Why not check out the many discussions on this over on the Soil, Compost & Mulch forum here. ;)

Dave

Sorry. I forgot to include the link.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Soil, Compost & Mulch forum

"Isn't compost essentially perfect top soil?"
No. Compost is broken down organic matter (weeds, grass clippings, potato peels, leaves, manure, etc.). Topsoil is mostly sand, clay, rocks, gravel, silt, etc. ~ whatever is native to your area ~ mixed in with some organic matter (sometimes very little).

"So is compost an effective weed barrier?" It is for me. I mostly use properly composted (hot composted) compost, so the weed seeds have been killed. I spread it on an inch or two thick and it sure seems to keep the weeds down ~ that plus intensive planting.

"And if not, as you make compost during the summer months, how do you store it until you are ready to prepare beds again or are ready to spread it out?" I just store it in the pile it composts in.

Red mulch worked best for me. Black was horrible. It dried out the soil underneath too quick and produced way too much heat for plants in summer. Never tried brown but I like the red.

You can treat compost like topsoil. You can grow in 100% compost.

As for being a weeds barrier, it isn't really. If you bury a weed under enough of anything, including soil, it will suffocate it. Once a seed makes a home at the surface, it will germinate and grow like gangbusters. Anything that seeds will not easily start in is a more effective mulch. Nobody starts seeds in straw or mulch.

As for storing compost - we just replace the pot pouri with it and give the house a fresh, earthy fragrance.

Thanks very much everyone. That's what I thought, any seeds flying into compost wold grow like crazy. Just have to remove the mulch, spread the compost and remulch. K.