Are you starting a new organic garden, but you don't have a compost pile ready to use to amend your soil? You can now buy organic compost from most lawn and garden stores. But buyer beware. Buying the proper soil is tricky, especially if you have never had a compost pile of your own for comparison. Knowing a few things about what compost is and how it is created will help you in your search.
Compost is made of a combination of essentially four things: carbon, nitrogen, water, and oxygen. In the proper combinations, naturally occurring aerobic bacteria will break these sources down into what is commonly called compost. The process is deceptively simple. Mix your carbon and nitrogen sources, add water, and turn your pile regularly. After a certain amount of time, you end up with compost. Now that you know the basics of creating compost, here are a few things to look for when you purchase bagged compost.
Hopefully, there are samples of the different products available. Using basic gardening sense, and a little help from your nose and eyes, you can usually gauge the quality of the compost.
Fully processed compost should smell sweet, not like sulfur or ammonia. A bag that smells unhealthy probably is. Remember though, that some great additions to compost are manure and worm castings, and these smells are ok. Typically, darker colored, fine grained compost is better. This indicates a good mix of organic material and that the original wood chips, grass clippings, and other items have been processed thoroughly.
A light colored mixture may contain fillers, and your quality level will drop according to how much filler is added. Also check for the presence of earthworms. A healthy earthworm population in your purchased compost will translate into a great benefit for the plants in your garden, as earthworms naturally aerate the soil, break down larger materials, and leave you rich worm castings. Every organic gardener knows that the presence of these creatures is incredibly important for the success of your garden.
Remember that creating quality compost, either commercially or in your own backyard is a science. Composting requires several elemental materials in the proper amounts working together for the proper amount of time. If something seems off about a bag of compost, it could indicate an improper mix of materials, too much or too little water during processing, not enough mixing, or not enough time given to the bacteria and microbes to completely break down the individual parts.
Buying quality compost is an investment in your garden. One great thing about organic gardening is that every year your garden requires less and less input from you. After the first initial investment, you will probably have enough time to create your own compost for next season. Thus, the final thing you should consider is cost. After all, high grade compost is really worth the price.
Sarah E. Harris
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