Hi estreya - Organic matter regardless of its stage of decay is a great soil amendment. Lasagna beds and sheet composting beds are prime examples of the unfinished composting planting bed.

So whether it is "too hot" all depends on what you are planting and how soon. First, it need not be tilled into the native soil unless you really want too or if you are in a big hurry to plant. It can just be layered on the top and will work it's own way in over time. it is just a slower process.

"too young" to add more than it depletes

Nitrogen depletion, and whether or not there is any depends on what is in the compost ie. lots of chipped wood, is only a problem if tilled into the soil, not if it remains on top.

So, personally I would have taken the straight compost, layered it on the planting area, scooped it away from the planting holes to put in the plants, and then put it back in place around them lightly while avoiding building it up around the base of the plants.

Alternatively, take the new delivery and do the same thing. Or till it in and plant if you prefer. Any depletion should be minimal assuming this is quality compost to begin with.

Honestly, you can't go too far wrong either way. ;) Hope this helps.

Dave

Dave, it actually does help a LOT. As you can probably tell, i'm rather a fledgling gardener, and although i've done a lot of planting these past months, i've been using little trunk loads of neatly sealed, carefully labeled, easy to manage bags of things. This is the first real "truck load" i've had to manage, so the scope of it is a little daunting ...

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Now that the stuff is delivered, i feel a bit more relaxed about it. I was told the compost consists of mostly wood chips and cow manure. The fragrance is not off-putting - it smells rather like a barn on a breezy day, and i mean this is a good way.

So i think it will be ok ...

~~ crossing fingers ~~

~~ getting shovel ~~

Thanks again, Dave ... my mind is eased ...

cute house! I like all the angles and dimensions to it...and a perfectly clean slate for designing something really nice. Your compost/mix looks about like what I get from the city ag center and it sounds like the same (or close) content...I have used mine in and around my flower beds and it has not been a problem....when I smell mine, it's really just like rich soil, no poopy smell at all....and when I picked this stuff up, every one (not from this site) but this area, told me that the stuff was not "cured" enough and would surely burn my plants/yard, etc. It has done nothing of the sort....Good luck with your projects, read and read and read on this site, you'll gather a wealth of tips and info from seemingly knowledgeable and kind people....although it's a lot of work, and there is usually a lot more to making it all stay healthy and grow to just planting and watering and weeding... it is so worth the effort when you can show it off to family, friends (and your GW family too)...I'm sure you will make it dazzle!!!

If you were making compost until spring, the first load was good. If you wanted to plant now, then you needed something else. You can tell whether it is safe to plant in by smelling it. If it smells like a barn, or moldy, dank, rank, yeasty, old shoes, stinky, sour, or any other not fresh smell, then it is not ready. If it smells as fresh as a forest floor after a rainstorm, then it's ready. And if it is still warm, it is not ready.

You do not need a lot of soil, you already have that. What you do need is lots of organic matter. Manure that smells like a barn or compost that does not smell of good, rich earth is not ready to use, as Dave has already stated.

It does depend on what you are planting though. I have planted pumpkins, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, corn, sorghum, and amaranth is stuff that looks alot like that, it also smelled like a horse barn still. Quite literally, I planted cucumbers, squash, and zucchini in a pile of this fresh mushroom compost (straw/hay and horse manure) that was still really hot (like over 110 degrees F I'm certain). That was back on the 23rd of August and they are doing fine. Perhaps this is not recomended practice and I won't guarentee it will work for anyone else but there you have it.

I'm certain there are many plants that it would burn. I wouldn't go planting peas or beans in it. Perhaps in different climates compost and microbes produce different phytotoxins that affect different plants in different ways.

Nice pad, estreya!

Anyway, I'm gonna go out on a limb and give you a little word of caution... all compost is NOT created equal. Do you know what this compost was made from? It looks like possibly wood shavings and some kind of manure. That's fine for compost that has been completely digested and cured. But I'm looking at what appears to be a significant amount of uncomposted wood fibers.

Tilling this into the soil MAY cause problems (or may not... that's the thing about unfinished compost - you never know for sure what the final product will be or how long it will take to get there). It's tempting to think that manure, with a low C:N ratio and wood shavings, with a high C:N ratio, would balance out into a nice happy mix. And in the long run they will. But in the short term, nitrogen levels can swing wildly. A worst case scenario would be that the high initial ammonia content burns existing plants, but then the nitrogen levels drop rapidly next spring and now you are nitrogen deficient. OTOH, a best case scenario is that the nitrogen stays put long enough for the wood to decompose and everything grows wonderfully.

Probably the safest thing to do is to use it as a mulch instead of tilling it in. If you feel compelled to till it in, then just keep an eye on plant growth and see how they respond. If you're tilling this in for a garden next year, then burning won't be a problem. Watch instead for possible nitrogen depletion, and have a bag of blood meal or something like that on hand in case things look poosley.

And don't worry - in the long run it will be fine. It will probably be fine in the short run too, but just be watchful.

-Diggity

Gosh, guys, i'm just so irritated at myself for not knowing enough to make sure i was getting "finished" compost when i placed my order. I guess i just assumed! I did explain what i would be planting (which is three fig trees, a half dozen blueberries of various sorts, and azaleas) and the steps i intended to take to create the bed.

Bla ...

I'm relieved at least to know that no long-term problems will arise from what i ended up with. From what you've all been saying, i take it it's just a matter of perhaps adjusting my short-term strategy.

Today i just looked at the pile and blinked, uncertain what to do. I'm almost tempted to create the bed, but keep all plant material under the deck and plant it up come Spring.

Oh and by the way, thank you everyone for your knowing and generous insights ...