Coast of Main lobster compost : (

**sfg4uKim** 5/3/2013, 8:28 am

I'm a bit disappointed with the following response from Coast of Maine. I asked what were the proportions of the ingredients of their lobster compost:

Coast of Maine Organic Products, Inc. "The blend of compost to peat humus is about 50/50 for most of our soil blends. The mixes have changed slightly over the years as we have adapted to the inputs available."

Slightly? Inputs? Yes CoM, I LOVE paying more money for you to throw cheap peat at me.

**camprn** 5/3/2013, 9:30 am

Have you used this product? There is nothing in all the bags that I have ever opened that resembles sphagnum. Also, nary a twig, I stand by the product and it's benefits.

CapeCoddess 5/3/2013, 9:33 am

sfg4uKim wrote: Yes CoM, I LOVE paying more money for you to throw cheap peat at me.

You could always start eating tons of lobstah and putting the remains into your compost pile. hungry

That's what I do.

CC

**sfg4uKim** 5/3/2013, 9:40 am

This was the direct quote that I received from Coast of Maine, copied and pasted, no editing on my part. You can go to their Facebook page to see our conversation - I even told them they could PM me if they wished but they chose to share it in public.

I'm glad you're having success with it, but whether or not you SEE it, THEY say that their product is 50% peat.

Just want people to be aware of this as it can skew their balance.

**camprn** 5/3/2013, 9:46 am

sfg4uKim wrote:This was the direct quote that I received from Coast of Maine, copied and pasted, no editing on my part. You can go to their Facebook page to see our conversation - I even told them they could PM me if they wished but they chose to share it in public.

I'm glad you're having success with it, but whether or not you SEE it, THEY say that their product is 50% peat.

Just want people to be aware of this as it can skew their balance.

I am curious if the responses from any of the other composting companies are any different... have you had similar responses from them?

Also, in their response, they did not exactly answer your question regarding the lobster compost, just a generic, non-specific response.

Sadly, it's probably an industry wide issue because of no regulation and lack of a 'Standard'.

**sfg4uKim** 5/3/2013, 5:27 pm

Some of the others are even worse and more ambiguous. One said:

Containes not more than 80% peat and not less than 20% compost.

**camprn** 5/3/2013, 5:36 pm

From the Coast of Maine blog, describes how they make their lobster compost, quite a bit different from the pert reply in the email.
http://coastofmaine.com/blog/?p=189

**camprn** 5/3/2013, 6:45 pm

Oops, I beg your pardon... I need to correct myself, it was not an email exchange, but a facebook exchange. I cannot seem to locate that conversation.

plantoid 5/3/2013, 7:20 pm

Let's do some reasoned thinking about various purchased composts .
Very few will have 100 % of the named base material the rest will be fillers such as wood in various styles , chopped straw , coconut fibre or amenity waste ( not the best of things to have ) .

Can we think of these fillers as carriers of nutrients moisture and also carriers of a diluted base material content

What does this " carrier " actually do ? Does it carry decaying and decayed base mater/water or is it there for some other reason

How fast will the carrier decay , is it pH neutral or acid or alkaline .

Will the carrier itself decay and produce a useful product for the garden ?

Discuss this idea further and I'm sure you won't get so worried about your initial MM batches .

**dvelten** 5/3/2013, 7:33 pm

Kim,

Sphagnum peat moss is not the same thing as peat humus. Admittedly it is a confusing subject and it is hard to get a clear explanation. Peat humus is the completely composted or "humified" remains of peat, the very bottom of the bog. Peat moss is dead but not fully composted sphagnum peat moss and is sourced from Canada. There is a difference. CoM sources all of its ingredients locally from Maine. I have used the lobster compost for three years now and it is good stuff.

--Dave

**sfg4uKim** 5/3/2013, 9:04 pm

dvelten wrote:Kim,

Sphagnum peat moss is not the same thing as peat humus. Admittedly it is a confusing subject and it is hard to get a clear explanation. Peat humus is the completely composted or "humified" remains of peat, the very bottom of the bog. Peat moss is dead but not fully composted sphagnum peat moss and is sourced from Canada. There is a difference. CoM sources all of its ingredients locally from Maine. I have used the lobster compost for three years now and it is good stuff.

--Dave

I agree, there IS a difference. This discussion has been on the Forum a few times and the general consensus is that peat humus is NOT compost.

My whole reason for this thread came from one of my clients who asked about it. I contacted the company and they let me know that it is 50% peat humus and . . . "The mixes have changed slightly over the years as we have adapted to the inputs available."

I've never said it wasn't good, but I think everyone should be aware that the formula has changed and that the additional peat COULD skew the 1/3 balance.

**camprn** 5/3/2013, 10:14 pm

I think Dave and David have made good points....

Ah well... too bad you cannot recommend this product that us northern gardeners love.

More for me What a Face

**dvelten** 5/4/2013, 8:36 am

CoM used to make a compost that was a blend of blueberry, salmon and mussels. I used it in beds two years ago. As I stirred up the MM in my beds this spring, there were tiny pieces of mussel shell shining in the sun which made me smile. After adding the lobster compost, with tiny pieces of lobster claw, and inhaling the vapors from the nearby lettuce bed that was just watered with liquid fish fertilizer, it was like being at the shore. I had a sudden urge to go get a lobstah roll.

Marty311 5/27/2013, 10:02 am

"The blend of compost to peat humus is about 50/50 for most of our soil blends."

Lobster compost is not a soil blend. It contains no soil.

**camprn** 5/27/2013, 10:18 am

Marty311 wrote:"The blend of compost to peat humus is about 50/50 for most of our soil blends."

Lobster compost is not a soil blend. It contains no soil.

+1 I love this compost.. wish I had more.

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