Ken Singh Compost

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Permalink Reply by tenacity on September 21, 2008 at 5:33pm

What's the compost like? What's in it? How's it contained? And how much does it cost?

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Permalink Reply by Anne Goldfeld on September 21, 2008 at 7:02pm

Sorry, that last reply should have been from me, I forgot to sign Jacob out! But Jacob did enjoy "being one" with the compost at Maya's Farm - see photos in the Permaculture for Kids group. BTW, Ken very generously donated the compost for the R&S group, as I hear he has done with other school gardens. Cheers!

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer on September 22, 2008 at 10:58am

Ken was a soil scientist at ASU and now turns trash into GOLD.

His compost has been tested and is VERY high in microherds (microbes, fungi, etc)

The compost is a tad woody and will leach some nitrogen from your plants at first if you do not add some nitrogen with it (chicken poop, fish emulsion) but it is FANTASTIC stuff. I've used it extensively in my garden and things grow huge! (like the delicata that has now taken over a quatrant of my front yard.)

You can bring your own containers and get them filled but the best thing to do is take a pickup out there. The cost is $30-50 depending on size of truck. Let him know you're with the Permaculture Guild.

Jen

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Permalink Reply by tenacity on September 23, 2008 at 7:34pm

a soil scientist! That's totally sexy! i wonder if he would come to dinner and I could pick his brains. Is he fun to talk to? I would love soil 101. Hey, I wonder if he would teach a soil class- the construction and deconstruction, problems, benefits, chemistry, myths, solutions, etc. - of soil?

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Permalink Reply by Jane Doyle on September 23, 2008 at 7:52pm

Tenacity, even if Ken Singh doesn't come to dinner, you can definitely pick his brains if you go out there. A friend of mine (Vic, also in the Guild) and I went over there to get Vic's truck filled so we could share in the compost. Ken took us out to the piles and piles of lovely compost and mulch and gave us a nice talk about what it contained and why it was so divine. A very nice informal lesson!

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Permalink Reply by Ericka Cero Wood on September 30, 2008 at 12:29pm

Ken Singh's is a magical place...
Dirt farming never looked so good!

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Permalink Reply by Anne Goldfeld on September 30, 2008 at 12:33pm

YES, it even smelled good when we drove in! Ken donated to us for the second year in a row for the Roots & Shoots garden. Great dirt, great guy!

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Permalink Reply by Susan on August 15, 2009 at 4:40pm

I just spoke with Ken who says this address is his mailing address. He is located on the NE corner of 101 and Thomas RD in case anyone is interested. The phone number is correct. I can't wait to buy some of his compost!

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Permalink Reply by Janine on August 24, 2009 at 12:13am

As Vinnie said, the best thing to do is put old pots, those blk plastic ones, and anything else you can find that won't break and put them in the bed of the pick up. That way, when they dump the dirt in, the last bits won't be so hard to get out, just pick up the pots and move the dirt out. Also, put that grass liner or whatever..something, in the btm of the truck bed. LOTS easier to clean out. We use a tarp. and that way, when yer too darn tired to get the last bit out, you can pull the tarp out and have an instant cover for the dirt.

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Permalink Reply by Amy Broderick on August 24, 2009 at 4:34pm

Ken also has great organic fish emulsion fertilizer you can buy by the galon or in larger quantities.
Take some time to walk the property. HIs wife Lee is also very knowledgable and gave me a start of
purslane for my garden.

Be sure if you are doing the truckload of compost you be bring a tarp & some ties to tie down to the top, (They overfill the truck and you'll need this to keep from losing compost on the ride home) otherwise you'll be making a trip to Home depot to buy one.

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