are released and made into fertilizer available for plants.

WHEN TO ADD COMPOST TO A GARDEN
With homemade, fully decomposed compost, the nutrients are more readily available to plants and can be added onto just-planted garden beds or soon-to-be-planted garden beds. For many urban growers, bagged compost is what is easy and available. If you're using bagged compost, add in layers about 1 to 2 inches thick in early spring. Now (early March) is a great time. Dig in lightly with a bow rake, and leave the compost to rest a week or two before you plant seeds or starts.

When using homemade compost or if compost is thick with green matter and fibrous, add to garden beds in autumn. (You should also allow chicken manure some time to cure and age before seeding or planting directly.) The compost will be mostly decomposed by spring and beds should be ready for planting. With backyard compost, get into the practice of adding 2-3 inches of new/fresh compost in the autumn (instead of a cover crop) so that the compost can decompose over winter and into early spring.

CREATING BEDS FOR THE FIRST TIME
If this is the first time you'll plant in a portion of your yard, take extra time and effort to double-dig in compost. Double digging contributes to a lighter, loamy soil and once you do it, you'll never have to do it again. It can be back-breaking work if you're in a large space, but for most urban gardens you can get it done. Here is a more in-depth look at double-digging from Rodale's.

ADDING COMPOST TO EXISTING GARDENS
With crops that have over-wintered, or when applying compost well into the garden season, practice a technique called "side dressing". Apply a layer of compost a few inches away from the plants, protecting delicate plant stems from active microorganisms. In this way, the compost is applied as a mulch so it reaps multiple rewards; It offers nutrients to plants mid-cycle, discourages w**d growth, and it retains water - a benefit of side dressing in summer. Multi-purpose compost!

By Amy Pennington

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpfGXOOe84o

How to Compost Your Christmas Tree | GreenShortz DIY Many of us are stuck with a crispy evergreen come December 31st. Here's an easy way to break down your tree and let it decompose naturally in your yard.www.g...

https://yardfullyproducts.com/2020/12/the-12-days-of-composting/

We have a few bags of Vermiculture still on the shelf. Discounted 25% for Christmas. Give us a call or check it out online at https://www.aircapitaltack.com/products/lil-buddy-worm-castings?variant=44008551841958

5- 2 Qt Bags $7.00 each with a discount only $5.25
3- 3.75 Qt Bags $11.00 each with a discount only $8.25
2- 7.5 Qt Bags $18.00 each with a discount only $13.50
2--14.9 Qt. Bags $31.00 each with a discount only $23.25

Please call us to get your discount. 316-252-1079

Our newest compost producer.

Lumps and Bumps

"After the composting process is complete, we are finding the manure isn't as 'finished' as originally expected. It's in great condition with no smells and breaks down easily in your hand, but there are still distinct manure shapes. Do you recommend additional aging?"

ANSWER: Because the manure balls are dense to begin with, they retain some of their structure even when fully composted. When you break into one of them, it should be dark through and through and perhaps contain white speckles called Actinomycetes (pronounced act-tin-oh-my-seat-ease). This is what gives the compost it's soil-like odor (dare I say, fragrance).

We have done some lab testing on the chunks vs the finer fraction and discovered that the nutrients (NPK) are found in the lumps and bumps. They are the raisins in the Raisin Bran.

Many people spread their horse manure compost "as-is" and then mow or harrow over the top to break up the lumps. If you want to avoid that extra step, the lumps will break down in due course. Alternatively, you can screen or shred it, but that's extra work and really unnecessary if you don't plan on selling it.

You really only need to keep the manure / compost on-air for 30 days. You can then remove it from the bin and let it cure in a non-aerated pile.

Come visit us @ Wichita Riding Academy in our store and pick up a 16 oz bottle of compost tea for your plants, Bottles are normally $10.00 ONLY $3.00 or a free vermiculture sample while supplies last. Just mention this post!

We are located at 10727 E 39th Street South. The store is open Monday thru Saturday 10 AM-6:00 PM

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Give us a call for pickup or delivery! 🌱🪴🌾🌻

🌺🪴🌱 Wichita and Derby! This is perfect weather to get your gardens and plants ready for the spring and summer months! Call us today to setup a time for pickup or delivery! 🌱🪴🌺