Ready made compost
I have no place to compost. This is probably a silly question, but can you buy bagged compost? And if so, how do you judge quality?
Ready made compost is available at many places. Most of the time they won't let you open the bags but the compost made from by products of lumber mills have a high carbon content. Compost made from green waste facilities are o.k. but since you don't know what homeowners throw into it, it may contain some other stuff that isn't tested for like chemical residues and heavy metals. Sometimes weed seeds like nut sedge will survive composting.
If you can look at the bagged compost, it should smell earthy, be fine and not have large pieces or twigs in it, It is usually dark. If you can still make out the orginal materrial it came from like wood shavings or twigs, or if there is fungus or bacteria still growing in it, it needed a little more time. If it is still steaming, when you get a truckload of it, then well it really needed more time. Some companies add lime to their product or manure so read the label. The green waste company here posts the analysis of their product on their website. You may be able to look up a company's product and get information on the source material and analysis if it is available.
The composts I like best are Gardener and Bloom and Black Gold. They are more pricey than the cheaper stuff, but I have not had problems with them.
I don't have space for a compost pile either, and besides I don't like the vermin they attract. I do worm composting instead. I don't have a lot of browns and greens are feast or famine. But the worms are in an 18 gallon rubbermaid tub in my garage and I feed them once a week. They get a lot of kale and bitter melon leaves because if I don't have enough kitchen waste, then I have to raid the yard for a pound of greens. The bin still has vermin. Mostly roaches and even the geckos get in, but so far the ants have stayed away. I have to evict the roaches regularly. I have done bag composting, it doesn't make much but it is easier to turn and no weeds grow in it. It still collects vermin mostly ants and roaches. I don't have centipedes at my house. At the community garden I do cold composting, and there are centipedes in the piles and in the mulch.Weeds will grown in an on my compost all of the time. I even had a branch from my bougainvillea that was at least 5 inches in diameter root in the pile.
If you need a lot of compost then getting it by the truckload is a lot cheaper. If you pick it up yourself even more so since the delivery charge is usually more than the cost of the compost. If you can find a bulk compost supplier near you that would be the most economical.
If you can look at the bagged compost, it should smell earthy, be fine and not have large pieces or twigs in it, It is usually dark. If you can still make out the orginal materrial it came from like wood shavings or twigs, or if there is fungus or bacteria still growing in it, it needed a little more time. If it is still steaming, when you get a truckload of it, then well it really needed more time. Some companies add lime to their product or manure so read the label. The green waste company here posts the analysis of their product on their website. You may be able to look up a company's product and get information on the source material and analysis if it is available.
The composts I like best are Gardener and Bloom and Black Gold. They are more pricey than the cheaper stuff, but I have not had problems with them.
I don't have space for a compost pile either, and besides I don't like the vermin they attract. I do worm composting instead. I don't have a lot of browns and greens are feast or famine. But the worms are in an 18 gallon rubbermaid tub in my garage and I feed them once a week. They get a lot of kale and bitter melon leaves because if I don't have enough kitchen waste, then I have to raid the yard for a pound of greens. The bin still has vermin. Mostly roaches and even the geckos get in, but so far the ants have stayed away. I have to evict the roaches regularly. I have done bag composting, it doesn't make much but it is easier to turn and no weeds grow in it. It still collects vermin mostly ants and roaches. I don't have centipedes at my house. At the community garden I do cold composting, and there are centipedes in the piles and in the mulch.Weeds will grown in an on my compost all of the time. I even had a branch from my bougainvillea that was at least 5 inches in diameter root in the pile.
If you need a lot of compost then getting it by the truckload is a lot cheaper. If you pick it up yourself even more so since the delivery charge is usually more than the cost of the compost. If you can find a bulk compost supplier near you that would be the most economical.
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applestar
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Where do you live? I think where the compost is produced relative to your location is a factor mostly because of the shipping involved. Also no matter how good they are originally, if the bags are stored in adverse conditions during shipping and storage as well as display at the store, the living organisms (microbes, cultures and enzymes) will die off and you may end up with expensive bags of dead organic matter or even bad rather than good organisms still surviving in the bag. They will still benefit your garden as organic matter, but not as live compost full of beneficial organisms and enzymes, and you certainly don't want to make compost tea from them.
