Compost is your garden bestie
If you’re dreaming of a lush, leafy and bloom heavy garden, you’ve got to give your garden compost.
Compost contributes to your soil’s microbial health and structure, allowing for better nutrient and gas exchange with plant roots.
Compost bags can get expensive. If you’re doing more than a small area, I would recommend evaluating bulk compost v. bagged.
For bulk compost your options will include two main factors: cost per yard and delivery fees. The cost per yard for me in Seattle ranges from $38-60, with delivery fees ranging from $75-200.
If you have access to a truck/trailer, you can also research the price per yard to pick up bulk compost. This is often the most cost effective option, although at least for me, will require several trips.
Compost Math
A standard bag contains 1 cubic foot of compost. A bulk yard of compost is equivalent to about 27 bags. If you were to buy one yard of bulk instead of bagged, you would save about 80% of the cost (gasp)! For me in Seattle, that’s about a $150 savings per yard! And I need several yards!!
And yes, I compost in my garden. But there is just no way I could create the amount of compost that I need to fulfill my garden’s nutrient needs on my own. I have other strategies to add organic material to my garden that I will talk more about this fall (leaves!!)
ChatGPT can be a big help for the non-math majors out there. Here is the prompt to find how much compost you are looking at:
I have the following garden beds: [list dimensions, e.g., two 4×12 beds, three 3×10 beds]. I want to cover them with ___ inches of compost. Please calculate the total area, then convert it into cubic feet and cubic yards of compost needed. Round up to the nearest quarter yard.
Once you’ve found your necessary yardage, you can research where to buy. ChatGPT can search the internet for you, but I didn’t find my results to be 100% reliable. You could certainly start with having Chat do some research for you and verifying from there.
Seattle-Area Compost Resources:
Cedar Grove - Cedar Grove is an OMRI certified organic producer of compost in the Pacific Northwest and my personal go-to for compost. They are available at most garden retailers in the Seattle-area and also offer delivery. They have a very convenient service where they can split a delivery between neighbors (within 2 miles), making delivery fees more manageable.
Dirt Exchange - Dirt Exchange also offers Cedar Grove compost but has a different pricing structure that is worth evaluating. The per-yard cost is higher, but delivery fee is lower. They will also do a split delivery (for a small fee) with limits on quantities.
Sky Nursery - Sky Nursery offers Cedar Grove compost as well to pick up in bulk with a flat-bed truck or trailer. They also offer delivery with a 10-yard minimum order, for a fee.