Adding run bedding to the garden

[K0k0shka]

My run bedding is 3.5 years old at this point - a concoction of wood chips, dry leaves, grass clippings and other yard waste that I have added periodically over the years, and which has been composting in place nicely. It’s piling up pretty high at this point so I need to remove some and start over. I want to add this black gold to my garden. For that purpose, I’ll remove some of the soil currently in the garden, to make room (it’s a 15x15 raised bed). So my question is, can I just remove the top layer of garden soil and replace it with the run compost (maybe mix it around some), or is there a proper other way to go about it? The garden will have been cleared beforehand, and I won’t be planting anything there until May (so 7 months). So whatever poop in the mix is still fresh, should have enough time to age.

Picture for tax - a snippet of the run, with seasonally appropriate entertainment.

 

[perkolator]

I would never remove soil from a garden - that would be removing a lot of established soil biology, which to many people is a big no-no. Instead, just add it on top as a top-dressing/mulch the garden. This is based on "no-till" gardening theory.

I like to try and hot compost my old bedding first even though it's been down for a while and quite decomposed, but there's always some woody bits from my use of arborist mulch - I get it wet and pile it up at least 4ft and get it hot; sometimes there's enough poop to do it on its own, but sometimes I'll spike it with something really high in nitrogen (fresh grass, alfalfa pellet slurry, fish emulsions, blood meal, etc.) - then after it cools off I'll use it for dressing the garden. For my veg garden I'll sift the material in favor of the more fine soil. The chunkier bits I'll use as a mulch around other planting beds, shrubs, trees, etc. or just put it back in the run or compost pile.

I always give our old pumpkins to the chickens, but seeing your pic now I think I'll have to give them a fresh one for a few hours to "carve" for Halloween!

 

[K0k0shka]

I would never remove soil from a garden - that would be removing a lot of established soil biology, which to many people is a big no-no. Instead, just add it on top as a top-dressing/mulch the garden. This is based on "no-till" gardening theory.

I like to try and hot compost my old bedding first even though it's been down for a while and quite decomposed, but there's always some woody bits from my use of arborist mulch - I get it wet and pile it up at least 4ft and get it hot; sometimes there's enough poop to do it on its own, but sometimes I'll spike it with something really high in nitrogen (fresh grass, alfalfa pellet slurry, fish emulsions, blood meal, etc.) - then after it cools off I'll use it for dressing the garden. For my veg garden I'll sift the material in favor of the more fine soil. The chunkier bits I'll use as a mulch around other planting beds, shrubs, trees, etc. or just put it back in the run or compost pile.

I always give our old pumpkins to the chickens, but seeing your pic now I think I'll have to give them a fresh one for a few hours to "carve" for Halloween!

I forgot to clarify that I do want to remove and replace as much of the garden soil as I physically can, because it’s infested with fusarium fungus that has been killing my tomatoes for years. There’s no practical way to get rid of it, sadly, and it lives in the soil, so replacing the soil periodically is my best bet at the moment.

 

[perkolator]

Hmm, yeah I don't think there are many options if you're dealing with that. Bummer.