Keith Fuller: If you need more soil, add compost

Posted: March 30, 2013 - 5:24pm

This is the time of year gardeners are looking for any kind of soil to fill their raised beds and large production pots. Since some people garden to save money, it is prudent to keep costs at a minimum.

Last weekend, while filling large containers for tomato plants, I needed additional soil. Since time and money are limiting factors, I simply raided one of my compost units. The compost was not finished compost, but it was fine to use as substrate in large pots.

When you are filling large containers for gardening, you can always place courser materials in the bottom of the pots and finish filling the pot with a better quality potting soil. This is akin to the story that we have heard how Native Americans taught the settlers to grow corn by placing a fish in a hole and then planting a seed.

Partially decayed compost or leaf mold are inexpensive alternatives to using large quantities of expensive potting soil when filling large containers. These items will continue to rot in place.

There are three common composting techniques: active, passive and in-place. Utilizing partially decayed organic materials in large containers is akin to in-place composting which entails burying organic materials in a hole and allowing them to decay.

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