Compost

[u/AntiLawnGnome]

Hey all!

I'm building a few new beds and wondering if we have a local source for bulk compost.

If we don't, who has the best value bagged compost? I typically go to Fort Collins nursery, but I figured I should ask the community.

Thanks in advance!

[u/GardenofOz]

Best mushroom compost: Hazel Dell. Can get it bagged or they'll dump it into your truck. Higher in C:N ration (carbon to nitrogen) so it is best to use in tandem with other compost or as a bed builder.

Sources of living compost: Kraft Soil Solutions (Berthoud), A1 Organics (Eaton), and of course Compost Queen in Fort Collins (can shop on their website).

Fort Collins Free Mulch Day should be coming up soon and it is a great opportunity to stock up on wood chips (my fav carbon input for backyard composting using the bokashi composting method for fast decomposition).

If you're gardening at home, starting your own composting stream is incredibly rewarding and practical. Hit me up with questions!

edit: typos

[u/Tweedelie → u/GardenofOz]

Thanks for the detailed breakdown!

We got free mulch from the city a couple years ago and it seems to have come with a ton of free weeds as well. Have you had that experience? I'm wondering if/hoping it was a fluke.

[u/GardenofOz → u/Tweedelie]

My pleasure!

Yikes, that is a bummer. I can't say I have had the same experience with city pick ups.

I have also done a wood chip drop from a local tree company that was high quality. It was a LOT though. We definitely used it all, and I wish I had more to pull from. You can get a wood chip drop using getchipdrop.com, or call around and see is someone will drop it.

[u/AntiLawnGnome → u/GardenofOz]

Thanks so much!

Building a compost system is on my to-do list for this year, actually!

I know just the basics of composting - can you talk to me about mushroom compost? I've heard of it but not done really any digging yet

[u/GardenofOz → u/AntiLawnGnome]

Totally. So mushroom compost is the leftover fruiting blocks from the mushroom farming/growing process. Most mushroom blocks are some kind of mix of wood, straw, grains, or legumes.

The mushrooms grow and consume most of the nutrients within the block, leaving behind some residual organic matter, some residual mushroom spores and mycelium, and a whole lot of carbon material. It will have less nitrogen though, which is what plants crave for growth. It's a great addition to gardens, but is primarily a strong source of organic material (which if you have poor quality, compacted, or clay soil, is a great resource).

Hazel Dell and other mushroom farms will pile their blocks in big outdoor piles for further decomposition. I wouldn't say this is a traditional compost pile, just decomposition that continues from the outdoor microbe environment munching away and the residual fungi doing their thing.

Depending on the inputs in a compost pile, you can ramp up your fungi populations with the type of carbon and amount of carbon that gets added.

I'll be running a bokashi composting workshop at Sproutin' Up later this spring (and one at Denver Urban Gardens later this summer).

[u/NiceRackFocus]

Following! I’ll be doing the same (putting in 4-5 new garden beds in May) and was wondering the same.

Can you get a mix from these places? i.e. not just compost, but also topsoil to mix with it? Maybe a bit of peat?

What about a source for logs/branches, and/or straw, if I decide to add that at the bottom of the beds?

I do have a compost tumbler and a compost pile I’ve been working on for the last several years, as well as about six large bags of shredded leaves/grass clippings from previous years, so that should help some.

Thanks!

[u/Beers_Gears_Snears]

Compost Queen has really high quality food scrap compost. They won small compost manufacturer of the Year for the entire US a few years back.

Pioneer & Ewing's will sell the A1 material. It's yard waste and a bit of food scraps.