What is the difference between soil and compost

Compost is created by microbial action, so what microbes are there in soil, but not compost, that makes compost unsuitable? Compost is artificial in a sense, as in plastic bags of compost sold at the nursery that have been sitting there letting the microbes contained therein die from lack of moisture or from heat. But if you open the bag and allow it exposure to water, air and soil, microbial life can return. Does this mean that when I have a bunch of vegetable plants growing in flower pots or grow bags, I just need to compost the soil once before planting the seeds and then the microbes would do their stuff to make the soil like top soil, and I wouldn't have to keep adding more compost?

Make sure your soil stays "alive". Water it with a little compost tea and mulch the surface. Look for indications of soil health such as the presence of earthworms. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google. Sign up using Facebook.

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Meet the community. Need advice? Live from the forum. Composted Green Waste — This is made from garden waste and kitchen food and is commonly made in a compost bin. Composted Manure — This is raw manure which has been composted and usually contains some straw particles.

Sterilized Loam Compost — This is a combination of sand, silt and clay that has been treated to insure that there are not any undesirable chemicals or organisms growing in it. Typically, loam has a higher percentage of sand and silt than it does clay. Soil is the top layer of the earth.

Soils are made from various proportions of sand, silt, clay, and small amounts of organic matter in and on the earth as well as years service past me… The natural medium in which to grow plants is indoors.

A publication from the EPA said there are more than 70, different types of soil out there. Soil formation occurs when many things happen to interact over a period of up to 1, years. Air, water, decaying plant life, rock, animal life, and chemicals all interacting, as well as plant roots and lichens wearing down rocks, creating new soil, and roots and oxygen help to loosen and aerate it.

After several growing seasons using this soil, you will need to amend the soil and add soil to get the nutrient levels back to a suitable level. That is where compost becomes important.

Using topsoil to topdress your lawn is a healthy way to boost the quality of your soil and should be done as often as possible. Not only will top-dressing make your grass much healthier, but it will help increase its drought resistance and make your soil less prone to infestations. Having a healthy layer of topsoil is vitally important to successful gardening.

When adding topsoil to your garden beds, purchase the highest quality topsoil that you can get. This is especially important when topdressing your lawn or garden beds to add nutrients back into the soil, as it will lead to healthier growth for the upcoming growing seasons.

Clay soil — Clay soil is composed of tiny particles that hold water well but do not drain sufficiently. If you have a clay heavy topsoil, you should space out waterings as your soil will need ample time to drain. Loam soil — Loam soil is composed of a mix of sand, clay, silt, and organic materials, and it is the ideal type of soil when it comes to nutrient levels. Loam soil is perfect for adding topsoil to your lawn or garden, as it is rich in nutrients and organic matter.

Sandy soil — Sandy soil is the opposite of clay soil when it comes to water and nutrient retention. If you have a sandy soil, you will need to water and fertilize it more regularly. When amending your soil, balance is key. If your soil is too sandy or too clay heavy, adding a loamy soil will help to improve its makeup.

Potting soil is also available in many different forms, and it too can be used to amend the soil already present in your garden beds. Compost and soil are not the same thing, although compost can be added to soil and become part of its makeup.

Compost is made of organic material, while soil also includes elements that are not organic, such as rock particles or minerals. Gardeners mix compost into the naturally occurring soil in their gardens as a soil amendment to increase the nutrition available for their plants. Drop your compost materials into the hole, then cover them with soil to fill in the trench. As the compost materials decompose, the nutrients they contain will become part of the soil. Wait six weeks before planting on top of the trench to give the compost time to break down.

Trench composting is an easy way to amend your soil with compost. The only drawback to this technique is that it cannot be used in winter if your region gets cold enough for the ground to freeze.

Plants that you can grow in just compost without other soil added include cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, spring onions also called green onions or scallions and small herb plants.

To use your compost as topsoil, make sure to grind the compost down to a fine texture. Getting your compost to a fine consistency helps the compost to mimic topsoil by allowing it to be packed more tightly and making it easier to mix with fertilizer. You will also need to add fertilizer to the compost so you can grow healthy plants in it. Although compost is often thought of as a fertilizer, it does not contain enough of certain nutrients that plants need to flourish, such as nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium.

Check out our guide to testing the pH level of your soil for more information. Too much compost means too many nutrients, so once plants have taken in what they need to thrive, the excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus stay in the soil. Limit your compost application to one or two inches on the surface of flower or landscape gardens and three inches on the surface of vegetable gardens. The best compost is humus - organic matter broken down into its smallest particle.

Learn about the importance of humus here. Humus compost is dark in color - it looks rich - and is broken down into fine particle sizes. Whether full of clay or sand, this stuff is made for building up soil height to a desired level or grade. It may have a little compost that will decompose over time, but the sand and clay are there to stay.

Building a bed up to your desired height before planting flowers and shrubs? Leveling the spot where you just removed a large tree? Purchase bulk topsoil — then incorporate compost to create a first-rate garden soil. Topsoil will contain weed seeds thanks to the many different ingredient sources and the fact that topsoils aren't heated like compost.

You'll see weeds pop up in topsoil and should prepare for that reality when planning out your project. Thanks to decades of construction and agriculture in the Southeastern US, our soils are longing for nutrients.

When planting shrubs, adding flower beds, installing sod , or sowing seed , you should incorporate compost into your soil by raking or tilling it in to apply nutrients into your soil. Above-ground gardening, however, is a different story.