A reasonable answer to your question depends on the current state (including the soil texture and the organic materials and existing fertility) of your soil around the plant; what plant you're growing; the length and temperatures and rainfall of your growing season -- among many other variables.

Putting it simply: a one-line open-ended question with no description of what your conditions are -- won't get you advice which will be of much help.

Like plants, even soil experts need a bit of time, effort, feeding & watering to deliver their best results. :)

All the best,
-Patrick
(who is not a soil expert)

As Patrick kind of alluded to the answer to your question is what was your soil like before. A soil that had no organic matter in it would need a lot more compost over the year than a soil that had a humus level of 5 to 8 percent. If there is adequate humus in the soil that 2 inches of compost might be too much while in a soil with no humus it would not be enough the first year or for several years to come unless much more is added.

And could you define "ideal compost"? That could mean many different things to different folks. ;)

Dave

In my opinion that's a waste of compost. At most you could benefit from 1/4 inch. If you wanted to mulch around the plant, you can save a lot of money by using mulch instead of compost. And also in my opinion, compost is not fertilizer. If you want to see results from an organic garden, use organic fertilizer made from ground up grains. I use corn meal and alfalfa pellets around my plants. A heaping handful scattered under the drip line of each plant every month is plenty.

so thats all u use is alfalfa pellets and corn meal besides compost?

and i want to use more compost the 1/4 inch because i want it to amend the soils value as far as drainage, moisture and oxygen renention are concerned, do you still think 1/4 is enough? even for bad soil?

1/4 inch will give you all the microbes you can stand for awhile. The alfalfa and corn meal feeds the microbes from the compost and what are already in the soil. The ground grains provide food for the microbes at the bottom level of their food chain. The rest of the microbes will feed off of the waste and dead bodies of those top feeders. Eventually the microbes provide Mother Nature's brand of plant food.

After that you need to provide adequate moisture to allow the microbes to thrive. This isn't much but the more consistent you can provide the moisture, the better. I like to use a black soaker hose set on a very slow trickle and left running for a week at a time to provide moisture for soil when it gets too firm.

also, i was wondering about storing compost, how would you and how long will the microbes last in finished compost?

As long as the compost is kept dry there will be no bacterial activity and it should last almost forever. Bacteria need moisture to function.

I'm of the school that there's no such thing as too much compost (at least I've never seen any garden even approaching that)---Well---I suppose if you're able to generate yards and yards and yards of the stuff.

In addition, I use animal manures in my gardens (as fresh as I can get). I guess people are concerned about using manures? My primary concern is the medicines in the manure.

I also use a lot of seaweed.

you mean seaweed emulsion?

it's pretty difficult to keep my yard moist to keep the microbes alive, i guess it was last year anyway cuz we had a good drought and it was freakn hot! just how moist does it need to be, cuz i don't really wanna till the compost into the soil, i already have some of a lawn established.

also, the lawn watering recommendation is like two - waterings of half an inch of water each, which encourages the roots to run deep, which means the top couple of inches of soil my dry out routinely, would this kill the microbes in this sectionof soil?

What you may need to add to your soil will depend on what is missing, nutrient wise, in your soil, what your plants might need to grow strong and healthy and the only way to know that is with a good, reliable soil test.

What is seaweed emulsion? Is that different from taking dry seaweed and dissolving it? Just asking because I've never heard of it referred to that way.

Seaweed emulsion is a concentrated liquid form of seaweed sold by Neptune's Harvest.(Google that) It's said to contain vast amounts of micronutrients and growth enhancers. I've used it and found it quite impressive. A bit expensive so I purchase their fish/seaweed emulsion to get some NPK along with the mix. Hope this helps.

Great, thanks. I've heard nothing but GOOD stuff about Neptune's Harvest. I had not heard it called 'emulsion,' just liquid seaweed.

A couple years ago I visited a farm where the owner made large batches of compost tea every day to spray her grass. She used Neptune's Harvest products to feed the microbes in her tea.

There are things in addition to adding compost that you can do to improve lawn drainage and aeration that I have seen people discuss on the lawn care forum. You are at least doing the right thing by establishing a deep root system.

yeh, it's kinda a have to, cuz it's hard to grow grass as dry and hot as it gets, i need deep roots so they don't cook.

what about this:

if you slightly dampened the lawn, then applied live compost tea, and then gave the lawn a good soaking, would that send the microbes down into the soil deeper? cuz remember i don't wanna til up what lawn i have

west, I have access to fresh seaweed. I use it as an undermulch (it's slippery and must be covered up), in my compost pile, and I frequently make tea for foliar spraying. It's good stuff.

so seaweed is one of those things that you don't have to worry about it burnin plants or roots as it decomposes? like rabbit poo?

seaweed and kelp are not harsh products. They are basically a kind of plant. in the ocean they act as a kind of filter for the water, hence their high micronutrient levels.

I live in maine, 15 miles from the coast, and i really should try to get some seaweed for my gardens. The quantities i need, though, would require soo many trips back and forth, that the gas costs alone would make it prohibitive.

Zengeos, make a day of going to the beach. It will help offset the cost. Go hiking, exploring, or just have a picnic.