I think the reason for the five different types is to insure that you don't get 100% of one thing to the detriminent of the other nuturients. I was lucky that the compost I got was a conglomeration of a minimum of 7 types of stuff. I think the concept of multiple types of compost is a good investment. I'd be worried about a compost that was mostly manure.

That said, maybe you could look into lasagna gardening and use your compost as an integral part of it. I haven't gone into it because I just did straight Mel's Mix. But I know lasagna gardening is an effective method and you may be well off doing it.

Good luck!

I'm curious about this as well. I can get a truck load of the free municipal compost from the local landfill. You'd think that it would have a good mix of material since it is a conglomerate of yard waste both from curbside greenery pickup as well as bulk drop offs from people like landscapers.

As far as the original question goes I would expect the primarily horse-manure compost to be short on those nutrients that aren't nitrogen (P (phosphorus) & K (Potassium)). This would probably leave you with problems like the ones I had last year, when my root crops (radishes and carrots) grew poorly due to a probably lack of phosphorus. This was after I used a blend of composts, including a marine derived one which hopefully provide other nutrients like Calcium from various shells. I guess that what I am driving at is that single source compost, even of good quality will leave you not only having to fertilize, but with garden that is short on fundamental nutrients that would be in your local soil to greater or lesser extent, and which won't be in many commercial fertilizer preparations at all.

My own experience has taught me that even blended compost won't be perfect. I would try to find at least one other type of compost. I also had some luck finding blended, bagged composts at my local garden and home improvement centers.

I guess my own feeling and experience would be that, by using one kind of compost (and let me say that I would be extremely grateful for a free source of horse-manure compost in my area...) you will sacrifice convenience and ease of square foot gardening, and success with your plants by not having the blend of nutrients provided by mixed compost. (I've put a link with information about the nutrients plants need/use below.)

Then there is chudak's question, to which I would say that the municipal compost will be more "diverse," but that diversity is likely to include a remarkable selection of pesticides and herbicides, especially if there are major contributions from landscapers, it will also probably be short on the high-nitrogen ingredients like manure). That said, I would not hesitate to use it for my lawn or even for flower beds, but I would not grow vegetables in it if I had plans to feed them to myself or anyone else.

Certainly it cost me some time and money to drive around a bit and buy different types of compost, but I was so happy with my results, compared both with conventional gardening and my previous, long ago, experiences of SFG in my native soil without raised beds. (In the first version of the book Mel spends many pages on amending your soil, and a special recipe for fertilizer.) The raised beds and the Mel's mix, made as per the directions have saved me so much time and energy, and given me so many more vegetables, that I really feel that the initial investment of time and money payed for itself, especially considering that without doing the prep in the spring I would have had no home grown anything over the course of the summer, as time became much tighter and life much busier.

Here is a link that might be useful: Information about plant nutrients.

I found 4 types of compost at Lowe's and 1 at an Ace, it was pretty easy. Plus it is all premeasured, no guessing on how much you are using.

Go for the cheap and easy -- it will work fine the first year, and even better the second. Compost of whatever kind when mixed with soil will create a new secret world of microcritters, and it is they rather than the compost itself that will form supportive partnerships with plant roots. Do be sure to mix it in, which also introduces air, and your organic fertilizer will need to be thoroughly incorporated as well. Later on, find something biodegradable to use as mulch (like grass clippings), and your garden should grow beautifully.

It sounds like you're good and committed, and that's great. You may be amazed at how much you can grow in a small space. They will be the best fresh veggies you've ever eaten, and you will save lots of money, too.

Here is a link that might be useful: my website

I used compost from a municipal source for my beds, too. I mixed it with my existing soil which seems to be fairly rich in organic matter (this is only our second year in the house). I'm hoping for the best!

I wouldn't worry about how many different composts you're using. My first year I used a big bag bought at a local nursery, vermiculite and some well aged manure courtesy of my mum's old horse. I haven't had a single problem growing with the exception of the deer and the occasional creepy crawly pest. Starting your own compost is one of the most environmentally friendly things you can do and it's so ridiculously easy. You'll get a really diverse mix in the compost and all your waste feeds your garden!I finally got my butt in gear this year, and it's already doing really well.
Steve Solomon is a huge proponent of amending soil regularly and on the cheap. He has some great homemade fertilizer recipes too. I've added a link to the book I'm using. (Just wear a dust mask and goggles- as I was advised by the gardener at the Sooke Harbour House.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Steve Solomon- Gardening When It Counts.

