Compost

Lyn071646 8/28/2017, 7:13 pm

I bought the square foot gardening book and it said I should buy 5 different bags of compost because of the inconsistancy between each mix., However, my local nursery sells bulk compost that is made from 100% cow manure baked to 160 degrees. All my neighbors use it with great success. Can it be used as the compost in the Mel's mix?

brianj555 8/28/2017, 7:48 pm

Welcome. I am also very new to the forum and sfg. My experience with the site is that in short time, you will some strong answers from some good people. This is my first year planting and my box (4 x 10) is doing better than I could have hoped. I will give the credit to the mix. I was able to find 4 different kinds of compost at my local feed and seed. ( chicken, mushroom, cotton burr, and cow) so I got two different brands of cow to make "sort of" 5 different kinds. What I read and learned from watching YouTube (the sources must be considered) was that the different kinds of compost bring different attributes to the soil mixture. Like a balanced well rounded diet type deal. I look forward to seeing what the veterans suggest. Welcome again!

**Scorpio Rising** 8/28/2017, 8:07 pm

Welcome, lyn071646! $glad you\'re here$ I couldn't find 5 sources my first year, but did manage to find 4....I think Mel was thinking about the various weaknesses that a uni-compost bed might have, and wanted to avoid that. I highly recommend trying to add some variety to your beds, but we have all done things a bit differently, especially those overseas, who don't have access to some of the ingredients, especially the vermiculite.

The more you can follow Mel's recommendations, the better off your garden will be in the long haul!

Worm castings, cow poo, horse poo, chicken poo, compost from kitchen or city....all good!

**sanderson** 8/29/2017, 1:12 am

Hi, Lyn. Welcome to the Forum from California! $glad you\'re here$ This thread has some different ideas (and photos) for commercially bagged composts. The more variety, the better. If the pasteurized cow manure is all you can get, it is better to have one quality type like it should be, rather than potting soil, soil amendment, top soil, etc. Compost is what slowly feeds the plants, not perlite, peat moss or wood chips that are found in some bags.

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Compost

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	Hello Guest! Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum. There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.