Can compost get too old? I started a heap year before last, but didnt use it this past season bc i was moving and had stuff going on. Will it still be good next season? Ive been told both ways. Older the better and that itll lose fertility have certain period.
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11 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Old compost = soil, the carbon value to your soil will be the same as will most other nutriments if rain has not leached them out.
HeathenFarmer
Level 8
Dec 13, 2018
0
My grandfather used horse manure on his gardens. He said it was never good until it had aged several years. Overall, compost is good for your garden, but it can also have a short term negative effect of binding up nitrogen. I don't recall the details, but nitrogen generally needs to be "fixed" into a form that plants can use. Legumes are good for this fixing of nitrogen. I just remember being advised by a horticulturalist to mix a nitrogen fertilizer when using compost on tbe garden.
RussRAB
Level 8
Dec 10, 2018
1
Nitrogen use by compost decaying in the soil is not likely to be fast or too serious, unless there is a very high carbon content in the compost such as when using a lot of sawdust in it. And as too much nitrogen can make growth soft and vunerable to P. & D. I would only bother to add a fertilizer if I wanted especially fast growth especially or if there are signs or nittrogen depleation such as yellow leaves.
It only loses its potency if it has been leached out by heavy rains or flooding. Otherwise the nutritional value stays in the soil for a long time. It gets used up by the plants and then goes back into the soil when the plants are composted.again. Minerals, nutrients and chemicals all get used many times. Nitrogen and carbon are the most important.
OldGoat43
Level 9
Dec 10, 2018
3
I have had the same compost heap for the last 15 years, you just keep adding to it, I recycle my old soil from my pots. That allows you to mix old and new together. Just keep adding more organic matter, the different levels of decomposition release nutrients in a slow release format.
glennlab
Level 10
Dec 10, 2018
2
I do the same with my heap.
Part of the point of compost is nutrients, but part is the structure it adds to soil. That latter part remains worthwhile, even old. The former can be rejuvenated by adding some fresh organic matter.
MikeInBatonRouge
Level 8
Dec 10, 2018
5
You want stuff to be completely broken down. Depending on what you put into it this could take at least a year often longer. I sometimes keep it wet and, in the winter, cover it with a piece of burlap.
JackPedigo
Level 9
Dec 10, 2018
3
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