I too plan to use compost over 8 or 10 sheets of newsprint to mulch my intire veg garden in '09. I'm presently having such a bountiful harvest of okra, tomatos, potatoes and cucs using newsprint under old pine straw from my other plant beds along with dried leaves and grass clippings. This inspite of ongoing severe heat and lack of rain in Ga. I figure using compost as mulch can only improve results so I am presently filling 4 0r 5 bins looking forward to spring of '09. I may not have enough time to come up with finished compost but inview of of my success this year, Im sure partially composted materials will also give good results. I would appreciate hearing from those readers who may be using this approach.

Larry

I use compost as mulch all the time. I dug a lot of compost into the soil when I established the beds, but now I just use it on top. Yes, as long as you put on a minimum of 3-4", it holds in moisture and keeps down weeds just like any other mulch. It also helps prevent compaction from winter rains. It isn't nearly as durable as a mulch like cedar chips, but it feeds the soil. The worms till it into the soil for me, so my soil stays rich and fluffy even though I don't turn it much.

I mulch throughout the year whenever I have the time or when I need to start a new a compost bin or the mulch has worn away or a bed has been disturbed, like when I divide or move plants around. I probably mulch each bed twice a year.

I make my own compost and I buy it. My homemade mulch is sometimes a bit chunky, but it works just fine. It actually may last longer, but it doesn't look quite as nice and I sometimes have a few seeds sprout that have survived my composting. I usually use it in my vegie garden or some out of the way place.

I would certainly recommend compost as a mulch.

People often wait until after all the harvest is in, or even until spring, and then cover their garden with compost and till it in, an extremely large waste of time and energy. If you put compost down on the soil, like a mulch, the soil bacteria will move that compost into your soil for you, slower than you would but they will do a much better job of mixing the compost in. One problem happens when compost is used as a mulch and that is it can dry out and when that happens the bacteria stop working, so better would be to put that compost down as part of your mulch and cover it with more mulch to help hold that moisture in.