How to Add Compost in the Garden

Compost is the most important amendment you can add to any soil, but you can never seem to make as much as you need. Fortunately, a little bit goes a long way. But in this video, I'm going to show you how to get the most out of your compost, no matter how much or how little you have, every time. So how much compost is enough to actually improve your soil? Well, anything's better than nothing, but let's start with a brand new bed first, where everything going in is new. If you could incorporate 20 to 30% by volume into the top 12 inches closest to the surface, well, that's 3 or 4 inches of compost. And if you can do that, you're off to a great start. But if you have a very limited supply, work it into the planting hole before adding the plants. Or you can add the plants first and come back and work what you do have a few inches into the soil, just around the root zone, so as not to disturb the plants. But the main point here, either way, is don't send your precious compost down below where the roots won't benefit from it. While it won't hurt, with a limited supply, there's no point in putting it where it can't be utilized. For existing plants and beds, no matter what you're growing, apply about one half to one inch of compost as a top dressing, out from the base of your plants at least to the drip line of all the plants you want covered. Top dressing is the process of adding the ingredient to just the soil surface and not working it in. And that is perfectly fine. The reason you top dress versus working it into the soil is so that you don't disturb the existing roots or soil network already in place below the surface. By top dressing, in short order, organisms living in the soil will incorporate that compost down into the soil where it will have direct benefit to the plants. In my vegetable garden, I amend my raised beds with a compost top dressing of about an inch twice each year, between the growing seasons when the beds are empty. Fortunately, between what I make and buy, I have enough to spread it over the entire surface, which ideally is best if you're planting densely like I do. Plus, it's so much easier to spread compost when there are no obstructions to hinder the process. Having a blank slate to spread the compost allows that to happen. So just remember, the key to using compost, especially when you have a limited supply, is to keep it in close proximity to the roots so they can take up the nutrients from the compost. So start with your most important plants first, put the compost at the base, and work your way out to the drip line. So how often do you amend or top dress your beds? Well, I try to do it twice a year in between the growing seasons when the beds are blank and I have all that room to spread the top dressing. But it doesn't always happen. So I focus on the beds that I know I'm going to be planting into or the beds that have the heaviest feeders. I never miss that opportunity. But even if you only do it once a year, the key is that you're improving your soil year after year, which means your plants are going to be more productive season after season too. And one final thought. After you spread the compost, come back and add a layer of natural mulch, whether it's shredded leaves or straw in this case, but something natural to cover the soil surface and especially to protect the compost.