QUESTION: When you should add compost to your garden? We have some finished compost now, but it’s the end of the gardening season already. -Margaret A
ANSWER: With compost that you make yourself at home which is fully decomposed, the nutrients are more readily available to plants and can be added onto just-planted garden beds or soon-to-be-planted garden beds directly. For many small operation, backyard gardeners, bagged compost is the easiest option and most available product.
If you’re using bagged compost, add in one to two inch layers in early spring. Early March is a great time to add compost to the garden beds, before planting starts. Dig in lightly with a bow rake, and leave the compost to settle for a week or two before you plant seeds or starts.
When using homemade compost or if compost is thick with green matter and fibrous, it can be added to garden beds in autumn, so that it has more time to decompose before spring planting time occurs. You should also let chicken manure cure and age before seeding or planting directly, which can take some time.
With luck, the compost you mixed into your garden beds in autumn will be mostly decomposed by spring and beds should be ready for planting. With backyard compost, get into the practice of adding 2-3 inches of new/fresh compost in the autumn (instead of planting a cover crop) so that the compost can decompose over winter and into early spring.