Where to source large volumes of soil amendments?

My husband and I recently bought a 60 acre property in Indiana and are setting up our homestead. Super exciting :)

One of the first things we want to do is plant a windbreak/privacy screen along two sides of the property. We want to use the Miyawaki Technique as explained by https://www.afforestt.com/methodology to give the trees a good start. We have ordered 9,000 saplings from the state nursery, to be picked up in spring.

If all my calculations are right I need:

- 8,000KG (8tons) of mulch (straw, woodchips etc)

- 30,000KG (32tons) of perforator material (chipped corn husks, rice husk etc - something dry and fluffy to help keep the soil aerated)

- 30,00KG (32 tons) of water holding material (coco peat, sawdust etc. Something you can wring a lot of water out of once it gets damp.)

- 19,000KG (20 tons) of compost.

Usually if I want soil amendments I go to my compost heap or my local gardening store to buy a 50lb bag, but at these quantities I have no idea where to start.

Would love to hear any suggestions for regional materials that might work well, and for places to contact about buying these large quantities!

(Also, if anyone has free time in spring, we have 9,000 trees to plant and will provide pizza and beer to anyone willing to help!)

Thank you 😊

[edited to fix units - 30,000kgs not 30,000 tons 😨]

My personal view after growing hundreds of trees from seed, cuttings, and seedlings is that young trees only need two  things to grow. Protection from things that eat them, and water.  

Tansy,

Exciting land purchase!  Nice idea about planting a windbreak.  I did not see, what type of tree are you planting?  Also, what type of soil do you have?  I am going to suggest that Trace is on to something.  I really understand the temptation to overthink ideas, but I really would suggest that you get your soil tested first.  Mulch/woodchips etc. can be quite beneficial to young growing trees.

Eric

I should add, whereabouts are you in Indiana?

Eric

Getchipdrop.com is a service to add your name and address to and you will get wood chips from tree cutters.
(I have not.  I live in a rural area and have been listed on the site for years.  Still waiting for wood chips).

Aric,

I am in a similar situation.  I have theoretically been on a list for over a year and have yet to see any chips dropped.  I am also in a rural area.

Eric

For compost most states have a list of places where you can get it. For Indiana:
https://www.in.gov/idem/landquality/files/sw_compost_facility_list.pdf
And
https://indianarecycling.org/food-waste-composting/

Yes as mentioned before me...I believe woodchips or similar mulch should be enough. unless you have a very specific case..

For the windbreak, you dont have to worry about amending the soil too much. As long as there is water they should do fine.
Personally I would have went with lots of hybrid polar, and let them grow for a few years, then chop and drop, thus amending the soil. Followed by with a real privacy screen, the next year

But for a more direct answer to your question, you can just buy straw, lots and lots of strawbale, talk to grain farmers.



Are you planting your 60 acres in a silvopasture configuration.  20ft wide strip of tree on contour, followed by 90ft of pasture give or take?
You dont have to mulch/amend everwhere all at once, you can limit it to just the strips. That way when it comes to amending the entire 60acres it can be a bit easier.

I know I am late to they party, but you could always do what my neighbor and I did this spring. We put an ad in craigslist that we would haul a dump trailer full of horse manure for $50 a load if they would load the trailer for you.  We found a few people interested, so we rented a 6x10 dump trailer from Home Deport for a week.  Most horse people own tractors.  We didn't make any money but we broke even and brought home close to 90 yards of material, enough to last for years.  Just make sure you get the insurance Home Depot offers!