what's the difference between compost and fertilizer?
John Lee
4 years ago
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4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoRelated Discussions
what's the difference between these types?
Comments (13)Re Microbes. You don't need much compost to increase the number of microbes, in fact most the microbes are already present in all but the most barren sterile soils. You can increase the number of microbes by simply providing them with fuel(carbon) and Nitrogen to build their bodies with. A compost teas is better to inoculate an area with microbes than compost itself. Compost is a good way to add carbon or organic matter to the soil. Homemade being better for microbes and nutrient diversity, bagged being a good stop gap for organic matter and some microbes. Beware that composted manure may be mostly water by weight. I buy cheap bags of composted manure or bulk compost from a local commercial composter for soil incorporation and use my homemade as top dressing and tea. There are no regulatory labeling requirements on bagged compost such as fertilizer has requiring the minimum nutrient values to be displayed. In my pragmatic view if you are purchasing compost, grade A composted sewage sludge is the most safe because it is the only type of compost requiring testing for heavy metals and pathogens before it is approved for sale to the public. Feedlot manure is much more dangerous from a pathogen point of view and requires no such testing....See MoreMushroom compost vs. bagged compost: difference?
Comments (6)Just a slightly different take on this. Bagged manure available around here from the box stores has a VERY low content of actual manure -- in most cases only about 10%. Yes it can provide some tilth to the soil but very little in terms of fertility, and in my experience does not really add much to the soil. Mushroom compost, on the other hand, is made up virtually completely of composted manures and has a much higher organic/manure content than the bagged manures available here. Unfortunately, where I live mushroom compost is virtually impossible to find, none of the stores sell it and it is no longer available in bulk any where in SE Michigan that I know of. I did manage to get one load of mushroom compost about 5 years ago and used it as a soil amendment in areas where lime loving plants grow, like hellebores and clematis. Those plants grew like crazy! I know it is somewhat basic but that can be corrected depending on what you are growing and your natural soil pH. I know at Ashwood nursery in England, probably the premier hellebore nursery in the world, they made beds largely of mushroom compost, and their hellebores in the garden were to die for. So....take from that what you want, but wish I could get some more mushroom compost. Having said all that, if you have made beds the way you describe and are adding that much organic matter every year, your soil is probably in great condition and you probably only need to amend or fertilize around hungry plants (clematis, roses, hellebores....) BTW, dehydrated manures are sometimes available bagged, and while much more expensive than the box-store bagged "manures", add much more fertility and tilth to the soil IMO....See MoreDifference between garden compost and composted manure?
Comments (2)garden compost would have a much more diverse mix of microbes and fungus as well as micro and macronutrients due to the fact that usually different varieties of things are put in these compost piles ASSUMING YOU ARE REFFERING TO GARDEN COMPOST AS HOMEMADE....some companies make compost using only urea or animal manure for the nitrogen product. homemade compost could have composted bananas, coffee, all kinds of food wastes, plant wastes, animal wastes, grass clippings, and more. so i guess it depends on what you are more concerned about: Soil structure vs. Soil fertility????? i'd say that either way you go soil structure would end up the same, if you put it in the planting hole. although homemade compost would better improve soil structure if top dressed becuase more organisms would be pulling it down into soil w/ them, right?...See MoreWhat is the difference between peat and spaghnum peat moss?
Comments (8)There are different types of peat depending on whether the peat formed from grasses, mosses, or woody material. The consistency varies a lot too: from a jumble of still recognizable fibers and woody particles to completely decomposed muck. I live in the midst of forested "bogs" (swamps) in a network of extinct glacial lakebeds and pitted outwash drainage valleys where today there is a creek, a river, seeps, springs, and nice little bakwaawong on my property. Yesterday I was out digging in the peat making a channel. I'm always hoping to dig up mastadon bones. My peat has a wide range of types and consistencies depending on depth and where I dig. In places there are trees and shrubs growing. In other places my bog has sphagnum moss growing on the surface. I consider sphagnum moss to be that living green layer and the brown moss under it. The peat is deeper and looks more like dirt or mud. The moss you can tear out by hand. The peat usually need to be dug....See MoreJohn Lee
4 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
4 years agoJohn Lee
4 years agoRichard Brennan
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
4 years agosclerid
4 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agokevin9408
4 years agoClaude
4 years ago
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