Making compost tea is also a great way to use compost. Making it does not have to be as complicated as some people make it seem with the air pumps and all. K.I.S.S.
Oh my, how did I forget about compost tea! Thank you, Tactical gardener for reminding me. I put a shovelful of compost in a five gallon bucket, put about three gallons of water in the bucket, stir it up, let it set overnight, stir again, and then water plants with it. Simple as can be, and beneficial to vegetables and flowers.
KK, we save peelings, coffee grounds, vegetable matter,bury them below planting line, chopped rather fine and mixed with surrounding soil. Our egg shells we dry, pulverize in the blender, save and as we set out plants, or plant seed, a handful of egg shell gets mixed into the soil. We also buy compost and mix it with Garden Soil, Manure, Azomite (Powered rock), and worm castings and put some in with each plant or in each row where seeds are planted. We used compost from a nearby city a few years ago. We stopped because it occurred to us that the people who donated might have pets and we really wouldn't want pet urine or feces in our garden. KK, keep us posted as you find your own way.
Wow!!! There are lots of components in your garden mixed and I am sure you have a real happy garden. Like all the other Stewbies said there is no wrong way of using compost in the garden except for NOT USING IT! Since my posting I had been using my compost anyway I feel like it depending on my mood. When I feel lazy I just use it as a mulch, if I am a little less lazy I'll work it into the earth around the plant ... and so on.
KK, I like that you find your own way with gardening. That's how we learn, by trial and error, by seeing what works best. In fact, I pulled the hay away from the cardboard, pulled the cardboard back, dug a fairly deep hole, dumped in Banana peels, carrot peels, potato peels, onion peels, garlic skin, chopped rather finely, chopped some of the soil into the mix, returned all to its proper place just this morning. All the while, fantasizing about tasty red tomatoes in the near future.
