Re: 5 types of compost- becoming impossible to find

floyd1440 3/24/2012, 6:36 am

Now there are some good Ideas. I NEVER though Whole Foods would carry compost but do not have on local but there is one about 50 miles away so I might give it a shot.

I have tried local nurseries and they carry a lot of mulch and some have a few types of bulk compost but none bagged. No, I unfortunately don't have a truck and going across long distances in search of all the different composts plus a lot have sticks and stuff in them so I wonder were they got them.

Will keep looking but am leaning toward making a lot of my own compost.

5 types of compost- becoming impossible to find - Page 2 3170584802

5 types of compost- becoming impossible to find - Page 2 3170584802

**RoOsTeR** 3/24/2012, 9:05 am

Will keep looking but am leaning toward making a lot of my own compost.

Making your own is the golden ticket 5 types of compost- becoming impossible to find - Page 2 3170584802

sequoia 3/24/2012, 10:58 am

Walshevak found Ginkgo Gardens in SE Washington, DC that had 4 types of compost. I just went there and picked up:

hen compost ($20 / cubic foot)
worm castings ($20/ cubic foot)
leaf compost ($5 / cubic foot)
manure compost ($5 / cubic foot).

I'll add my 2 cubic feet of homemade mixed compost and that makes 5 kinds. But due to price the cheaper ones will be in slightly greater quantity.

I have a compost pile and just purchased a rotating composter so I can start churning out more.

Thanks for all the fantastic crowd sourcing!

sequoia

Lavender Debs 3/24/2012, 11:30 am

camprn wrote:“Anything worth doing, is worth doing right.”― Hunter S. Thompson

Keep looking.

You must be from New England.

Ignore the first part of this video. It was a "how I spent my day" thing. We must be blessed in Western Washington (the state). It only took an afternoon to find 5-kinds and none of them were bags of poo. All of these have been mixed and put into our new boxes (we already had vermiculite and did find peat in the drive through area at Lowe's). This was actually the first year that it was so easy to find five different composts without using worm castings ($$) poo or soil conditioner (seen in the first shot at Lowe's).

Warning....nothing to learn from this, I'm just showing off my shopping trip for compost and my new birthday ride. Seven minutes of your life that you can never get back.

Ray still likes to by cow poo because his mom always did. He bought the truck, paid for everything and sang to me. I guess that if he wants to add a little bull to the pile, I am still happy to receive. He told me when he bought me a truck that every farm girl needs a truck. This is why.

I have a bin+ of home grown and find that JUST homegrown makes nice gardens. Home grown is nice and complex (it does not just happen) BUT my home grown is still a couple of months away from being finished. Last time I used home grown before it was finished I got great results (including a 9 inch broccoli) but I also got weeds, so this year I'll wait until it is finished to use it.

**walshevak** 3/24/2012, 2:49 pm

sequoia wrote:Walshevak found Ginkgo Gardens in SE Washington, DC that had 4 types of compost. I just went there and picked up:

hen compost ($20 / cubic foot)
worm castings ($20/ cubic foot)
leaf compost ($5 / cubic foot)
manure compost ($5 / cubic foot).

I'll add my 2 cubic feet of homemade mixed compost and that makes 5 kinds. But due to price the cheaper ones will be in slightly greater quantity.

I have a compost pile and just purchased a rotating composter so I can start churning out more.

Thanks for all the fantastic crowd sourcing!

sequoia

Yahoo.

5 types of compost- becoming impossible to find - Page 2 832433

I used to live in Fairfax and when I seached Merrifield Garden Center and found they had nothing, I knew you were right on the difficulty. So I let my internet do the searching and found Ginkgo. The hen and worm are so powerful that they will beef up the cheaper ones.

Kay

PS Curious, did they know anything about SFG. Four composts at one place is unusual.

Kate888 3/24/2012, 11:07 pm

I haven't had a lot of luck with finding 5 types. I have cow manure and chicken manure. There was a sign for mushroom compost, but nothing.

