High-quality compost is one of the major requirements in ensuring the health and high yield of the vegetable garden. There are many different methods of creating the perfect compost for the vegetable garden.
What Is the Best Compost for a Vegetable Garden?
The greatest compost ingredients, the top four bagged compost products available, how to produce your compost, and how to use it in your vegetable garden.
Compost is decomposed organic matter that then assists in feeding the soil as well as the soil structure. It should be dark brown or even black, smooth, keep water, and crumble.
But not every compost is created equal, especially when it comes to planting vegetables. Below are the essential ingredients to use for the best compost for your vegetable garden.
Organic
This is obvious, but say it anyway. If you're going to grow your food organically, don't spoil it by topping it with a layer of compost containing full loads of herbicides, pesticides, plastics, sewage sludge, and who knows what else!
If you're working on it by yourself, keeping your compost organic is simple because you get to decide what gets put into your pile. No surprise ingredients there!
However, if you are buying or hiring out compost, it is well worth doing your homework on what is in it. Ask some questions before you buy! Did you know that sewage sludge is a common source of compost? Yes. No way! Although purchasing premium, organic compost is more costly, I believe the money is well spent.
Compost Ingredients
There are a plethora of composting methods and materials available, but which is best for a vegetable garden? Here's what I look for when composting or compost shopping: items to include (and things to avoid).
What to include in compost:
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Clover
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Coffee grounds
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Chopped corn cobs and corn stalks
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Egg shells
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Flowers
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Fruit scraps
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Grass clippings (if no chemicals were used)
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Hay or straw
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Hops (from beer brewing)
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Kelp
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Leaves
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Carnivorous or omnivorous animal manure (dogs, cats, etc.)
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Peanut hulls
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Peat moss
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Sphagnum moss
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Tea leaves
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Vegetable scraps, stalks, vines, leaves (disease-free!)
What to avoid in compost:
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Coal and wood ashes, unless a pH correction of the soil is required
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Dairy
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Diseased plants
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Carnivorous or omnivorous animal manure (dogs, cats, etc.)
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Meat, bones or fat
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Non-organic plant materials
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Oils, fat, and grease
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Sewage sludge
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Weeds that have gone to seed
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Sawdust or wood shavings, unless you want to change the pH of the soil.
Smell and Appearance
A good compost in your veggie garden should be dark brown or indeed black in color, smooth in texture, and moist but crumbly. It shouldn’t be sticky, muddy or have whole pieces of plant matter.It should smell earthy and neutral rather than nasty or foul.
If you notice some of these negative attributes, don’t add them to your garden. You don't want to tamper with the compost because it probably hasn't finished decomposing yet or contains dubious elements.
With good compost that is well balanced as regards pH, there will be healthy and flourishing plant growth. Most vegetables are going to need a 6-7 pH level in their garden soil, so make it as close as possible.
Compost nutrient content will vary based on what you have composted, but will generally be 2% nitrogen, 0.5-1% phosphorus and 2% potassium. This is useful when determining whether to use a certain type of compost or not.
As you can see by the above graph, chicken manure is the champion when it comes to compost nutrient-density. I like to chop straw up in my chicken coop so I can compost all the bedding and poop at one time to be left with some fantastic compost.
What Kind of Bin or Pile to Compost In
You can make your composting as simple as possible and just compost in a pile. But, I've found it's convenient to have some type of bin or enclosure.
There are numerous various types of compost bin designs to choose from, with thousands of reviews. So, I'm going to talk about the bins I have experience with and the pros and cons of each.
This is a very much like the bin I've used for years in various houses and flats. This type is better than the type I used to have because it's all one piece.
One of the frustrations of this bin was that it comprised several pieces that clipped together which over time got bent or broken. Over the years it became harder and harder to put the bin back together once it had been emptied.
Although, we used for years and even bought a second one to use in addition to our composting company. To have two of them is so you can fill one up and let it set and rot and use the other bin for new food waste.
Having only one bin can be bothersome at times because you are always left with half-completed compost on the top and finished compost at the bottom. However, this particular bin has a bottom door that does allow you to open the finished compost.
Which Organic Compost Bag is Right for Your Veggie Garden?
If you can't or won't find the time and space to compost yourself, no need to worry, wonderful products are on offer to you! The advantage of garden compost in bagged product is that you know exactly what you're getting in nutritional terms – it's on the bag!
FAQs
What is the best garden compost mix?
Make a 50:50 Balance of Greens and Browns.
Think grass clippings, spent crops, old bedding plants, annual weeds (seed-free so you don't inadvertently spread them about in the final compost), and kitchen waste such as vegetable peelings and fruit peels. Not all greens are obvious.
What is the difference between multi-purpose compost and compost?
Multi-purpose composts are soilless and therefore contract more when drying than loam-based composts, and also possibly will not take up water again when wetted. It is therefore necessary to keep the compost in a light state of dampness at all times and don't let it dry out.
What are the three main compost materials?
All composting requires three basic ingredients:
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Browns—Includes materials such as dead leaves, branches, twigs.
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Greens—Includes items like grass clippings, veggie scraps, fruit rinds, and spent coffee grounds.
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Water.
How long do you keep multi-purpose compost?
If your soil is simply sitting in the bag, it will last several years, though you should keep in mind that you'll lose some volume over that time, and as it breaks down, the consistency could get denser and heavier. Soil3 compost will last you several growing seasons if you're cultivating it in a raised bed.
What is the best compost for a garden?
Which compost can you use for all plants? An all-purpose good quality peat-free compost is suitable for growing most of the plants in your garden, whichever you're potting on or off, either in pots, hanging baskets, containers, borders, or in beds. Be aware that specific species like orchids, cacti, and roses need specialist compost.
