Questions on compost for garden

[mac1911]

Im reviving a old worn garden total fenced space is 400sqft actual planting area is probably closer to 250-275
The soil is in need of amending and seems local sources of compost are loaded with everything and anything.
Trying to keep things as chemical and “trash” free as possible. I live in massachusetts and looking for a source of compost and amounts I should put down.
Confused by all the bagged choices.
I have been amending the soil with what I generate here at home but thats minimal . At best.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Green manure is a good option, not only by adding vegetable material to the soil, but also by cultivating it. It is a bit old fashioned, but nutrients do get washed down and it is worth digging them back up.
Careful of manure, there are herbicides used on grass crops which go straight through the animal and will poison your garden. If you can get manure free from somewhere like a stables it is worth testing it by making up a mix , filling a couple of pots with it and a couple without it as a control and planting some bean seeds in them.
Add almost anything organic (In the wider sense; plant or animal) that comes your way. Things that will decompose easily dig in, things that won't are better used as a mulch on the surface.
Those bagged choices are not only confusing, they are pretty expensive if you are going to add enough to make a lot of difference, my go to for a bit of extra is either bone meal for the long term or blood, fish and bone for a bit more immediacy.
Dig a trench and chuck all your trash into it, then plant runner beans, they will grow on top of almost anything from kitchen waste to shredded paper if it holds a bit of moisture and you get a tasty crop. Leave the roots when they are finished and chop them into the soil, they will add nitrogen as well as humus.
Good luck.

 

[roadrunner]

I compost yard waste put out on the curb from my neighbors. I don't like buying mulch and other things, since I very much loath plastic waste.

P.S. I return the plastic bags, that the yard waste is packed in, to the various lawn care services for reuse.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I compost yard waste put out on the curb from my neighbors. I don't like buying mulch and other things, since I very much loath plastic waste.

P.S. I return the plastic bags, that the yard waste is packed in, to the various lawn care services for reuse.

A lot of local authorities here collect compost able waste, compost it, and sell it back to the local community. The only advantage I see to not cutting out the middleman is that they do it in large quantities and are able to develop a hot heap that kills all the nasties.
I was always the good neighbour who swept up the leaves in the car park and took them off in bags.

 

[roadrunner]

A lot of local authorities here collect compost able waste, compost it, and sell it back to the local community. The only advantage I see to not cutting out the middleman is that they do it in large quantities and are able to develop a hot heap that kills all the nasties.
I was always the good neighbour who swept up the leaves in the car park and took them off in bags.

That's basically what this guy, in the video below, does and he has an amazing system going on; he doesn't fertilize or add any other soil amendment other than compost from the city and woodchips, but also he leaves a root in the ground all year (I'm not sure if he has to buy the compost or the city gives it away free).

I've never checked into that, because I've seen a lot of things the city supplies with a lot of plastics and other trash. However, that can also happen when picking up yard waste and that's why I only go to the nice neighborhoods. BTW, I don't spread compost, I simply produce it in place, by mulching with a ton of organic matter, including my kitchen waste.

 

[mac1911]

That's basically what this guy, in the video below, does and he has an amazing system going on; he doesn't fertilize or add any other soil amendment other than compost from the city and woodchips, but also he leaves a root in the ground all year (I'm not sure if he has to buy the compost or the city gives it away free).

I've never checked into that, because I've seen a lot of things the city supplies with a lot of plastics and other trash. However, that can also happen when picking up yard waste and that's why I only go to the nice neighborhoods. BTW, I don't spread compost, I simply produce it in place, by mulching with a ton of organic matter, including my kitchen waste.

What kitchen scraps we generate goes into the compost pile. Thing is its not much. We have become pretty good at not having any wasteful left overs.
So minimal end clippings and such.
Lawn clippings get mulched into lawn.
I did chip/shred the leaves collected each year. I sill keep plugging away.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Last fall I dumped the mulched leaves into the garden. Usually I have enough for a compost pile as well. We also have a kitchen scrap composter bin. I stopped chipping dropped limbs some years back and started burning them. By quenching the flames after it gets a roaring heat I get charcoals and ashes to put on and into the acidic clay as well. Nothing for the city to pick up from here these days.

 

[mac1911]

Last fall I dumped the mulched leaves into the garden. Usually I have enough for a compost pile as well. We also have a kitchen scrap composter bin. I stopped chipping dropped limbs some years back and started burning them. By quenching the flames after it gets a roaring heat I get charcoals and ashes to put on and into the acidic clay as well. Nothing for the city to pick up from here these days.

Pretty much all I have in any quantity is leaves. I mulch mow the lawn to cut back on the feeding for the lawn

 

[DirtMechanic]

Pretty much all I have in any quantity is leaves. I mulch mow the lawn to cut back on the feeding for the lawn

I envy the vacuum machines. I mulch too, but it turns out some weeds grow from the timy bits and over the years I have begun to realize just how much of a two edged dilemma those weeds have become as I started to try to control them.

 

[Helen D]

Hi team i am new here
I want your help to buy a soft garden trash for tree seeds
I search on ebay becouse i am from us and i find this item

10/24/30GALLON GRASS GARDEN WASTE BUCKET WATERPROOF LARGE CAPACITY REUSABLE BAG | eBay

L is 30Gallon - 113L 46cmx46cmx70cm/18.11inx18.11inx27.56in. it is convenient for dumping garbage because of its handles on the top and bottom. 1 X Garden Waste Bag Bucket. it is more durable because of its built-in thick steel wire ring which can support the main body.

www.ebay.com

Can anyone say me if this product is good?
I have big problem with my trees's seeds..

 

[cntrlwagdnr]

Try some of your local nurseries (garden centers in the UK, I guess). One of ours has their ownbulk mixes for composts, amendments and garden/raised bed soils. So, you don't need to buy a whole bag of everything. They already have it mixed in the right quantities and it's customized to our local area. (Since we are in shrub steppe high desert, that means mostly silty sand.... and rocks.)