Jon Rowley would be able to answer that better than anyone, but he has not been here for a number of years although he is still actively gardening in Seattle. Simply because the carpet is made of synthetic fibers, unless it is an antique Persian carpet, it should not even be considered for use in your garden.

Matt, You can use anything that is a source of nitrogen. We use not only grass clippings, but bales of hay (often, our ranching friends give us old spoiled hay but sometimes we buy a bale or two for mulch) or straw, and then, for us, there's never a shortage of materials because we have 15 acres of land. You could use alfalfa hay or pellets (sold as rabbit food in 50-lb. bags at feed stores), alfalfa meal, cottonseed meal, composted cotton burrs, etc. There's tons of options. Kitchen waste alone, if you prepare lots of fruits and veggies, would likely give you plenty of options. If I were doing interbay, I'd likely put less manure in a layer on the bottom and instead put a larger layer of chopped or shredded leaves, then a thin layer of manure, then a larger layer of shredded leaves and whatever yard or garden waste I had, and then a thinner layer of manure, etc. I suspect that the reason for the larger layer of manure on the ground is to attract earthworms, but it isn't necessary. If you put any manure and shredded leaves on the ground, the earthworms and other decomposers will appear. That's all that lasagna gardening is--just a layering of the different ingredients used. More and thinner layers of manure interspersed with larger, thicker layers of leaves would give you quicker decomposition. There's nothing wrong with using blood meal---but you just need to be aware that carnivores are attracted to the smell. That may or may not be an issue at your home. It definitely is an issue at ours though because we're very rural and have very high levels of wildlife. You also can watch your local Craigslist or Freecycle websites because sometimes people offer free or cheap material there....like used stable bedding or animal manure or spoiled hay....stuff that is often yours for the taking if you'll come haul it off. Scardanelli, I've done it and it works. I don't do it with leaves I rake in the yard....just run over them with the lawnmower and pick them up with the grass catcher. I like to do it with leaves raked up in the woods because they are often mixed in with sticks and twigs and I don't like to run over them with the mower. When you use the weedeater in the trash can, be sure to wear safety glasses or goggles (especially important for me because I'm not very tall at all) because the stuff swirls around and can drift up into your eyes. If you have severe allergies or asthma too, you might want to wear a mask to keep you from inhaling all the dust and tiny particles. Our leaf blower/vac also shreds the leaves as it picks them up when in the vacuum mode, but there again, it is harder to use in the woods where there are lots of twigs and sticks that it cannot handle. We have a large chipper/shredder too, but I only use that for big, big bunches of leaves because it is big and bulky and a pain in the whatever to pull out of the barn and use. Finally, y'all, if you have neighbors who routinely bag their clippings and leaves and place them curbside for pickup, ask if you can have them instead for your compost pile! Dawn

Composting can be the best thing you can do for your garden. The advantages of feeding the microbial soil life with a steady supply of organic materials has benefits that chemical fertilizers can not match. The options available to you are many. Hot compost, cold compost, leaf mold, Interbay Mulch. Many roads to the same end result, which is well-rotted, rich organic material to enhance and feed the soil. You can also use the finished, composted material to brew "teas" to water the plants with. Recent research has been showing this to be a very powerful tool to naturally protect your plants from a wide variety of diseases and blights. A few of the major composting methods that are employed by home gardeners are: Cold Compost Pile: A pile which is made up of greens and browns and then left alone to rot in place for several months to several years. Hot or Active Compost Pile: A pile which is made up of greens and browns and then turned and aerated often to incorporate air, water, and/or fresh ingredients. Require more effort but often results in finished compost within a several weeks to a few months. Sheet Composting or "Lasagna" Bed: Also known as Interbay Mulch. A specific sort of compost pile in which green and brown materials are built up in lasagna style layers over a present or future garden bed site. Pit or Trench Composting: A method where you bury organic material directly in the ground, sometimes along side of plantings, in a shallow trench. Many folks are intimidated and think composting is a difficult process. It is not, Nature has been doing it for quite some time. But you do have to follow some basics to be successful. The *best* way to go about it depends on many factors. If you ask yourself some questions about your specific needs it can help you to focus and determine what would be most successful for your specific situation. The amount and diversity of organic material you have available to compost determines your needs somewhat, as well as the quality of the finished product. Once you have a clear picture of your specific needs and the level of involvement you wish to take in the process our 'Noted Experts' on the Soil Forum will be more able to help you fine tune your technique to take full advantage of your supply of 'Garden Gold'. The questions below can help you to clarify what your needs and requirements are. This is not a test so don't be intimidated. Just use the questions to focus your attention on what will work best for you. What is your zone? -- _______ City, Suburb or Rural? -- _______ How large is your garden? -- _______ Sq. ft. Do you grow vegetables? -- _______ Do you have lawn area? -- _______ Do you want to recycle the yard and kitchen waste? -- _______ Do you wish to make as much compost as possible? -- _______ How much space do you have/wish to dedicate to your compost pile? ? ft. x ? ft. -- _______ Do you need a bin, or do you have plans for beds that you could use Interbay Mulch on? -- _______ How much do you want to spend on materials to build your bin? -- _______ Do you want a *Hot* pile (faster and more work) or a *Cold* pile (slower but easier? -- _______ Do you have any physical concerns that would make turning the pile difficult? -- _______ Do you wish to make Leaf Mold? -- _______ Do you feel you could use a Worm Bin? -- _______