I've noticed that better, more knowledgeable garden centers will keep the bags out of the worst of the weather -- out of direct sun and rain... and in open pallets -- not wrapped and smothered. I believe bagged compost is often pasteurized so they are likely to already have diminished activity than fresh or bulk compost that is regularly turned and have good turnover where it is being sold.
I've noticed that better, more knowledgeable garden centers will keep the bags out of the worst of the weather -- out of direct sun and rain... and in open pallets -- not wrapped and smothered. I believe bagged compost is often pasteurized so they are likely to already have diminished activity than fresh or bulk compost that is regularly turned and have good turnover where it is being sold.
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rainbowgardener
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I never heard of bulk "unbagged" compost being sold, though that doesn't mean there aren't places that do it. Many stables/ horse farms etc, will give away as much composted manure as you want if you will pick it up. Just be sure it is well aged, composted (should look like very dark soft dirt and have no smell).
As imafan notes, worm composting can be done in very limited space and even indoors. And worm castings make a very rich soil amendment. If you have any space, composting doesn't have to take up much. This compost bin is only 30" on a side:
https://media.eartheasy.com/media/catalo ... theasy.jpg
very unobtrusive in the landscape and easy.
Imafan has more of a problem with critters, being in tropical Hawaii. It is not so much an issue for a lot of the rest of us. There will always be a few detritovores around that are part of the process of breaking things down. For me that includes earthworms, cockroaches, pillbugs, black soldier fly larvae. But except for the earthworms (which are valuable for your garden), there's not a lot of anything. If you have an infestation of roaches or anything, it is usually a sign that something isn't working right, your pile is staying too wet, things aren't decomposing as they should, etc.
I always encourage people to compost if at all possible - not only is homemade compost the best thing for your garden, but it keeps all that stuff (food waste, garden waste) out of the landfills. Waste nothing!!
As imafan notes, worm composting can be done in very limited space and even indoors. And worm castings make a very rich soil amendment. If you have any space, composting doesn't have to take up much. This compost bin is only 30" on a side:
https://media.eartheasy.com/media/catalo ... theasy.jpg
very unobtrusive in the landscape and easy.
Imafan has more of a problem with critters, being in tropical Hawaii. It is not so much an issue for a lot of the rest of us. There will always be a few detritovores around that are part of the process of breaking things down. For me that includes earthworms, cockroaches, pillbugs, black soldier fly larvae. But except for the earthworms (which are valuable for your garden), there's not a lot of anything. If you have an infestation of roaches or anything, it is usually a sign that something isn't working right, your pile is staying too wet, things aren't decomposing as they should, etc.
I always encourage people to compost if at all possible - not only is homemade compost the best thing for your garden, but it keeps all that stuff (food waste, garden waste) out of the landfills. Waste nothing!!
Hi! I am sure there is the way for you to make and get your own compost. There are special sets that are specially made for people who don't have sufficient space for compost pile. https://www.organko.com/
I am not posting that link as a commercial but because I personally know it and it is available in my country. The compost made that way is very quickly (in few weeks from kitchen leftoff) produced and by the method of bokashi composting it is practically odorless and therefore suitable for indoor use.
There is also a side product (liquid) which is very nutritional and may be used in garden or in household many different ways. If interested you can read more about bokashi composting on the web if you don't know it yet.
I am not posting that link as a commercial but because I personally know it and it is available in my country. The compost made that way is very quickly (in few weeks from kitchen leftoff) produced and by the method of bokashi composting it is practically odorless and therefore suitable for indoor use.
There is also a side product (liquid) which is very nutritional and may be used in garden or in household many different ways. If interested you can read more about bokashi composting on the web if you don't know it yet.
