I wanted to ask this because im a little undecided on what to do, im left with only my tropical almonds seedlings. In any case, there are so many methods that i dont know what do or even if i should bother to make it instead of just buy some. Wanted to ask you because im sure there are gardeners here with all types of circumstances and i want to hear from you folks. Thanks in advance.

I make my own but it's a way to recycle certain things that would otherwise go into the garbage: veggie scraps from the kitchen, veggie garden cleanup, my neighbor's grass clippings, chicken coop clean out....

I have 2 piles. I add to one for a year, let it mellow for a year and use it. On January 1st, I switch piles.

Same here. I started composting to get compost, and now it's more of a way of life, of doing what I can to compost all appropriate organic matter. By appropriate, I mean everything but meat/bones, salty stuff like stale potato chips, big thorns, very large pieces of wood.

You can put as much or as little work into it as you want. You can make a pile, buy a bin, turn, don't turn, add water, worry about it, ignore it, use a recipe, just use whatever you have whenever you get it, etc... All of these will produce compost.

Organic matter will decompose and composting is just deciding where it happens. It can get more complicated, but complications are not necessary if you're not interested or don't have the time or energy.

As above, it's far better to leave the organic material in a pile out in the garden, or tucked away behind a shrub or outbuilding where the neighbors aren't looking at it...

Compost takes as much or as little effort as we want to put into it.

When I was piling it, I'd ignore it... when I started a new pile I'd use the old... Never did a thing, except add stuff.

Any more, Most of the weeds and stuff goes to the chickens, they keep it stirred up, and I go retrieve it from the chickens when I'm ready to use.

Of course, we usually need more than we can produce, and It's always a good idea to find a stable somewhere that allows us to get what we want.

I wouldn't buy it unless I felt I absolutely had to for some reason and I doubt that will ever happen. Commercial compost is barely regulated here in the U.S. and what little info I could find on the subject from the USDA and other agencies was at least 10 years or older.

All the bags I've seen say.... Ingredients- Compost.

They don't say what's in it or what the ph is. There is no way to know if it is made from beetle infested trees or diseased trees or bio-solids from sewage waste or any number of manures. The bags don't even claim that it is good for your plants. That's a gamble I am not willing to take.

The compost I make myself is made from leftover plant materials from my garden which are full of great organic fertilizer, leaves from my neighbors healthy trees and healthy grasses from my yard. All good stuff so I have nothing to worry about.
Happy gardening.

Around here, it's mostly made of rice hulls.

For a garden of any size, and if there's room for compost, making your own makes sense - but isn't fast and foolproof like many guides imply. If you'll need compost for specific uses, and times, you'll kind of have to buy some.
Would imagine local compost is whatever is cheap/ free. Manure, tree waste... we locally have something called Leafgro made from mixed yard waste collection by county service.

Hi Folks,
I originally clicked on this post because I had just turned my compost pile for the last time this year and compost was on my mind. I stopped adding to the pile back in August, let it heat up super well and now the worms are finishing up the last bits of it. And since I just finished planting my last fruit trees for this year (a Chocolate, a Coffeecake and a Hachiya persimmons, they sound so yummy!) I thought I deserved a bit of a break so I would research a bit about compost. Haven't done it in years and many things have probably changed. I thought maybe a couple of you just might be interested in what I found, if not, don't bother reading this.

I didn't find much recent info on basic compost but I did find lots of info about the regulations pertaining to 'organic' compost. Interesting! These articles refer to 'government labels' of 'organic' compost. So, our government agencies such as the USDA states that most of the regulations, inspections and testing for all agricultural products are at the state or local levels, some more/a lot less stringent than others, so buyer beware. States like Washington became very pro-active after the big uproar and resulting lawsuits over heavy metals in Ironite 25 years ago and enacted strict regulations and do a lot of testing on agricultural products. But many states like mine don't seem to bother.

The EPA says.... Composting is the controlled, aerobic (oxygen-required) biological decomposition of organic materials by microorganisms. Organic (carbon-based) materials can include grass clippings, leaves, yard and tree trimmings, food scraps, crop residues, animal manure and biosolids. https://www.epa.gov/sustainabl... .

According to our government agencies.... the USDA rules for organic production....
https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules... says....Compost that is made from allowed feedstock materials (either nonsynthetic substances not prohibited at § 205.602, or synthetics approved for use as plant or soil amendments).

According to the Code of Federal Regulations....https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-7/subtitle-B/chapter-I/subchapter-M/part-205/subpart-C/section-205.203
#205.203(d) A producer may apply....(d1)A crop nutrient or soil amendment included on the National List of synthetic substances allowed for use in organic crop production. (d5) A plant or animal material that has been chemically altered by a manufacturing process: Provided, That, the material is included on the National List of synthetic substances allowed for use in organic crop production established in § 205.601.

The USDA website referred to the... https://www.compostingcouncil.... These are some definitions...
Compostable (adj): capable of undergoing aerobic biological decomposition in a compost system, such that the material becomes visually indistinguishable and breaks down into carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds, and biomass. Compostable Product (n): Any product specifically manufactured to break down in a compost system at the end of its useful life. May be made from plastic, paper, or plant fibers, along with other ingredients that provide necessary form and functionality. ??

According to https://www.scarabmfg.com/what... which make commercial composter machines....Problems you can encounter with commercial composting....Contamination: Unfortunately, contaminants can get into your compost piles at any stage of the process. Pesticides and herbicides can enter your piles when you make them, while heavy metals and bacteria can enter later on.

Just so you can be fully informed this is their list of accepted synthetic substances... https://www.ecfr.gov/current/t...

I don't know about you but synthetic substances and other ingredients that can be broken down to become visually indistinguishable doesn't sound very 'organic' to me. This might be why most of the bags of compost for sale here in my neighborhood are similar to these I found online and say only.... Ingredients: Compost.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0916DR3MS/ (zoom the front of the bag.)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KJRCW2D/ (See 'Questions/Ingredients)

One has a unique way to list it's ingredients...
Ingredients: Regionally formulated and contains a blend of compost......... and one or more of the following: Canadian Sphagnum peat moss or peat, processed softwood bark, forest products, perlite, vermiculite or peanut hulls, seaweed and shrimp compost. (They don't say what's in the compost part).

Please keep in mind that these requirements are for government labeled 'organic' products and regular non-organic products don't have even these restrictions. As I read the list of approved synthetic ingredients it didn't seem so bad except for all the sanitizers and herbicides and plastic weed barriers and squid byproducts from food waste processing only? and inerts of unknown toxicity? My imagination is just not creative enough to come up with all the crazy stuff they could possibly be using but I would rather not put this stuff in my garden.

Granted, I also noticed many bags of very expensive compost (if you can afford them, I can't) that include some really great stuff. I haven't seen any predominantly made from rice hulls yet, at least not here. And I know that organizations like OMRI have much stricter guidelines. But I'd rather stick to the stuff chilling in my backyard. I know exactly what's in it. And I know it's good stuff! Just saying. Happy gardening everyone.
Debbie

Lucy68 said: I make my own but it's a way to recycle certain things that would otherwise go into the garbage:

It's a win-win!
The less 'green waste' I contribute to the local landfill, the better off we all are, AND;
My garden soils and my plantings need the composted organic matter!