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Covid 19 has limited my access to some garden supplies. I usually add compost, but this year I experimented with 3 kinds of organic composts and mixes and had one section in Miracle grow potting mix as a control . The MG section did the best. The first crops were o.k., but the second crops without additional amendments were a lot smaller. I did not supplement any more fertilizer than I usually do. I primarily only side dress with sulfate of ammonia in the main garden. I have to use complet fertilizer in pots.

It is time for me to take amend my garden for the fall. I have these things on hand and I want to know if any of you have tried it.

1. Steer manure - I have used it in the past but only as a component not as the only amendment.

2. MG garden soil. My first time using this. It looks like it has a lot of forest products. Have you tried it and how well does it work?

3. MG potting soil- I know this does work, but I usually reserve this for pots and not for the main garden.

I only do vermicomposting and some trench composting so it is not practical for me to make my own compost. I usually buy bagged compost because it is less likely to contain weed seeds and it is fine and finished. The local green compost, does have nut sedge and might have herbicides which will survive composting and the pH is very high 8.13 at the last analysis, so I don't like to use it.

These products are available, but I will have to wait for them to become available. There is not a steady supply of any of these.

Kellogs Garden Soil
Amend
Topper
MG Garden soil
Nature made Garden soil.
MG Organic compost (new product)
Steer manure
Chicken manure
Alfafa pellets (not composted)
Horse manure (will probably contain wormers

I can do buckwheat and cowpeas, but I rather have a productive garden all year. Trench composting also takes 5-6 months to be plantable unless I supplement with additional nitrogen and the ground sinks which delays planting times.

Peat moss is not a problem, but I have had issues adding manures and composts. Too much manure and I will have germination issues so I cannot add more than an inch. Commercial composts have forest products as a main component. Forest products in an organic product does not have wetting agents and has caused problems with drying out and plants don't like it as much as peat moss for growing over all.

When you add organic matter to the garden, how much do you add? How much manure can you add to 100 sq ft?

If you are adding compost, do you supplement with fertilizer? What kind and how much per 100 sq ft?

My garden is too big 8x16 for a central composting basket, but do you think it might still be worth trying?

MG is about the only thing I use. It's high in fertilize, but unless it's OMRI listed I think the majority of it is chemical stuff. I'm having trouble finding MG soil around here, people are grabbing it all up.

Peat moss sucks, it just dries up I don't like the stuff whatsoever.

I like to add Scott's humus and manure to inground plantings. Espoma Tomato Tone or Vegetable Tone is VERY good, is organic, and have no complaints on it. Usually what I do is dump some in a hole prior to planting a transplant and the transplant is quite satisfied with it.

MG potting soil is not OMRI listed. MG performance organics appears to be listed. Perlite is NOP allowed.

Organic peat moss does not contain wetting agents, it is hard to use and it does dry up. The non-organic Peat moss that has had lime added to raise the pH to about 6.0 and wetting agents is much better. It also depends on the brand. Some brands have more rubbish and are inferior.

I have tried epsoma fertilizers. They are o.k. but not a good source of fast nitrogen.

I actually don't need OMRI listed. I am not fully organic. I do add organic matter, but I also use synthetic fertilizer and seeds can be organic, conventional, and papaya are usually GMO.

When you use manure how much do you apply in a 100 sq foot area? I have burned a few plants with this.

Soils, cinder, perlite, vermiculite, rooting hormone are in and out of stock. Soils usually only stick around for an average of 4 days. Rooting hormone was off the shelf for about 2-3 months but it took less than a weelk to run out. Seed racks have been refilled a couple of times, but there are a lot of empty slots for some vegetables.

I can do some green manures but it means giving up space for them.