I bought a packaged Kellogg's compost, and it's a blend of several different composts (chicken manure, worm castings, and several other types.) So I figure it'll do the trick.

I did the lasagna gardening last year. This will be my first year of sqft gardening.
The lasagna method worked great last year, so what I am doing is placing the lasagna layers inside the beds to keep things cleaner and prevent weeds/grass from growing up around my plants.
The compost I used was all from cows and I can still get as much as I want for free.
I used the aged composted manure as my bulk and layered with leaves, grass clippings, coffee grounds from the local gas station, peat moss, and anything else I could get my hands on.

The difference will be that as your materials break down into dark rich compost you will need to add more materials or you can purchase your compost mixes a little at a time so your expense is spread out instead of all at once.

I have a wonderful continuous compost bin on the corner of my lawn and I will continue to fill it up and use it. I can't afford to purchase all the different composts and hubby is not really into me spending money on this. So, I work with what I have and last year was a wonderful success.

Items I will pay for this year include: peat moss
rock for under my beds (10.00 for 2 ton around here)
and that is it.
All my lumber and materials for beds I have free from asking for left overs last year when I saw people working on houses/remodeling.

Have fun!
cristi

A great source for free green compost material (i.e. high nitrogen) is your local Starbucks. They have a community program in many areas where they save spent coffee grounds for gardeners. The more I read about coffee as a soil amendment, the more I like the idea. My mom used to toss her coffee grounds out in the garden, no composting. I have been reading that this is a good way to side dress corn during the season. Corn is a notorious nitrogen hog. Low nitrogen is a lot of the reason for stunted corn growth. (Another validation of the three sisters plan since beans are nitrogen "fixers".)

Anyway, you don't have to worry about the coffee grounds being too "hot" and burning your plants like some fresh green compost materials.

If anyone has personal experience composting with coffee, please share.

I can relate to not being able to find a broad selection of different compost types. I found that I could use a little organic fertilizer from "Espoma Company" the general Vegetable fertilizer filled in all the nutrient holes in my Mel's Mix. I know Mel's doesn't like fertilizers, but this is organic and can be very useful, and it provided lots of micro-nutrients that are required.

~C0

Here is a link that might be useful: Pantry Gardener

Lasagna gardening takes too long to get where you want to go. The reason why you want more than just horse or cow manure is that you are really only getting two ingredients when you buy those. One-what the horse/cow ate, adn two-what they were bedded in. That's it. Thats why its preferable to use things like manure, coffee grounds, dried grass, eggshells, pine needles, banana peels, apple peelings, tomato tops, spend produce, twigs(run through a shredder), leaves, etc. Now, you have some serious compost that you will never have to add any store bought fertilizer to when you garden the SFG way. I have never used one fertilizer on my garden in 9 years.

Green devo....hhmmmm...that is a very interesting article you linked to with Steve Solomon. In my experience, the SFG has an easy answer to much that this book talks about. Such as-the need to know the right chemical amounts(PKN)for growing, composting, etc. This is one of the things that gets gardeners frustrated-trying to figure all of that out. He may have a point if were talking about farming practices, but, home gardening is entirely differnt than farming. In the SFG system, you use 3 ingredients that ensure you have the perfect growing medium to start out with. It has been estimated that the average garden in the US has somewhere between 3-5% organic matter in them. With the SFG soil, you have 33%(1/3 of it is compost). So, when you grown things, like marigolds, you dont just get normal marigolds. You get HUGE marigolds. By making your own compost-very easily and done cheaply, you can make better compost than you can buy. Another point the auther makes is water is wasted in "intensive gardening." I would not agree with that. In the SFG, you limit the size of your garden(by 80%), and because of the water retaining properties of the soil(peat moss and vermiculite), this system uses much less water than other gardening systems-maybe as much as 80% less.....just my two cents worth......

