From: songbird@anthive.com   
      
   T wrote:   
   > songbird wrote:   
   ...   
   >>    that'll do it!  they turn a pretty interesting   
   >> color of orange if you cut them and leave them to   
   >> oxidize in the air for a few minutes.   
   >   
   > They still did not decompose!  They worked their   
   > way up and out of the ground and rolled abound   
   > (yes, even the flat ones). Took me forever to figure   
   > out what they were.   
   >   
   > I have dug up vegi table scraps TWO year old that   
   > did to decompose.   
   >   
   > Does Peat Moss qualify as "organic matter"?   
      
     yes, make sure it is sourced from a sustainable   
   producer.  i don't use it here much any more though   
   because if you take bagged leaves and other stuff   
   and bury it for a few years it will end up looking   
   like peat moss.  i just dug up a stash from several   
   years ago and if i'd have lit a match it would   
   have probably blew up since there was so much   
   methane coming out of it.  but then i have clay   
   and moisture to seal things in down deep enough.   
      
     i was rather surprised by that.  looked exactly   
   like peat moss.  it is now all stirred in with the   
   garden soil in that garden and looks pretty good.   
      
     the problem with peat moss is that when it gets   
   dry it can take more than a simple quick watering   
   to get it rehydrated.  mixed in with garden soil   
   that is kept moist it is an excellent material,   
   but it is not a heavy fertilizer, like most   
   composted materials the benefit is from the   
   improvement to the soil structure and the habitat   
   it provides for the bacteria/fungi/etc as it   
   gradually decomposes.   
      
     i think in a pretty active garden soil it   
   breaks down further within a few years but if you   
   keep adding organic material as you garden each   
   season that isn't too much of an issue.   
      
      
     songbird   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)