Possible but it isn't a good color at all in the photos so without actually seeing it, feeling it in hand, and smelling it I can't say. I have bought much better looking stuff in bags from Walmart so you might have been better off there.

But it may be ok once it is mixed in with your native soil at a ratio of about 1 part this to 3 parts soil. You wouldn't grow anything in straight compost all alone anyway. Compost is a soil amendment, a soil improver, not a growing medium.

So how did you plan to build your garden? Raised beds or tilled in the ground? If raised beds, what will you be filling the raised beds with to mix with this?

Condolences on your personal loss but don't give up on making this work.

Dave

Thank you Dave,

I wanted to mix it in with my native soil to improve in ground planting. It is so thick its hard to even rake it out so that I can dig it in. I am glad you think all is not lost. Worst case I just wont be able to plant this year until it breaks down right? Or if I could get some more soil could I mix them together on top of my native soil?

Thank you for your condolences. This headache project is supposed to help the healing. Maybe that's what its doing by being a challenge!

If it has not completed broken down, it will tie up the nitrogen. To overcome that, you can just add extra nitrogen to compensate. Usually the second year of gardening will be better than the first due to the soil needed to build up a good ration of nutrients and organic matter.

I would try growing in it, but first, if you have a bean or two, you should try growing that first, even if you have to put some of this "humus" into a pot for the experiment. At least you will know if it's "safe" to grow other veggies.

I had some "top of the line" garden soil mix delivered last spring and it smelled awful and was steaming. Turned out that it was the turpines in the bark that were breaking down and everything grew perfectly so you never really know....

Linda

Sorry about your loss. A few years ago my wife almost died and she had to get a lung transplant. While waiting to get a transplant It did seem to help planting fruit trees to get my mind off what could have been a life changing situation.

If it were me, I would get some good sandy loam soil and mix it like you would a raised bed, mixing 3 parts soil and 1 part compost. You can do that on top of your clay soil. I would dig up the clay soil so the roots of your plants will not just stop at the clay soil. This happens in annually cropped fields where they plow the same depth each year and the field develops what is called a clay pan.

After this year I would just put a layer of mulch on the soil. It will slowly break down and will not tie up the nitrogen fertilizer as long as it is not incorporated.

When I've gotten straight tree shred from a tree service and it breaks down you do get layers (if it got to steaming) that look like grey ash. Once broken down, the tree shred is great stuff - I'd guess that's what your mix has a lot of and it should be fine. As Gary pointed out - if it's not totally broken down you may just have to add some nitrogen. Just keep an eye out for yellowing leaves, but in truth I think you'll be fine. (editing to add - you get those layers in hot dry climates - not sure about folks who compost where it's moist).