There has been much posted on the forums about a soil building method known as Interbay Mulch. It is a method developed by a site coordinator at the Interbay P-Patch in Seattle and has recently been featured in an article in Organic Gardening. The P-Patches are a large network of very well run Community Gardens. It is catching on quickly in other P-Patches but the folks at Interbay used the system for a full season before it started being adopted elsewhere. The Interbay Mulch is the use of a layer of burlap placed over the top of various organic material that you pile up on top of soil. Organic matter decomposes much faster on top of the soil than it does if tilled in as long as it is covered and kept moist and dark. The byproducts of this process enrich and feed the soil under it in some very interesting ways. A few years ago a four day course on soil ecology was held at Oregon State University. This course was attended by one of the Interbay site coordinators and the idea of Interbay Mulch occured to him while driving back to Seattle. The OSU microarthropod expert, Dr. Andy Moldenke, said in his presentation that 90% of all soil organisms live in the top inch of the soil. Dr. Elaine Ingham of SoilFoodweb then said in her presentation that plant health and productivity depends on that biological activity in the soil. These two bits of information inspired the concept of using a burlap "cover" to create a deep,dark,and damp "litter layer". The Interbay Mulch attempts to expand the conditions in that biologically active one inch litter layer to 6, 12, or even 18 inches. The idea is to recreate and magnify the natural conditions that produce rich, fertile soil. The use of damp burlap (coffee sacks are readily available in the Seattle area but purchased burlap can be substituted) proved to be the ideal material for enhancing the biological activity associated with the humus production. Depending on your soil needs, and the amount of organic material you have access to, you would build a mulch 6" to 18" deep. Mix the materials well and wet them down. Cover over this with the burlap. The burlap should also be damp. You could soak them in a large barrel (they will be HEAVY) or water over the "hump" with a sprinkler until everything is nice and damp. Monitor the pile for moisture content and water if any materials are dry. Decomposition comes to a halt when materials dry out. The mulch will probably be reduced to 30% it's original height when it is finished and will have turned into a rich, dark and most importantly biologicaly active humus. The breakdown/decomposition time will vary depending on your zone and the time of year you build your mulch. Expect 4-6 months on average before you can move the burlap aside and plant. This has been compared to a long-known method of soil building known as "sheet composting" and, more recently, "Lasagna" gardening. While there are similarities in these methods and some common benefits, the Interbay approach differs in that it is proven to be a faster and more effective means of producing a large volume of rich humus as well as a rich diversity of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, beneficial nematodes, microarthropods, and worms. The Interbay method actively seeks to create conditions that culture the maximum populations of beneficial soil microorganisms thereby achieving the maximum benefit from the inputs. Interbay Mulched soil, according to the lab that tested it, is "uniquely active". Living soil is successfull soil! And best of all, it's free! What is the purpose of the burlap? Here is a list of benefits attributed to the burlap cover: Maintains the optimum dark, moist conditions prefered by most decomposer organisms. Encourages colonization by, and reproduction of, soil organisms as well as the microorganisms associated with compost and those introduced with new materials. Using the burlapped system, the biodiversity and abundance of life in finished humus is extremely high according to the analyses done. Protects from driving rain and minor freezes. Burlap, if dried out, will absorb a lot of rain before letting it gently pass into the mulch. Burlap covers the mulch but, also acts as host to a multitude of fungi and other organisms, performs an important habitat role. Protects worms, etc from birds. Birds consume a huge quantity of worms. In an Interbay Mulch worms reproduce and populate without predation. Burlap covers the mulch but is permeable enough for required oxygen to reach all parts of the system. The materials used to create an effective pile, or "Humps" as they are called, can be gleaned from a number of sources. Almost any organic material can be utilized and it has been shown that the wider the variety of inputs you can use the richer the resulting humus will be. People who have done this have been very creative in finding sources of suitable materials. A few of these include: Yard waste and grass clippings Shreaded newspapers Spent grain from breweries Coffee grounds from Starbucks Vegatable waste/trimmings from greengrocers Used floral arangements Pulp left over from Juice Bars Shredded fall leaves Composted manure The ingredients you use to build the "Humps" can be fine tuned to produce specific conditions and soil chemistry depending on what type of crop you wish to grow in each bed. i.e. using some pine needles to prepare a bed for more acid loving plants. To make the whole idea fun and interesting the latest version of the recipe was modelled after a local juice bar menu. INTERBAY MULCH" RECIPE Enough burlap bags to cover the area you are developing. (2 layers work better than one). Basic Recipe (Just a guideline. Mulchers are encouraged to be creative): 50% leaves 50% fresh garden debris (put any seed heads in compost bin) Supercharged: Add one wheelbarrow of young or unfinished compost per 100 sqare feet of area. Supercharged plus: Add one bucket of leaf mold per 100 sq. ft of area. Nitrogen Boost: Add fresh grass clippings, carrot pulp, espresso grounds, wine pressings, seaweed, spent grain, composted manure. Mineral Boost: Add fresh seaweed, eelgrass, glacial till, granite dust. Calcium Boost: Add egg shells, ground oyster shell. Carbon Boost: More leaves, rotted sawdust, rotted straw, dryer lint, rotted burlap Energy Boost: Add "green" materials (low C:N) such as kitchen waste over the winter to increase worm density. It has been noted that, over time, Interbay Mulched soil can generate up to 750 lbs. of available nitrogen per acre per quarter from the nitrogen cycling activity of the micro and macroorganisms living in it. CAUTION: One user points out that in some areas this process may attract scroungers. Skunks, raccoons and such looking to make a meal of the worms and other critters working to break things down under your "Humps'. This can be annoying as well as messy. You could place a layer of chicken wire over the burlap and pin it to the ground but critters can be determined if they sense an easy meal is to be had. If you need to build humus and tilth, and aren't plagued with four legged scroungers, it has much to offer as it utilizes materials that might otherwise wind up in the waste stream and ultimately landfills.