So I needed to fill large beds for flowers and vegetables. So being low in funds I decided to buy 2 tons of compost from the city. Well I imagine that they compost the scraps we put out in the green bins and they anaerobically compost it and then must mix in with twigs and clippings from trees.

The compost doesn't smell but it is so lifeless that the worms wont even go near it. I tried to screen some of it and then put in bagged topsoil into the holes where the plants went in otherwise everything started to die.

My question is now that it is all planted what can I put on it, on top or through watering to make this good stuff. I imagine it is very acidic. I don't have much money and would like to stay close to home in using amendments. I have read about the use of Epsom salts.

I have put some of this compost in my worm bin and it took weeks before my worms would infiltrate it.

What would you do to bring back the proper soil food web to these beds?