Finally, the garden store that is 2 minutes from my house opened up (they are closed after Christmas until mid-March) and I was hopeful, but nothing other than those two. They have mushroom compost....mixed with soil. They have worm castings....mixed with soil.

I called the big gardening center in a nearby town and IIRC they do have mushroom compost so I guess I'll swing by there sometime, and they have municipal compost at $33 per yard (isn't that 9 cubic feet?) I don't want to spend that much and don't need that much.

I still need to call someone about bunny manure but don't think getting it will be a problem. But that still leaves me one short.

The really frustrating thing is a few years ago the paper had story about a couple either in our town or the one next to it that had a worm farm. I've searched online but can't find it.

GWN 3/24/2012, 11:26 pm

I live in a very small town, about 500 people, but a few more small towns down the lake as well.
We have a small gardening store here, and I feel quite fortunate that I can get Mushroom, Steer, Chicken, sea compost and worm castings.
(I was able to contribute about a quarter of a cup of my own worm castings Very Happy

) I also had some guano... They also have another compost called Farm compost.
What is hard for me is the vermiculite. For my first square feet I had to use fine, and then briefly used Perlite, and now have a few large bags of Medium, but it sounds pretty unlikely that I will ever be able to get course vermiculite.

**walshevak** 3/24/2012, 11:30 pm

Kate888, sounds like you will need to start a worm bin. It won't help with this batch, but will help when you need to replenish a square for replanting.

Kay

Kate888 3/24/2012, 11:46 pm

walshevak wrote:Kate888, sounds like you will need to start a worm bin. It won't help with this batch, but will help when you need to replenish a square for replanting.

Kay

I'm seriously considering it, but want to get past all the initial work of finding and making MM and getting everything planted. I can only handle so much new info and work on so many things at once. And I'm getting a new batch of chicks in April. Haven't had chickens in a year, so have some things to get ready for that, too.

**camprn** 3/25/2012, 10:00 am

Another great quote that is applicable to the quest for the 5 composts:

“I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it.”
― Mae West

Very Happy

Keep pluggin' on!

KelliK 3/27/2012, 10:44 pm

Chris, Judy--

We have a truck and I am just establishing our massive bed (6'X12'X12"). I am happy to "truck pool" or bring some back...

~Kelli

gallgood 3/28/2012, 7:51 pm

Joyce_S wrote:I was expecting to have a hard time finding course vermiculite, but it's the 5th type of compost that stumping me. (By the way, the vermiculite database is how I discovered a wonderful little feed & seed store that will get more of my business, that's for sure.) Back to the compost, I have chicken, cow, mushroom and a compost that says it was created from food residuals and yard/wood trimmings. I wonder whether using the latter compost twice would be okay or if I should continue trying to locate a truly different type of compost for my fifth one?

The Cat's Other Mother 3/28/2012, 10:32 pm

KelliK wrote:Chris, Judy--

We have a truck and I am just establishing our massive bed (6'X12'X12"). I am happy to "truck pool" or bring some back...

~Kelli

If you make your bed 6' wide, won't you have to step into it to work the middle squares? I have a 5'x5' because I found some lumber pre-cut that size, and the middle squares are a little hard to get to. I only planted potatoes in them this year so I wouldn't need to get in there to harvest more than once.

UnderTheBlackWalnut 3/28/2012, 11:48 pm

$glad you\'re here$ gallgood!

It's nice of you to step in and help locate sources of great compost! We are glad to have you here!

KelliK 3/29/2012, 8:08 am

The Cat's Other Mother wrote:
KelliK wrote:Chris, Judy--

We have a truck and I am just establishing our massive bed (6'X12'X12"). I am happy to "truck pool" or bring some back...

~Kelli

If you make your bed 6' wide, won't you have to step into it to work the middle squares? I have a 5'x5' because I found some lumber pre-cut that size, and the middle squares are a little hard to get to. I only planted potatoes in them this year so I wouldn't need to get in there to harvest more than once.

