Kristimama wrote: > Is an all-plant compost (OMRI certified or not) sufficient OM for a productive veggie garden? I'm a complete beginner, but I don't think an all-plant compost is inferior in the least. Not sure but you seem to want to give all-plant composts an inferiority complex :-) Here's a quote from Ann Whitman's and Suzanne DeJohn's book called "Organic Gardening for Dummies" (for dummies like me): "Before buying the compost, ask about the primary organic-matter sources that were used to make the compost. Compost made from yard waste (leaves and grass clippings) is considered to be the safest and best. Other compost may contain ingredients that had contaminants, such as herbicides from agricultural crop residues and heavy metals from municipal wastes, which may affect the growth of your plants or accumulate toxins in your soil. Ask if the finished product is tested for contaminants." When I read above that "Compost made from yard waste (leaves and grass clippings) is considered to be the safest and best," I was spurred on to make my own compost. I don't think there's anything inferior about plain old leaves and grass. To the contrary, they seem to be really good stuff. So good in fact, that tomorrow I'm going to transfer the 3 cubic feet of chopped leaves, grass, and fruit peels from my small trash can to a much bigger round plastic barrel and add even more leaves and grass, doubling the size of the organic matter from 3 cubic feet to 6 cubic feet. "Let It Rot!" seems to be a popular book on Amazon.com about composting. Ordered it a couple days ago.

I have used South Coast Supply in Los Alamitos recently. I can tell you that 1/2 a yard is only $14.

You can get leaf compost for free from the city compost pile next to the Botanical Garden. You have to pick out some trash and it tends to be semi-finished, but "free" is hard to beat. There's a loader 1st and 3rd Saturdays in the summer, starting May 4th this year, I think.

Thanks to all of you for your input!! gglines, thanks so much for your suggestion. I called Artistic Arborist and believe this is the way to go--their material ($28 sq yd)is aged for four months and closely monitored. I have yet to see the material and will of course do that before I have it delivered, but it sounds great! Sand & Gravel once told me they didn't have compost but are now saying they do and it is either manure or mulch. Artistic Arborist's concoction sounds much better. I'll keep you posted as I'm sure there are many gardeners who need to find compost in bulk. Thanks again for all the help.