GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

29-03-2004, 04:12 PM

wrote:
I have my compost bin out in the back but i only really filled it up
just as it froze last fall. So i'm not expecting to have a whole lot
ready for this year. Even if everything in there composted instantly
it still wouldn't be much.

I have a new garden plot (grown one season of veggies so far) that is
pretty much clay with the small amount of topsoil i dumped on it last
year. All the advice i've got is to dig a lot of compost into this
plot. So where does a city bound veggie gardener get compost?

Will the nurseries (where i buy tomato plants) sell bags of it?
I know supermarkets have bags of peat moss and potting soil, do they
also have compost?
I'm going to check if my city might be giving out compost to residents
at some point this season.
I've never actually met a farmer in person so i can't imagine choosing
a random farm, driving up, knocking on the door and asking if they
sell compost.

So what do i do?

If there is a mushroom farm within 100 miles of you, it would be
worthwhile to drive there (assuming you have access to a heavy-duty
pickup truck, or a small pickup with a 2-axle trailer) to buy their
spent compost. Just be forewarned that if the compost is wet when they
load it it is *very* heavy, so make sure the weight is evenly
distributed or you'll ruin a tire. Don't ask me how I know this. I
used to put sideboards on the truck just in case the stuff was dry (as
it was occasionally) so I could haul twice as much.

Check with your county's solid waste disposal folks. Here, they compost
tons of yard waste every year and used to give it to county residents
free of charge. Now they sell it, but it's still pretty cheap.

Best regards,
Bob