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.

There are all kinds of compost- sometimes you can end up with trash. Captain Compost (google him) is the best person to buy compost from in this area. He sells it by the truckload. Are you trying to start a square foot garden? I looked for all of the same things a few years back when I started mine. I now compost all my kitchen and garden waste-it is easy and fun. You can also get leaves and grass clippings free from neighbors. Susan

I used Gem Dirt this year for the first time. Their garden mix (40% topsoil, 40% mushroom compost, 10% leaf compost and 10% manure) looks pretty good, and is cheaper than some of the other places around town. The last few years I've gone to Ken Davis Co. on 46th just east of Mingo. The 50/50 mix of mushroom compost and topsoil is excellent, but it's $45 per cubic yard, while Gem Dirt's garden mix is only $25. I'd like to find a place to buy straw in bulk as well. I paid $6 a bail last halloween. The only other place I know that even sells it is Atwoods, I think they have it for $6.95 a bail. I'm always watching Craig's list, but I never see straw, just grass hay that I'm afraid will bring bermuda into my garden. Bryan

Since this is a frequent question, I'll ususally run a search to see if I can spot something obvious that's been missed; along the way I've gotten a good eye for finding potential compost dealers. Too bad this one was also was a dry well. The other option is to start calling landscape supply companies (the ones that carry stone and statuary) or concrete and materials companies (many of whom also stock bulk fill) and see if they either carry bulk compost or know who does.