What is the best compost to put on your garden?
The best compost for your vegetable garden should be dark brown or even black in color, smooth in consistency, and moist yet crumbly. It shouldn’t be sticky, muddy or have whole pieces of plant matter. It should have a neutral, earthy smell — never stinky or offensive! Composting can attract unwanted pests and wildlife, which can create public health risks and damage property. Plus, improperly managed compost piles can emit strong odors, which can create problems for nearby residents and businesses.DON’T add meat scraps, bones, grease, whole eggs, or dairy products to the compost pile because they decompose slowly, cause odors, and can attract rodents. DON’T add pet feces or spent cat liter to the compost pile. DON’T add diseased plant material or weeds that have gone to seed.Composting the Wrong Materials Avoid adding any animal-based food scraps like meat, seafood, greasy foods, or dairy to your compost. These items can smell unpleasant as they start to decompose and attract unwanted pests like roaches and rats to your home.And if it smells like crap … well, there you have it. Fully broken-down, high quality compost should smell rich and earthy, almost like dirt you’d find at a campsite. Just like look and touch, if it smells like something it used to be, it hasn’t decomposed. Put Their Plants Where Their Compost Is!
Can I just put compost on top of soil?
There are various ways to use your finished compost. You can sprinkle compost on top or mix it into your flower and vegetable beds, gently rake compost into tree beds, blend it with potting soil to revitalize indoor plants, or spread it on top of the soil on your lawn as a soil amendment. Use several types of organic matter for best results. The more you incorporate different ingredients, the more nutritious your compost will be! Larger quantities: dried grass clippings, leaves, veggie & fruit scraps, tea bags, shredded newspaper, straw, poultry manure.The key to good compost lies in getting the mix right. You need to keep your ‘greens’ and ‘browns’ properly balanced. If your compost is too wet, add more ‘browns’. If it’s too dry, add some ‘greens’.Multi-purpose compost, also referred to as ‘all purpose’ or ‘universal’, is suitable for many planting jobs in the garden, and contains varying levels of feed that will feed plants from five weeks up to six months. It’s available in organic and enriched varieties, and comes in all different sizes.Mixing compost with topsoil is an excellent way to enrich vegetable patches by adding essential nutrients and improving soil stability. For optimal results, use a 1:2 ratio of compost to topsoil, ensuring the soil depth is at least 12 inches.Compost is also much richer in nutrients than topsoil, making it an ideal supplement for soil that is lacking in nutrients. Another difference between compost and topsoil is their use. Compost is most commonly used as a soil amendment, which means it is added to existing soil to improve its fertility and structure.
Can I add compost in the fall?
A lot of growers choose to add compost in the fall because the soil is dryer and easier to work with, and because generally in the growing world the end of the season is a less hectic time than when you’re just getting started in spring. Early autumn is one of the best times of the year for spreading compost. Compost can be spread anytime during the growing season (mid-March to mid-October), but in the fall the soils are warm and grass plants are set for another growth spurt once cooler temps and more rain set in.While spring and fall are the most common times to add compost, applying a light layer of compost in mid-summer can benefit actively growing plants. If you notice your plants need a nutrient boost, especially after heavy rains or during intense growing periods, compost can help.Compost keeps the soil healthy, which means plants will likely thrive in your garden without any additions. The downside is that compost releases nutrients slowly over time, while chemical fertilizer provides a boost and accelerates growth in a short period.If too much compost is added to the soil, nutrients including phosphorus and potassium can leach past the root zone and move beyond your garden. The nutrients may leach into surface and ground water. Nutrients in surface water support algae growth and low-oxygen water.