Because finished compost does not burn plant roots, large quantities of compost can be applied to the soil at any time. Here are a few ways you can use your finished compost:

Using Finished Compost For Soil Improvement:

• Try digging several inches of finished compost into a flower bed or vegetable garden before planting. How much you use will depend on how much you have available: the soil can use it all.

• You can also give trees, shrubs, and nursery seedlings a good start by planting them in half-and-half soil and compost.

• New lawns will develop healthy roots to keep them green if compost is dug into the soil before the grass seed is applied. When an established lawn suffers winter-kill, working some compost into the bald spots before seeding again is another good idea.

Using Finished Compost For Top Dressing:

• Treating lawns with a half-inch of compost serves as a very effective feeding when the ground has dried in the spring. By sifting the compost first, you can remove any unattractive large pieces or materials that may not be fully decomposed.

Using Finished Compost For Side Dressing:

• You can also apply compost as a spot fertilizer. Scratch it lightly into the top few inches of soil around the plant that needs a boost, and then water deeply.

My favorite — Using Finished Compost To Make “Compost Tea”:

• Not only is compost tea quite easy to make, it is a neat way to supply compost nutrients to house plants or to spot-fertilize seedlings.

Directions

Soak a burlap bag or old pillowcase of compost in a pail of water until the liquid is tea-colored. Another choice is to stir one part compost into three parts water and pour off the “tea”.

• Using this liquid “compost tea” to water plants makes a difference, particularly in the middle of the warm growing season.

Using Finished Compost As Mulch:

• Mulching should be done late in the spring when the ground is thoroughly warmed, but before summer’s heat to conserve moisture.

• Spread several inches of compost on top of the soil around trees and shrubs, from near the base of the trunk out to the dripline.

• To keep roots cool and to discourage weeds, you can also mulch around vegetables and flowers as soon as the plants are several inches high.

Using Finished Compost as Potting Soil:

• House plants, window boxes, and hanging baskets will all benefit from a potting soil mixed with sifted compost.

• Compost alone can be used for growing vegetables in containers and for starting plants from seed

Note: For indoor use, you may want to sterilize compost in the oven for an hour at 95 degrees Celsius (200 degrees F.) — but don’t be alarmed by the (temporary) strong smell.

As you can see, finished compost can be used everywhere and anywhere soil is needed. With this finished compost you can add nutrients and organic matter to the soil, improve its texture and increase its ability to hold air and water. Mmmm! Smell this beautiful aroma of brand new compost! Nothing like it!

If you have never done any composting, you are probably asking yourself: ” What are the most popular compost containers garderners use to make this hot composting?”

For the answer to this question, keep checking this blog as I go through the various compost containers and other ways to compost.

See you in the next post.

“Working together to make a difference in our food and environment.”

Be healthy! Stay healthy!

Marcie

“I have never seen such a gorgeous tree in my entire life. If I had the money i would plant a trillion trees!!!!” says Abbey from San Diego, California. Discover the beautiful Autumn Blooming Cherry Tree which will make you the envy of your neighbors.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, August 16th, 2007 at 2:56 pm and is filed under Using Finished Compost, Hot Composting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.