go for it!

Don't know for sure but I would bet that 2 acres of such poor soil could withstand a lot of compost before you hit the point of overkill. There might be other things you can try while the compost is being made such as planting cover crops with deep penetrating roots.

If the compost is finished, I don't see any problems with it. I've got a finished compost pile at the back of my yard and any seed that hits it grows. I was seeding grass around it and bang, I had grass growing over a mound. I turned that over. Then I put some more food scraps on top and next thing you know I had green onions growing. I turned that over too.

Now if it were me, I'd put down as much compost as I could get my hand on, even if it's not completely finished. Then I'd get me a tractor or a skidsteer to just mix it into whats there to get a base.

You'd be surprised how well some things will grow in even pure clay. The trick is to get them (grass, plants or whatever) to get their roots down.

While there can be too much organic matter applied to soil, and that is evident in bogs, fens, and swamps for most of us the problem is not getting too much into the soil but never getting enough. The only way adding too much compost to soil would be a problem is if you made enough each year to put down several feet at one time. What you want to aim for is a residual humus level of 5 to 8 percent and that is difficult to maintain for most people.

joe, you said it. it's really hard for the roots to penetrate....as far as plants go i don't usually have a problem because i use a top soil and potting mix to mix into the site of planting....
the grass is the problem: it gets very hot n dry during the summer and i feel like the roots aren't deep enough to be protected from the heat, and are being stunted, and also the packing soil is hard to water, so you can see my goal is mostly to loosen up the soil, as well as improve quality.

oh and by the way, i'm not gonna compost the whole 2 acres, just the 1 around the house.

but this will be a good fix?

what about adding a lil sand to the ground as i do this....do you think that adding a lil sand to the ground will bring it to a more loam like structure? or will the compost do enough?

I always kinda wondered why mass crops of long carrots, radish, daikon radish, etc. weren't planted and then tilled under. I'm curious, why do 'green covers' like say a clover, do better with roots then root veggies? This is probably one of those no-brainer questions I just don't know the answer to. There are lots of those. ;-) PJ

Some people do advocate root crops for soil improvement but if you want a mass of organic matter then the grains usually suggested simply produce more of that then the root crops will. The grains crops usually used also do a better job of covering the soil and reducing soil erosion than the root crops will.

by grain crops you mean somethine like rye?

Cereal Rye is one of the grains used for soil improvement and to prevent erosion (or just to have something to grow in winter). I used it to good effect to hold a steep slope together over the winter and then planted with permanent native grass the following spring. I used it on a few other applications as well but also related more to preventing erosion than improving soil structure or increasing organic matter content. Cut it down before it goes to seed unless you want it again. The dead roots should help a little with your soil structure.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cereal Rye info

I don't think you could put too much down. The only thing I would be concerned about with a huge amount of unfinished compost is the fire hazard risk if you had a really dry spell, hot temps, and hot compost. But this would require so many "perfect storm" variables that I don't think it would be a problem. And this is all negated if you put the compost down NOW. You'll have several months of cool or freezing temps that will help crack the soil and let some of the OM work into it.

I don't think sand is worth the effort since you're not actually tilling the soil. The compost doing its thing should prep the ground adequately for a fall seeding (or possibly even a late spring warm-grass seeding).

Sounds like the perfect project for a photo diary that many of us would be interested in seeing the transformation from barren landscape to lush lawn/garden.

Around my farm folks plant fall turnips to A) attract deer and B) to loosen the spring soil.

PJ the reason it is best to use vetch or peas and a few oats or wheaat is in a cover crop of greens you get a high percentage of nitrogen per acre than with other plants. You can even anoculate the seeds and they will grow good root nodes or good nimatoods on the roots and add even more nitrogen than normal and it is all a natural product.
I have planted clover and vetch with some wheat so the vetch will grow up on the wheat and then in spring till it all under in the soil. It's like feeding the soil before you plant. You could use carrots and radishes but they will take longer to break down in the soil but the leaves would break down fast. Carrot seeds would be exspsensive to plant in a large area and they grow slower also. Where as a mix of peas, beans, wheat, vetch and grain would be cheaper. Peas and vetch are exspensive too but you could still get a large amount as the seed for cover crops will not be as good of quality as you would get in a grocery store.

As far as too much compost, I think if you worked it in the soil one foot would not be too much. I have brought in 10 cubic yards for a garden 100 feet by 40 feet and it was not enough. Compost if tilled in the soil will eventually return to dirt. You have to keep adding compost if you till the soil. If you leave some compost on top of the soil this will be better and just keep putting new compost on top. Just like what you see in the mountain forest. The nutrients will go down to the roots with rain and the worms will also be adding air and moving nutrients around.
I have 25 fruit trees and worked a lot of compost in the soil when I planted each of them and now I have leaves,grass, coffee grounds and compost on top of the soil around the trees keeping the trunk free of compost and leaves. It looks messy at times but once I put a fresh layer on top it tends to look OK again. It looks like I am lazy and don't want to rake the leaves, but I work at putting more under the trees now with grass and compost ect.
Bill C

good idea enigma. another question, having really really heavy clay soil, if i did til it in, would worms grace me w/ presence? or would it be okay to leave it on top and attract them.......i planned on leaving it on top anyway, cuz im too lazy to till.....

oh, here's a big question:

what if i sowed grass seed.....and instead of covering it up w/ straw or what ever....covered it w/ a light layer of compost???????????