Bagged supermarket compost

[On the Moors]

One of my neighbors has been telling me that most of the compost sold by supermarkets is not much good since it doesn't now contain peat. If I use it I should mix it with soil as it dries out in a few weeks if used on its own. They seem to get better crops than me (but then most people do!) so I just wondered if there was any truth in this.

 

[Chuck]

One of my neighbors has been telling me that most of the compost sold by supermarkets is not much good since it doesn't now contain peat. If I use it I should mix it with soil as it dries out in a few weeks if used on its own. They seem to get better crops than me (but then most people do!) so I just wondered if there was any truth in this.

I dont know if the compost is good or not but why is peat so important to have in compost? All it does is add a little acid. It has very little if any nutritional values. It does help a little in retaining moisture but then so does perlite, vermiculite and other organic plant materials. . It adds to soil structure but then so does any other organic materials. So what is so great about it?

 

[DiggersJo]

Many people over here complain about peat-free compost and in particular about how it dries out. However what I’ve found is that in pots it only actually dries out on the surface and the only real way to tell if they are dry is to pick them up, if heavy. If you are talking about compost added to the soil as mulch or as fibre I’ve not noticed any moisture difference. As to the success of crops, you are doing the right thing coming on a forum and experience you will gain over many years will eventually pay off. Probably the best tip I could give would be the importance of observation and perhaps a little experimentation. Do you make your own compost? Or do you have access to farmyard manure? One of the kids has a couple of horses and one of the best presents they give us is a few bags of the stuff. Once aged a bit we use is very sparingly as we know it’s a lot of hassle to drag down here. Many of our US friends on here swear by soil testing, and it’s certainly something worth looking at. Certainly you need to know about things like crop rotation and what plants need what, and what they each produce e.g. beans fix nitrogen which leaf crops use.

 

[Meadowlark]

One of my neighbors has been telling me that most of the compost sold by supermarkets is not much good since it doesn't now contain peat.

As far as nutrients, it could well be much better off without the peat. I have never used peat in compost and make my own superior compost. Soil tests out at "No N-P-K required".

 

[On the Moors]

Thanks everyone, that's cleared things up a bit. I'm fairly new to growing things and only took it up when I retired three years ago. My neighbor was quite adamant about modern compost so I'll just nod my head if he mentions it again and go my own way.

I seem to kill as much as I grow at the moment unlike him who has some impressive crops, whatever his views on compost.

 

[DiggersJo]

We all have to learn and 3 years is nothing 52 years on and I'm still learning loads!

 

[Oliver Buckle]

There has been a lot of cheap compost in our local supermarket which appears to be entirely wood fibre. I am sure there are nutrients added to it, but they will not be the same as nutrients released by microbe action on the compost. Might be worth spending a bit more and going for some Jack's Magic. Good results, but appears to come as two distinct types, peat free, and peat reduced

 

[roadrunner]

I don't buy compost nor any other soil amendment. However, if I were to, I'd buy from this guy. He sells stuff, linked in the description box. But they are expensive.

 

[nao57]

I wish I'd seen this sooner. I hope my information can still help. I've used everything. I've done many experiments. I think my information will be different.

So... people can sometimes have a conflict of interest. And this makes them find flaws in stuff that aren't actually flaws. You DON"T need to worry about the moisture level in compost and garden soils sold in stores because the MOISTURE AMOUNT is up to you and your watering! If anything if it has less moisture when you buy it that's in your favor because that means its more compact. And when you buy store bought soil or compost you are buying by cubic foot and not weight. When it wets it expands. So if its dry you are getting more not less.

Now... I used to avoid store bought compost because I could get the farm stuff for free. The truth is you can get farm compost MUCH cheaper than you can get store bought stuff. It doesn't actually make any sense for someone to buy stuff from the store if you can get it cheaper from a farm.

The farm made compost that's natural from say steer or horse manure that got aged out is best. Its full of nutrients because it came out a living body. But the stuff you get at the store is 'often', usually watered down because they worry about profits. That's why you'll find stuff in there that shouldn't be in there.

I had a family member sabotage my ability to get the farm compost 2 years ago from our farm friend. This harmed my ability to produce in the garden. Its a real shame. And it was unnecessary. But from this it forced me to compare the store stuff with the farm stuff.

Often when I bought store stuff in the early spring it wasn't aged out fully. This is a problem stores will have in early in spring. That's one thing to watch for. Also, some of the things that people want don't make sense. They want peat when the steer compost is much cheaper and just as good. But they are afraid they'll get cooties or something from compost. Compost is just nature's way of recycling materials back to nature.

Another problem with store stuff is that it often comes out of state so we had bug infestations sometimes from the store bought compost, because it came from some area that was very humid and had a lot more bugs in it than our local farm compost would have. So you can get the cooties from the store stuff too.

Personally, you can grow stuff and grow food with either way. There's nothing wrong with doing it with farm compost or bought compost or bought peat or top soil. But why pay more than you need to? The store is just sending a truck to pick up the farm compost you are afraid of getting cooties from. And then they mix it with lumber mill leftovers. So all you are doing is paying for what you would have had anyway a lot of the time.

Another thing to consider is that steer and farm compost either bought or gained from a farm come from composted manure. So its literally FULL of carbon chains. The livestock eat carbon chained food. That goes back into their manure. So it is full of what you need. Carbon chains are what hold everything together in the nutrients for N P and K. You want carbon chains. So you aren't losing.

The only problem with a store bought version is if they are just mixing the stuff with dirt or watering it down. They probably will do that. But if its good wood chips in or whatever that's carbon and carbon chains too. So don't worry. You can do either method of store bought or farm supplied. I think you could be just as successful with both. It may be worth while to try both just so you know you could do it both ways too.

Its also possible the difference in what your neighbor is getting might not be the soil and compost but might be differences in the number of times he waters in a day or week. And if his plants are getting hotter in the roots than yours. (Roots don't like heat.)

Edited in later; There is another side issue to consider and I almost forgot to add it in. There's a chemical that some farms use in their cattle pastures that is harmful to humans if you use compost that came from it. Meaning it can get in your vegetables. I forgot the name of this chemical (not roundup... the other one). But this could just as easily happen with store bought compost or product and in that case you'd never even now. You could try to make sure you don't get this.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

The salt content of manure varies, pig manure has a lot, cattle less, horse least. I am told pig gets used for a lot of US commercial compost
Grass for fodder can be treated with weed killers that are classified as being safe to humans because they go straight through the animal, that means the manure is not safe for plants, except grass. I collect horse manure from an aged heap that has buttercups and stinging nettles growing on it so I am fairly sure it is safe that way, but I do get a lot of young nettles growing where I have used it, no problem when hoed young. Not only is horse manure more balanced, people tend to care about their horses more than commercial livestock and feed them organically grown grass.

 

[roadrunner]

My uncle lives in a farming community on the Eastern shore of Maryland and they use pig manure. I don't mind the smell of horse or cow manure, but that pig manure is some awful stuff. I don't know if it's naturally like that or if it's because it was store in an anaerobic way before spreading.