When Should Compost Be Applied?
The principal factor in determining when to apply compost is its condition.
If the compost is half finished or noticeably fibrous, it could be applied in October or November. By spring, it will have completed its decomposition in the soil itself and be ready to supply growth nutrients to the earliest plantings made.
Otherwise, for soil enrichment, the ideal time of application is a month or so before planting. The closer to planting time the compost is incorporated, the more it should be ground up or worked over thoroughly with a hoe to shred it.
A number of garden cultivating tools and machines offer excellent time and labor saving hands in accomplishing this, and will help spread the compost evenly and mix it with the soil.
If the compost is ready in the fall and you do not intend to use it until spring, keep it covered and store it in a protective place.
Water the finished compost from time to time if it is kept for a long period of time during the summer.
When applying the compost, try to figure on a depth of one-half inch to three inches of compost over your garden each year.
You can apply compost either once or twice a year. The amount depends, of course, on the native fertility of your soil and on what and how much has been grown in it.
You can use compost in sowing seeds , even inside. Put your compost through a sieve, then shred it with a hoe or even roll it with a rolling pin to make it very fine.Then mix it with equal amounts of sand and soil.
The ideal seeding mixture is very mellow, and tends to fall apart upon being squeezed in your hand.
meet you on the garden path.
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