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rainbowgardener
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You can buy worm castings, but the same cautions apply re bagged stuff. But I was thinking about having your own worm composting bin (tote) as another way to keep from wasting at least some of your kitchen scraps, turn them into valuable stuff for your garden, that can be done in almost no space (ordinary storage tote) and indoors if you want. Your worms should turn kitchen scraps and fall leaves/ shredded paper into worm castings in a couple months.
Search in the Composting Forum for threads on worm composting/ vermicompost. Here's one to get you started:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... 35&t=57370
In my climate composting shuts down for the winter and nothing happens, so starting now I wouldn't have any compost until April-May. If it stays warm enough all winter for it to keep composting, you could have some finished compost from a bin in 3-4 months, depending on your mix, the temps, whether you turn it much, etc. Again browse in Composting Forum, tons of info there.
Search in the Composting Forum for threads on worm composting/ vermicompost. Here's one to get you started:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... 35&t=57370
In my climate composting shuts down for the winter and nothing happens, so starting now I wouldn't have any compost until April-May. If it stays warm enough all winter for it to keep composting, you could have some finished compost from a bin in 3-4 months, depending on your mix, the temps, whether you turn it much, etc. Again browse in Composting Forum, tons of info there.
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JC's Garden
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- Location: Moultrie, GA Planting Zone 8, Sunset Zone 31
I'm 62 yo and have been composting as long as I can remember. Sometimes demand exceeds supply and I head for the garden center. I've learned the hard way not to buy just anything. I've never had a problem with any brand of mushroom compost but I do find it lacking as far as a well rounded compost goes. I like to use a manure product with it, bunny berries (rabbit manure from friends) or Black Kow brand cow manure. I will pick up weeds from bunny berries but not from Black Kow. I have bought brand 'X' compost and picked up way too many weeds. Not all companies use good composting procedures.
Mushroom compost is alkaline. So is chicken manure. If you have acidc soil no problem, but should probably not be used if the soil is alkaline.
Animal manures should be well composted or at the minimum aged for at least 120 days before harvesting. You only need a thing layer of manure.
There are other ways to compost. You could grow a green manure like buckwheat, rye, sun hemp, cowpeas, hairy vetch, etc and they will add biomass when tilled back in. The legumes if they make adequate root nodules will also add some slow nitrogen for the next crop.
https://www.organicgardening.com/learn-a ... s?page=0,1
Animal manures should be well composted or at the minimum aged for at least 120 days before harvesting. You only need a thing layer of manure.
There are other ways to compost. You could grow a green manure like buckwheat, rye, sun hemp, cowpeas, hairy vetch, etc and they will add biomass when tilled back in. The legumes if they make adequate root nodules will also add some slow nitrogen for the next crop.
https://www.organicgardening.com/learn-a ... s?page=0,1
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rainbowgardener
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Yeah, the horse manure is not good on/in the soil at least until it is well aged, and even then too much can be bad. But it is great in the compost pile, mixed with a bunch of "browns" (dry, hard, carbon rich stuff like shredded paper, fall leaves, corn stalks, etc). Despite the color, manure is a "green" (soft, moist, nitrogen rich).
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toxcrusadr
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I noticed someone posted that mushroom and chicken manure compost is alkaline. This was the first I had heard of this so I did a little searching. Very little mind you, but: neither one is consistently alkaline. Now, some manures are alkaline because farmers use lime in the facilities to cut down the odor. Horse manure is notorious for this. But it's not universally done and in fact I haven't actually heard of lime used in chicken houses. As for mushroom compost, there were varied reports on the web as well. Search "pH of ____ compost" and you'll see. If someone says 'it's alkaline' I don't give that as many points as "it typically measures in the 6.5 - 8.0 range" because that's at least more specific. It may still be hearsay, I suppose.
One thing to keep in mind is that the composting process tends to bring materials toward neutral. Even if fresh chicken manure is alkaline (I don't know that it is), when mixed with browns and composted, the resulting compost may not be.
One thing to keep in mind is that the composting process tends to bring materials toward neutral. Even if fresh chicken manure is alkaline (I don't know that it is), when mixed with browns and composted, the resulting compost may not be.