What You Need to Know Before Buying Compost

Buying compost has never been easier

Think back five to ten years ago. The only compost you ever knew about was the stuff that some folks managed to make out of their scraps in bins in their backyards. Garden guides often refer to compost as “natures method” of recycling. Nature does a wonderful job of recycling but her time frame is that of eternity and most of us here on earth don’t have nearly that long to wait (or want to wait) for a beautiful lawn and garden!

What are you getting when you buy compost?

What’s in it? Do you know? And if you don’t, how can you find out? Anyone producing STA Certified compost (like the kind we make here at Hansen’s) must have their compost mixture tested on a regular basis and those test results need to fall into so pretty specific guidelines for nutrients. So the easy answer is when buying compost, check to see if it is indeed STA Certified.

If you are trying some composting at home or picking some up from the city in which you live – if they do composting- make sure to sniff the compost. What does it smell like? Is it sour smelling? Rank? Bitter or nasty smelling? If it is, it would be best to leave it alone. Compost should smell sweet and earthy, just like good soil. Composting is the natural way of recyling & harnessing a very natural process but it takes people who understand that process, to make good compost.