Soil & Compost
Healthy soil is one of the biggest long-term projects at Hideaway Homestead Ranch. Our native ground is dry, rocky, and low in organic matter, so we are learning by building compost, adding manure and woody material, reusing water carefully, and watching how the soil responds over time.
Start with Our Compost Projects
Turning Waste Into Life: Building Our Off-Grid Compost Pile
Rebuilding Our Compost Pile for the New Growing Season
Making Hot Compost
Making Hot Compost: How We Finally Got Our Compost Pile Heating Up
Why Isn’t My Compost Pile Heating Up? 7 Things to Check
How Horse Manure Helped Us Make Hot Compost and Build Better Soil
Water, Organic Matter & Soil Building
What We’re Learning From Reusing Gray Water to Build Better Soil
Turning Laundry Water Into Irrigation: Our Off-Grid Gray Water System
As this section grows, we will continue documenting compost temperatures, manure, mulch, juniper duff, soil biology, water retention, and other ways we are trying to improve high-desert soil.