Not all compoost is created equal! If there was an area that you could skimp on, it certainly should not be the soil mix. Free compost from municipals not only gives you all the things mentioned above, but, it also gives you a lot of petroleum based products in it as well. And, dont use grass clippings unless they are dried grass clippings. If they are not dried(brown)you will be promotion anaerobic composting, otherwise known as rotting, not decomposing! Spend the money on the good stuff-you won't ever regret doing it!

Thanks for the Starbucks suggestion. I had emailed the company for more information and the following is the email I got this morning...

Thank you for your interest in the Starbucks "Grounds for your Garden" program.
Starbucks is committed to a role of environmental leadership in all facets of our business. For this reason we established the Grounds for your Garden program. Coffee grounds, mixed with other materials, are an excellent source of nutrition for soil.
Also, by giving away used coffee grounds we reduce garbage and contribute to a healthier environment. To see if your location participates in the Grounds for your Garden program, please speak with the store manager.
If you're looking for some helpful hints on how to best use coffee grounds visit us on the web at www.starbucks.com/aboutus/compost.asp.
Thank you for contacting Starbucks Coffee Company.

I called my local store today and turns out they do participate. I swung by this afternoon and was able to pick up some grounds for free. How great! Hope this information helps someone else. Oh, and keep the great suggestions coming!

It was recommended that I mix my Starbucks grounds into my bed to allow them to compost for a month before planting seedlings.

However, for my blueberries, rhodies and azaleas, I just drew a ring around the plants with grounds and watered them in.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sinfonian's garden adventure

My 2 cents on the compost question. Compost isn't a 'complete' source of plant nutrients.

Most farm manures/composts will have a good amount of nitrogen, but most plant based composts will be very low in N. Mushroom compost is an exception.

Municipal composts are popular as they should be since they are generally free or low cost, but most of this compost is yard waste which makes it the low N type.

It's great to stimulate biological activity in the soil, but all the biology in the soil can't make plant nutrients from nothing. The nutrients have to be in the compost before the soil critters can liberate it so our plants can use it.

Do you need 5 sources of compost to have a fertilizer free garden? No, but you probably should have at least one plant based compost and one manure based compost at a minimum to cover all the bases. If you just don't want to do the manure thing then use mushroom compost as one source and any other source for the second.

Lastly, there is no harm in using fertilizers if you see a nutrient deficiency in your plants. There are a wealth of organic and synthetic sources, whichever you prefer.

The best would of course be 1/3 compost, 1/3 vermiculite and 1/3 peat moss, aka Mel's Mix, but you can mix topsoil with compost if you want. It just won't drain as well or retain moisture, unless you consider mud retaining moisture. hehe

I agree with sinforin, and I would go as far as to say that whatever you do, you probably do not want to bring any of your local "dirt" into the raised bed. The compost will almost certainly be better, if you want to add just one other thing I would say that vermiculite will have the best immediate and long lasting effects on the water holding qualities of your garden soil. Peat moss will also make it better but it would clearly fall third on my list of importance. (By which I mean that I would advise a mixture of 2/3 compost and 1/3 vermiculite over a mixture of 2/3 compost and 1/3 peat moss.)

Hmm, doesn't peat moss bring more to the table than just moisture retention and drainage (the very properties of vermiculite)? I thought it provided nutrients. Not sure. That said, there's a reason Mel determined the 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 mix, but if you can't get an ingredient or can't afford it, then 2/3 compost is a good alternative.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sinfonian's garden adventure

Hey There from a newbie on this forum

In our area we have had a continuing problem with the county-wide compost/yard trimmings recycling being contaminated with noxious plants such as fireweed and Bermuda grass.

I have become very careful about where I get compost. I have now built my own composting system.

Hello all, I am starting my first sfg. (2/4x4) I have 3.8 cf peat moss,4cf vermiculite,dairy cow manure compost,chicken manure compost,cotton hull compost and mushroom compost this is all that I could find in my area.
My question is:I know that I dont have quite enough peat and vermiculite to make up a third for each box,could I just make up the difference with more compost? My beds will be raised about 30" with a bottom. soil mix will be 6"
will this work? Also the mushroom compost that i bought has heavy chunks in it. right now it is in trash bags in the garage should I dump it out so that maybe it could dry out some or should I leave it in the bags and let it cook some?

