Types of compost
Soil, compost, fertility
No Dig Gardening

This lesson is to clarify the qualities of compost. This will give you more confidence in choosing and using it, and also in discussing it with other gardeners, who often mistake compost for fertiliser and don’t understand its biological qualities.

Compost is a little word of many meanings, and you see it used to describe materials of totally different quality. The basic description is decomposed organic matter, with a great variability in life content, colour, consistency, aroma and weed seeds.

1. Compost homemade 7 months old and full of life: it’s not sieved, just lumps knocked open with a fork
Homemade compost – seven months old and full of life; it has not been sieved, the lumps have just been knocked open with a fork
2. Mid September: filling a bed on grass and weeds using only old cow manure, half tonne so far
Mid-September – filling a bed on grass and weeds using only old cow manure, half a tonne so far
2b. Mid October: exactly one month after planting the new bed with autumn salads and oriental vegetables
Mid-October – exactly one month after planting the new bed with autumn salads and oriental vegetables
Manure
Age of compost
Weed seeds in compost
Compost types
Spent mushroom compost (SMC)
Compost trial with Maravilla lettuce in pots in the greenhouse
Wood as mulch
Watch out for woodlice!
Compost trial - part one
Compost trial - part two
A final thought
Step 15
Step 15
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