Hi all,

Is it alright to use compost straight without mixing it with soil or
other additives? I plan to fill up some raised beds with cheap
compost that I can get from a local recycle center.

Thanks.


There is a very good - but overpriced - brand of bagged composted cow
manure called "Black Kow". They have a video on their site showing the
planting of a tomato plant using nothing buy a bag of the stuff laying
on it's side (drainage holes cut in the underside). Supposedly, the
tomato plant thrives to harvest in it.

More realistically, composted cow manure (a favorite of mine, BTW), does
have a measurable NPK ratio, besides it's usefulness as organic matter.
But with a heavy feeder crop (and that includes tomatoes), you will need
a little more N, and especially more P and K than the manure can supply
alone. Composted cow manure is a great source of organic matter and
trace elements, and a fantastic storehouse of soil microbial life, but
only a minor contributor of NPK.

Tony