How to use compost ?

You can use compost any time just to feed animals that live in the soil. Their activities will make soil healthy. For targeted results, you can use them as organic fertilizer before each growing season,  apply compost in early spring for a one-season garden. 

If you live in a warmer place where plants grow year-round, you need to apply compost twice a year. There are two seasons for year-round gardening. For the warm season, it starts from March so apply the compost in mid-February. For the cool season, it starts in September so apply the compost in late August.

What ingredients you put at the beginning will determine the compost is fungi-dominated or bacteria-dominated. Fungi-dominated compost is good for growing tree yet bacteria-dominated compost is great for growing annuals and vegetables. 

How to apply the compost?

First, figure out if your soil is rich in organic matter or not.  Just eyeball your soil. Usually, light-colored soil means it is poor in organic matter while dark-colored suggests that it is rich in organic matter. 

Light Color soil contains limited organic matters. You need to apply 10~15 cm compost

Dark Color soil usually contains rich organic matter. Apply 3-7 cm of compost is enough

 

For loose soil 

Layer compost on top of the soil and turn it into a depth of 15cm.  

For compact soil

Dig and loosen the soil to a depth of 30cm, apply the compost and turn it in.

For Lawns

Let compost pass a sieve about 1 cm in mesh size. Top-dress your lawn without digging. 

For Trees

Apply compost mulch 10~15cm away from the trunk to encourage roots to spread outward and explore for more water and nutrients and develop a strong anchor.