On 3/21/10 6:08 AM, Dave_s wrote:
David Ross,

Very helpful!

For personal reasons, I cannot produce COMPOST on my residential
property. Can you or your neighbor recommend any COMPOST I can buy
locally. Can I trust the FREE partially composted MULCH distributed by
LA CITY? Want this COMPOST for improving my garden, side dressing,
placing in hole as I plant new vegies and flowers, etc.

Thank you, Dave_S


Be very careful with city compost. Depending on its source, it might
not be suitable for use on edibles. Compost derived from sewage sludge
might contain toxic heavy metals. Compost derived from pruning street
trees and mowing park lawns might contain traces of herbicides or
insecticides; it might also contain spores of plant diseases.

I don't mean to scare you away from using city compost. What you need
to do is inquire about its source and whether it is suitable for a
vegetable garden.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary