After months of composting, you've completed your harvest and now have a big, beautiful pile of crumbly, brown compost. Congratulations! Um, now what?
Garden Beds Love Compost
The most common and popular way to use compost is on garden beds. But how much should you use? If you are mulching it onto a raised garden bed, you should aim to put only about a half inch layer or less across the top, to not saturate your plants with nutrients. If your garden bed is not raised, you can go a little thicker (one or two inches) with it as it's going to be distributed deeper into the soil and likely into some of its surroundings as well. You can add more compost monthly, especially to compost-loving plants like tomatoes, corn, and squash. Your garden beds would also love a thick application at the end of the growing season, giving them all winter to absorb the nutrients and be prepared for spring once again.
No Garden? No Problem!
If you have a grass lawn, you can spread compost on top. It will work its way into the soil and around the grass so long as it is applied in a thin layer and not heavily enough to cover the grass entirely. This extra cover will help add nutrients to your soil in a natural way that should over time create a beautiful, healthy lawn. You could also put compost down on bald spots and work some grass seed in, speeding up their growth and establishment.
What if You Don't Have a Yard?You can always apply compost to houseplants, but much like with raised garden beds, you'll want to only give your plants a thin layer. Since there is even less soil in a potted plant, you only need to give it a sprinkle. You can add more if you are repotting your plants to help them adjust. You could even create your own potting mix using your compost (2 parts), peat moss (1 part), and perlite (1 part).
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