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Vegetable Gardening

Home compost in veggie garden

13 years ago

I am going to grow some veggies next year. I make compost in bins, but I only use it in flower beds. I always find insects, like slugs, pill bugs in the compost bins when I turn the compost. My question is if I use the home compost in the veggie garden, will I spread the insects?

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Comments (5)

mister_potato_head
13 years ago
The insects will come from somewhere else if you don't use the compost, so go ahead and don't be concerned. I'd take the time to pick out the visible slugs and sprinkle salt on them. Other than that the benefits outweigh the drawback.
veeta
13 years ago
I'd be more concerned about weed seeds--if you keep those out of your compost, or it gets hot enough, it is probably okay. But I just have a cold pile, and I throw all manner of yard waster in there, so I have so far kept it out of my raised beds.
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Kate Since chicken manure is so "hot" with nitrogen and can kill plants if not fully composted, if you already have it, why don't you mix it with some other compost away from your veggies and gradually add it later. You'll probably be okay if you've added composted steer manure to the beds recently. It's true that some years just aren't very productive due to factors beyond our control. For instance, if you had periods of chilly weather after you planted corn, it's quite possible it just never thrived. Same is true for other plants. As for your worries about soil nutrition and wondering if a failure to add compost for a couple of years had anything to do with your garden's poor performance, you'd probably really benefit from a soil test to see if it's low in needed nutrients. While composting certainly improves soil texture, it also provides "food" for the plants, so I'd start there. Speaking of soil texture, do you have raised beds? If so, prior years' compost added to them gradually mixes with the soil beneath and enriches it nutritionally and texture-wise. I understand your disappointment, but your soil might not be as undernourished as you may fear.
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hoodat
13 years ago
I find that if compost in a cold pile is turned once in awhile most weed seeds will germinate within the pile and be buried so deep that they can never reach sunlight so will decay and die off. Some will survive but we may as well face it, weed seeds will always be with us.
veeta
13 years ago
That is good to know! I still can't risk it in my beds-after all that money on purchasing top soil to fill them, but "ll spread with impunity throughout my flower beds now.
nancyjane_gardener
13 years ago
I use home compost all the time. This year is the first year I've had to add any fertilizer in 9 years. I think I had too much N., not enough of the other goodies.
I don't find that the bugs and slugs come from the compost, but from out of nowhere! LOL I do use the sluggo for the vege garden (I hope that's the right stuff) for the snails/slugs. NT
P.S. You can check out the composting/soil boards and find some crazy composters that will answer ALL of your questions!

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