Using municipal compost used as ground preparation for new (and first) bed?

[VintherParticipant]

Hello,
Until a week ago the concept of no dig gardening was completely unknow to. Then I saw some of Charles’ videos on Youtube and I am so excited and can’t wait to get my first bed started right on top om my lawn.

However, I have only a tiny amount of compost in stock and no access to cow or horse manure – never mind decomposed ditto. I do have a municipal recycling plant nearby, where I can get some ‘black’ compost.

In ‘Advice on making compost’ on the website Charles explains that this type of compost is not suitable for planting right away. Would it be ok to use as the first layer (10-15 cm) on top of the lawn, and leaving it covered with some light blocking and water proof material from now on and until the spring?

Thanks
Erik/Denmark

[charlesModerator]

Hi Erik, nice to hear this and yes your plan is good.
If municipal compost is not hot any more, it’s ripe and ready.
Happy cropping next year.
I shall be making more videos.

[VintherParticipant]

Hi Charles, thank you for your answer. Can i just say thank you so much for sharing your immense knowledge and experince and for making it all available to us all in the form of very instructive videos, articles and books (just order some of your books and looking so much forward to getting them)

THANK YOU

Erik

[VintherParticipant]

Hello again,
I’ve etablished four new beds with wooden sides on the lawn with a total area of 16 m2 (not much compared to Homeacres, i know, but compared to the poxy 8 m2 i had, it’s a major expansion :). The amount of required municipal compost for a 15 cm layre in all four beds is 2.25 m3 which would mean a lot of visits to the recycling plant with a car trailor, so i chose the easy way out, and bought 4 m3 ripe horse manure compost, delivered in a two bigbags. I’ve now filled the beds with 15 cm of horse manure compost and only wishing we were entering the first month of spring and not the first month of winter 🙁

The 15 cm compost layer should be enough as a weed killing mulch in itself (i do not have much perennial weeds in my lawn, except a few dandelions here and there), but would it still be beneficial for the soil health to cover the beds with PE until the spring? (I’m not worried about the paths as I’m going to coved them with concrete slabs)

Regards
Erik

[RandAParticipant]

We used green compost when we started and it worked fine, we had it delivered in 20 tonne loads!!! you may find though interesting items and plastic that is a nuisance but it is worth it we had and continue to have amazing results from it now we make our own and have a good supply of horse manure so good luck

[Author]

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