I was actually thinking about ways to minimize foot traffic, as my wonderful husband has already bought the lumber and has laid the bed. So I think I may just put some dividing wood in the middle, to separate it into two 4X6 beds and plant it that way. I figure I could use the middle as a walkway/ decorative area. We will see. He is about 1/4 of the way through the project and is really enjoying himself. I dont want to say "Honey could we please change this up a bit..." I also gave thought to planting tomatoes/ climbers along the back and giving them twice the room and just using just the front squares to put other veggies in. Im planning this weekend, as I should have my book tonight from Amazon.

**camprn** 3/29/2012, 8:32 am

KelliK wrote:
The Cat's Other Mother wrote:
KelliK wrote:Chris, Judy--

We have a truck and I am just establishing our massive bed (6'X12'X12"). I am happy to "truck pool" or bring some back...

~Kelli

If you make your bed 6' wide, won't you have to step into it to work the middle squares? I have a 5'x5' because I found some lumber pre-cut that size, and the middle squares are a little hard to get to. I only planted potatoes in them this year so I wouldn't need to get in there to harvest more than once.

I was actually thinking about ways to minimize foot traffic, as my wonderful husband has already bought the lumber and has laid the bed. So I think I may just put some dividing wood in the middle, to separate it into two 4X6 beds and plant it that way. I figure I could use the middle as a walkway/ decorative area. We will see. He is about 1/4 of the way through the project and is really enjoying himself. I dont want to say "Honey could we please change this up a bit..." I also gave thought to planting tomatoes/ climbers along the back and giving them twice the room and just using just the front squares to put other veggies in. Im planning this weekend, as I should have my book tonight from Amazon.

I used to work for a gardener and a few of the clients had really wide beds. We had planks available to just lay across from one side of the bed to the other and this was where we would step. When we were done tending the bed, the plank was lifted and put away. Alternatively would be to just put a few stepping stones in the bed. That would work! What a Face

plantoid 3/29/2012, 3:44 pm

Kate888 wrote:
walshevak wrote:Kate888, sounds like you will need to start a worm bin. It won't help with this batch, but will help when you need to replenish a square for replanting.

Kay

I'm seriously considering it, but want to get past all the initial work of finding and making MM and getting everything planted. I can only handle so much new info and work on so many things at once. And I'm getting a new batch of chicks in April. Haven't had chickens in a year, so have some things to get ready for that, too.

Perhaps this idea may help you :

My mate raises chooks ..he has 30 in a penned yard , in the shed where he puts them at night or rainy weather he has been using sharp sand to cover the floor instead of straw ..

I now have four very heavy bags of almost dry neat chicken muck and sand to sieve through with a 1/4 inch garden sieve . The sand will go onto the lawn when it is aireated in autumn and the dried chicken muck will be stored in woven poly prop sand bags and kept in the garage hung from the rafters till it is bone dry , then I'll tip it out and walk over it to break it up & re pack it for using in new replenishment compost as per Mel's reccommendations.

Kate888 3/29/2012, 6:17 pm

plantoid wrote:
Kate888 wrote:
walshevak wrote:Kate888, sounds like you will need to start a worm bin. It won't help with this batch, but will help when you need to replenish a square for replanting.

Kay

I'm seriously considering it, but want to get past all the initial work of finding and making MM and getting everything planted. I can only handle so much new info and work on so many things at once. And I'm getting a new batch of chicks in April. Haven't had chickens in a year, so have some things to get ready for that, too.

Perhaps this idea may help you :

My mate raises chooks ..he has 30 in a penned yard , in the shed where he puts them at night or rainy weather he has been using sharp sand to cover the floor instead of straw ..

I now have four very heavy bags of almost dry neat chicken muck and sand to sieve through with a 1/4 inch garden sieve . The sand will go onto the lawn when it is aireated in autumn and the dried chicken muck will be stored in woven poly prop sand bags and kept in the garage hung from the rafters till it is bone dry , then I'll tip it out and walk over it to break it up & re pack it for using in new replenishment compost as per Mel's reccommendations.

hmmm interesting, never heard of using sand. My problem with that is that I don't want more sand in my yard, I've already got a very sandy soil. For the most part it's good soil, but hard to keep from drying out. I'll probably stick with my pine shaving and compost it all with my kitchen stuff.

