We’ve been using Javat’s super-duper compost for the first time this year and are excited to see the results come harvest-time! Javatvasi is our compost guru and forager and we would like to thank him for spearheading our composting project, here at Krishna Eco Farm. To make this amazing compost he mixes old straw bedding from our alpaca shed, weeds from the garden, 10% soil soaked in urine, cow slurry from a local farm and bio-char charcoal which he makes himself and heats all this to 60/70 degrees. We harvest cow slurry when it’s fresh, as it contains special microbes from the cow’s stomach which help digest the compost.
We deliberately harvest nettles, as they are high in nitrogen, as well as weeds that you normally can’t compost – dandelions and dock plants. So that it’s easier for them to break down. We smash them to break them up and in – that way they dissolve into the compost much better. Their long roots absorb nutrients that are in the deeper levels of the soil and these are especially good for plants. Javat adds kitchen waste to the compost mix and puts it all into vermin-proof compost bins. He also adds mycorrhizal fungi to the mix which likes to stay in the charcoal and helps the soil and plants.
We’ve added this compost to cucumbers, courgettes, cauliflower, kale, green beans, rhubarb and cauliflowers in the walled garden – all these plants like to grow in rich soil. We are excited to see the results it makes this year! You can also check our article “Spring is in full-swing at our Eco Farm!” to see all activities our hard work volunteers have being engaged, planting veggies and flowers for the year.
Have a look through the photos below to see Javat and his amazing compost!
