Tell Me All About Compost :-)

My state sells an excellent compost made from leaf and yard waste, available at all our local stores. I apply that to all the garden beds each spring, 2-3 inches deep and turn it into the soil. I also add organic fertilizer based on the type of plant. In addition I incorporate alfalfa into all the planting areas. It is supposed to contain some compounds that promote plant growth and it is easily and cheaply available at farm supply stores or on chewy.com.

 

I use organic cow dung manure from home depot. I usually add manure when I prepare the raised vegetables garden in spring. Also use fish fertilizer ( also from home depot) for plants loving acidic soils. Otherwise I use miracle grow slow release one and fertilizer once in a while. Also add kitchen vegetable waste to the garden.

 

I like Espoma and Down to Earth fertilizers, but you might be able to find other brands locally. If your beds are ready or already planted it might not be such an ordeal to spread bulk mulch or compost. The two of us did 6 yards over one day. But it is much easier to work with bagged materials that you can spread at your convenience. After that first time with the bulk product I only have bags delivered now from a landscape supply shop.

 

A few random thoughts:
1. Chicken compost that cheap is mixed with lot of additives.
2. I dont add any fertilizers, compost from variety of materials. Looks for specialized stores for this outside of homedepot/lowes/ace. The more diverse the compost source, the better.
3. Home made compost can be achieved in 6 to 8 weeks. Dig a hole in the yard, dump your compostable vegetable scrapes and leaves etc. Mix it once in a while. The temparature and the microbes from the soil is the fastest way to break down and compost.
4. Earthworm castings are awesome. Like you said it is super expensive. But it is meant to be used sporadically. More than the nutrients from it, earthworms are produced from these compost which helps the soil quality which in turn increases the nutrients. You can also buy earthworms and directly add to the soil but they are expensive as well, but worth it. You can also add some of the worm casting or other composts to your home made compost pile which helps in speeding up composting and nutrients in them.

 

If you are in the mid-Atlantic: Delaware, parts of NY, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, WV and parts of NC then Leafgro is an excellent compost manufactured by the Maryland Environmental Service and sold at home improvement stores and garden centers.

 

I don not know if I am doing it wrong. Beginning of spring I had a pot full of kitchen veg scraps and I added water and mixed in between every 2-3 days, smelled bad but I used it in garden bed and it was great. Then I drilled a few holes in a tall trash can and has been collection kitchen scraps ever since. Does anyone do this way?

 

I used horse manure which got from local horse farm and it slowly broken down and converted into compost and also has lot of earthworm castings which got tripled with the above manure over the past year!! I do use organic herbs manure/epsom salt/ organic liquid manure from costco/egg shells powder from kitchen/coffee or tea grounds/rice water/thin buttermilk water/ soaked banana peel liquid every 15days just alternate between all the above!!