Sheet composting

Sheet composting is the process of composting organic matter directly onto the soil and letting it decay there rather than in a heap. Most commonly this is achieved by sowing a 'green manure[?]' crop such as mustard[?], alfalfa or buckwheat which is then hoed in, preferably just before flowering. This practice can cause temporary nitrogen robbery[?], but this can be reduced by employing leguminous green manure crops such as lupins[?], winter tares[?], field beans[?] or clover which are able to fix their own nitrogen supply in root nodules which is released as the plants decay.

Proponents of this system argue that sheet composting causes less nutrients to be lost through leaching than heap methods, also that fresh organic matter provides a slower release of minerals when applied than when decayed. It is also said that in the long term, sheet composting leads to higher nitrogen levels in the soil, as much is lost by vaporisation when a traditional heap heats up.

See also;

• Container composting
• German mound
• Leaf mold
• High fibre composting
• Worm compost
• Spent mushroom compost