Beware of kellogg compost and other commercial mixes. I got a kellogg peat moss compost mix from home depot and nothing would grow in it. Well it turns out the "organic" compost is made from sludge and industrial wastes!

Heavy metals and pathogens are the only things tested for, if that, but there is no testing for pesticides, herbicides, antibotics, hormones, or any other chemicals or pharmaceutical drugs.

Here is a link that might be useful: questioning compost

tbug45, Your mix should be fine, although I'd attempt to have more than 6" of mix in your boxes because it will shrink quickly. As for your mushroom compost,are the "heavy chunks" recognizable as either mushrooms or manure? If they are, then I'd let it dry a bit longer. If they are just chunks that easily break up and look like dirt, go ahead and use them.

As for the question ccaggiano originally asked, from one single mom to another, if you can afford to do so, add at least vermiculite to your compost. It holds water and keeps the mix from drying into a hard clump.

I personally bought 4 different kinds of compost for my second SFG bed (black kow, mushroom, horse and chicken), then advertised on Craigslist for other kinds of manure or compost. One lady gave me some kangaroo poop!!! My aunt, who thinks I'm insane, calls me when she cleans out the chicken cage..a.nd I hot foot it up there to get the bounty!!

As you might imagine, I'm pretty committed to my compost bin...virtually everything except meat bones and plastic goes into mine. I have a bucket on the counter for it and it had better go in that bucket if it will compost. Compost is black gold and worth it's weight in money, IMO. Mine "cooks" pretty quickly since I'm in FL.

If you get a good compost bin going, then you don't have to worry about buying compost and you will know exactly what went into the food you are growing, literally, from the ground up. If you like, find a source for different kinds of manure and add that each time you start a "NEW" compost pile or bin.

New member excited to see concentrated concern on soil and soil products. I live in Surprise AZ and find alot of raised or square foot gardens don't use AZ soil. I find amending this soil better than tossing for all the locked potash phosy and calcium. I use peat, manure, blood meal. bone meal, kellogg products after checking omri that post products are 70% inert for chemicals. Are air is worse than any store bought product. I even compost all yard clipping after mulching with a mower. To include dog, cow manure,and pig blood with a 4 year compost in ground dug pits. Pits are 3 feet by 2 feet with fresh compost on top. The broken down and dissolved product fills the pits and worms do the rest. Hands down my green onions are 3 ft tall and are double bagged for the onion aroma! If I can help I breed chili's.

I make my own from grass clipping, leaves, kitchen scraps & used coffee & tea waste.
I do not worry about pure organic waste as much as I do balanced nutrients compost.
I know you can grow a good garden in One kind of compost, I have done it.
One of the best gardens I ever had was in 1973, all I know was that organic compost was good.
So I planted veggies in a vacant cow lot, where manure & hay /dried weeds was all that had been there.
The tomatoes were still making in Nov.

A friend also had problems with municipal compost a few years back, the stuff free for hauling. Who knows how they make it and the stuff people toss in their compost collection containers? ""shudder""
Bagged is better, multiple brands better still and homemade can be best of all.
Grass clippings from my front yard never make it there though, too many cigarette butts end up on my lawn from passer by and I already had one run in with TMV and that was plenty.
I've found from dumb luck that equal parts by volume, saved Fall leaves and fresh grass cuttings, with kitchen scraps and finely ground charcoal from my homemade retort to be the best of the best. Turn it once a month and one bin will be finished by Fall when I dig it in. Layering works fine, mixing it up before adding works faster, IMO.
1 large recyclable bag of leaves moderately compacted to 3 lawn mower collection bags and 5 gallons charcoal powder.
Now that I really think about it, layered leaves always are slow to break down and the compost can be dry underneath them. Much better to break them up and mix everything together. Careful with the charcoal powder its dusty as can be so wear a mask, the paper ones will turn absolutely black with stuff that was heading for your lungs. Its hydrophyllic too and takes a while to get soggy but sticks nicely to the grass clippings.
Once the compost is finished it will house an enormous biota in its pores and the smell of fresh earth will predominate.