Equal amounts of each kind of compost? And a few other questions...

Let's just say that we are from the "go big or go home" mindset, and we ended up with a lot more bed space than we realized I've managed to track down five different kinds of compost (composted cow manure, lobster compost, mushroom compost, Chickity Doo Doo, and leaf/yard compost), but I need a total of 72 c.f. of mixed compost, and this is getting expensive.

Could I get, say, 1 c.y. of bulk "organic compost" from our local garden center and mix the other four types to comprise the rest of what I need? Could I go heavier on the cow and mushroom (less than $4 per 40 lbs) and lighter on the Chickity and lobster (between $8 and $13 per bag)? Do I even need Chickity Doo Doo in equal proportion to the other composts? And what the heck is the difference between humus and compost anyway? There are bags of straight humus at my garden center, which I thought was a finished compost product, but it was with the other composts, which were all labeled "compost."

My head is spinning. I've learned so much here already, but this is one issue I haven't been able to resolve on my own yet. Any help you can offer is much appreciated!

Edited to add that yes, we have the book and read it, but I couldn't determine the answer to these questions from the book. If my answers are in there, please feel free to point me to the right chapter (or a link or other source). Thank you!

NowWeAreFour wrote:Let's just say that we are from the "go big or go home" mindset, and we ended up with a lot more bed space than we realized I've managed to track down five different kinds of compost (composted cow manure, lobster compost, mushroom compost, Chickity Doo Doo, and leaf/yard compost), but I need a total of 72 c.f. of mixed compost, and this is getting expensive.

Could I get, say, 1 c.y. of bulk "organic compost" from our local garden center and mix the other four types to comprise the rest of what I need? Could I go heavier on the cow and mushroom (less than $4 per 40 lbs) and lighter on the Chickity and lobster (between $8 and $13 per bag)? Do I even need Chickity Doo Doo in equal proportion to the other composts? And what the heck is the difference between humus and compost anyway? There are bags of straight humus at my garden center, which I thought was a finished compost product, but it was with the other composts, which were all labeled "compost."

My head is spinning. I've learned so much here already, but this is one issue I haven't been able to resolve on my own yet. Any help you can offer is much appreciated!

I can't really help you but I just want to tell you how awesome it is to have that selection of compost at your disposal. Is there a store nearby that sells that or are you looking to order it?

Too Tall Tomatoes wrote:

I can't really help you but I just want to tell you how awesome it is to have that selection of compost at your disposal. Is there a store nearby that sells that or are you looking to order it?

I am definitely grateful! One place has the majority of what I needed (which was good, because they were the ONLY ones who did!), and another place has the lobster compost and more Chickity Doo Doo. A few other centers had one or two elements, but the prices were absolutely insane, and they didn't have enough stock anyway. I really didn't think I'd have such a hard time finding this stuff in the Garden State, of all places!

NowWeAreFour wrote:

Too Tall Tomatoes wrote:

I can't really help you but I just want to tell you how awesome it is to have that selection of compost at your disposal. Is there a store nearby that sells that or are you looking to order it?

I am definitely grateful! One place has the majority of what I needed (which was good, because they were the ONLY ones who did!), and another place has the lobster compost and more Chickity Doo Doo. A few other centers had one or two elements, but the prices were absolutely insane, and they didn't have enough stock anyway. I really didn't think I'd have such a hard time finding this stuff in the Garden State, of all places!

Hey...I work in NJ. I spend most of my time in the Plainfield area. Send tomperrin a private message. He lives in NJ too and he might be able to point you in the right direction. You should see pictures of his gardens. WOW.