Hi. I am a soldier in the U.S. Army currently deployed in Afghanistan. We don't have much to do here, so I figured I would grow plants. I have been getting our interpreter to get me Chili Peppers so I can gut the seeds out, germinate then plant them but I have one main issue.... Fertile Soil...
So there isn't any soil around here. Its all dusty dirt. I am guessing this dirt in our camp can support life due the the fact weeds find a way to grow in it... but I doubt anything worth growing would. We have farms outside of our camp that we patrol through but I did not want to just steal soil from the Afghans. So I am giving composting a shot..
So far I have filled up a 840 Cartridge, 5.56 MM Ammo Can with dirt. I soaked the dirt, then closed the can and stuck it under our building for a week. This dirt doesn't do a good job of letting water through it, so I took a stick and stirred I all. When that week passed, I began adding to the can. I added a bit too much coffee grounds (Because it has texture it turned the mud into clumps which I thought was awesome. I realized I added too much nitrogen, so I then added crumpled leaves, a handful of pine needles, and torn up paper towels (To equalize with Carbon). I then stirred it all up. This is a picture of my compost so far.
My question is, am I on the right track? Do I keep adding or mix up what I have? How long until I can start growing? I was reading somewhere I should keep it moist, mix daily for 1 week, then mix every other day for 2 weeks then I can start growing. What do you all think?
So there isn't any soil around here. Its all dusty dirt. I am guessing this dirt in our camp can support life due the the fact weeds find a way to grow in it... but I doubt anything worth growing would. We have farms outside of our camp that we patrol through but I did not want to just steal soil from the Afghans. So I am giving composting a shot..
So far I have filled up a 840 Cartridge, 5.56 MM Ammo Can with dirt. I soaked the dirt, then closed the can and stuck it under our building for a week. This dirt doesn't do a good job of letting water through it, so I took a stick and stirred I all. When that week passed, I began adding to the can. I added a bit too much coffee grounds (Because it has texture it turned the mud into clumps which I thought was awesome. I realized I added too much nitrogen, so I then added crumpled leaves, a handful of pine needles, and torn up paper towels (To equalize with Carbon). I then stirred it all up. This is a picture of my compost so far.
My question is, am I on the right track? Do I keep adding or mix up what I have? How long until I can start growing? I was reading somewhere I should keep it moist, mix daily for 1 week, then mix every other day for 2 weeks then I can start growing. What do you all think?