I was just about to give up and go with 4 composts, the only 5th I could find was municipal but I decided I didn't want the lawn chemicals in my MM. But I decided to give it one last go and searched for cotton burr compost in Indiana and found a store about 45 min away that has it. They also have worm castings. The frustrating part is dh and I drove right past it last night on our date night and never thought about checking while we were there. We don't normally go to that area. So, we have to make a special trip to get it. But I am happy I will have my 5.

mbgirl 4/1/2012, 8:24 am

obrdrln wrote:'Mon down to the Richmond, Colonial Heights, Petersburg area and I can hook you up with mushroom compost, manure/humus compost, forestry compost, and alpaca/leaf compost!! Then, later this month, chicken/horse/woodshavings combo!!!

It's taken a while to amass all of this stuff but......

Judy

I'm about 90 miles west of Richmond. These compost sources would help a lot. Thank You!

UnderTheBlackWalnut 4/1/2012, 10:14 am

$glad you\'re here$ mbgirl!

Judy's offer was so generous wasn't it? The members here are FANtastic! Smile

You might want to PM her (it's a private message that others on the forum don't see). Just click the P.M. link in the green bar at the top of the page and input her forum name "obrdrin" and send a message similar to an email.

Are you SFGing? Have you read All New Square Foot Gardening (2006) yet? Please feel free to post in the introductions area. Keep us posted on your progress!

Happy to have you here! Smile

plantoid 4/1/2012, 5:54 pm

For get my last about using the sand as litter in the chicken shed.

The chicken muck was padded/packed into the sand .. No wonder the bags were 50 kg plus . I had to almost chisel it apart to get it down to 1/2 inch cube sized lumps and did a lasange style mix of it with wet straw , a sprinkle of fish blood and bone meal & some water to get it into the composter tubs & composting .

There's now way I put that in my MM beds so come autumn it will get put on the lawns as a feed / improver instead.

Greenmiss79 4/7/2012, 4:31 pm

Hey Chris,

I just started our SFG last year (two 3 x 10' beds). Last year, Merrifield Garden Center in VA had the coarse vermiculite (they are, generally, the best source for garden supplies in our area), as well as enormous bags of peat moss.

For the five types of compost, I used the ubiquitous LeafGro, cow manure and lobster compost from Frager's in Capitol Hill, then went and (illegally) collected municipal compost from Arlington County that appeared to be mostly shredded pine. Finally, I used a year's supply of worm castings from the worm bin we keep in our basement.

It may be more work than you anticipated up front, but it is well worth it! Also, because of the difficulty doing your own outdoor composting in the city, I highly recommend starting a worm bin. We took a cheap plastic storage trunk (like you might find at the Container Store - about 1.5 x 1.5 x 3'), spray painted it black to keep the light from getting in, drilled a line of holes around the circumference, filled it with coir and some cardboard, added worms and were ready to go. The worms now consume all of the organic waste in our two-person household and produce about two wheelbarrows of castings per year.

Good luck!

hlfritz 4/1/2013, 5:14 pm

Hello,
I'm guessing you've probably already set up your garden bed by now, but if you haven't, here are some types of compost are easy to find around here:

1. leafgro
2. cow manure
3. chikity doo doo (Johnson's or American Plant)
4. bumper crop (shellfish based) (Johnson's)
5. worm casting/bat guano/etc. American Plant has small bags of many different types of compost. Also, Whole Foods carries several commercially produced composts that feature worm castings.

Both the worm compost and the Bumper Crop are diluted with a fair bit of bark or peat moss, so I generally put a slightly higher percentage in than recommended.

For vermiculite and big bags of peat moss, go to Merrifield garden center. That is where I got mine last year. Good luck.

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5 types of compost- becoming impossible to find