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Making & Using Compost

Unit 1.7 | Part 1 – 307

K. Applying Compost

1. Timing

a) Spring, prior to planting

b) Mid season, as “side dress”: Placed around established plantings and worked into the
top 1–4 inches of soil

c) Fall, with a planting of cover crops

2. Application rates

a) Application rates vary with intensiveness of cropping system and use of cover crops

b) Field scale: ~4–10 tons/acre on an annual basis

c) Garden scale: ~ 0.5–2 lbs/square foot (this = 10–20 tons/acre annually). 1–2 lbs/square
foot for soil development, 0.5–1 lb/square foot for maintenance.

3. Placement

a) Field-scale: Incorporate into top 8–12 inches of soil

i. Side dress: In the root zone of the crop

b) Garden-scale

i. Initial stages of soil development: Incorporate into top12–24 inches of soil (see Unit
1.2, Garden and Field Tillage and Cultivation, Appendix 3, French Intensive/Double
Digging Sequence)

ii. Soil fertility maintenance: Incorporate into top 4–8 inches via side forking

L. Field-Scale Compost Production (see also Supplement 2, Field-Scale Compost
Production—A Case Study)

Many growers buy commercially produced compost, and some make large volumes of
compost on site using a windrow system and compost turner or front-end loader

1. Advantages of making compost on site

a) Quality control: Can monitor and maintain control, ensure quality end product

b) Effective use of culls, other on-farm waste materials that would otherwise have to be
disposed of

c) Compost available when needed; commercial supplies not always available

d) Potential cost savings in making compost on site vs. buying from commercial source

e) Key part of soil health and fertility program; high quality compost helps ensure healthy
soil

2. Challenges of making compost on site

a) Up-front costs for equipment—compost turner, appropriate tractor/bucket loader, and
irrigation infrastructure, etc.—can be high

b) “Learning curve” involved: May take several years of fine tuning system to ensure reliable
results

c) Requires reliable sources of quality feedstocks, e.g., green waste, manure. Materials and
delivery costs can be high.

d) Requires labor inputs

e) Requires dedicated space for delivery of feedstock and windrowing

f) Requires water source

g) Must comply with local and state ordinances re: leachates, odors, other considerations

h) Certified organic operations must meet federal National Organic Program regulations;
weather conditions (e.g., extended rainy periods), labor and time constraints can make
requirements for 5 pile turnings in a 15-day period challenging

Lecture 1: Making & Using Compost