Soil Rejuvenation

Directions for Use

Confirmation - Be sure to cross reference the product on your receipt of purchase to confirm you are reading the directions of use for the correct product.

Location of use - Dairy Compost is a soil amendment and therefore has many uses.  These uses include, but are not limited to, vegtable and herb gardens, flower beds, preparing for turf (sod or seed) and topdressing turf, tree planting, topdressing trees and berry bushes.

Gardens and flower beds - Depth recommendations for gardens and flower beds vary between 1 - 4".  Wherein this parameter a particular garden will follow depends upon the history of the garden (new plots require more than established plots) and the depth of incoporation of the dairy compost (the deeper the compost is incorporated into the existing soil, the greater the amount of material within the recommendation).  If you are planning to till the compost to a shallow depth (3"), then add only a small amount of compost (1").  If you are planning to till the compost deeper (10 - 12"), then add the maximum amount of compost (4").  In a vegetable or herb garden, never exceed a 70/30 mix ratio of existing soil to compost.  If you are incorporating other amendments (leaves, grass clippings, etc.) at the same time, calculate them in as a part of the compost in the ratio.

Turf establishment (sod or seed) - Depth recommendations for turf vary between 1 - 4".  Wherein this parameter a particular lawn planting project follows depends upon the depth of incororation of the Dairy Compost into the existing soil.  The deeper the compost is incorporated into the existing soil, the greater the amount of Dairy Compost within the recommendation.  If you are planning to till the compost to a shallow depth (2"), then add only a small amount of compost (1").  If you are planning to till the compost deeper (8 - 10"), then add the maximum amount of compost (4").  In a planting sod or grass seed, never exceed a 60/40 mix ratio of existing soil to Dairy Compost.  If you are incorporating other amendments (leaves, grass clipings, etc.) at the same time, calculate them in as a part of the compost in the ratio. 

When determining how deep to till, keep in mind that that the deeper you push the Dairy Compost down into the soil profile, the larger (greater volume) your root zone will be.  This is to say that you will be establishing a larger root zone that will be a key contributing factor for water savings in the years to come.  By tilling the Dairy Compost as deeply as possible, you are blending a greater volume of soil that will gradually grow into a spongy topsoil where your turf will thrive on less water and less fertilzer than your neighbor's lawn.  I often recomend to customers preparing for planting grass, "Just when you are fed up with tilling, tired, and dirty; till the yard one more time and then sit down on the patio and drink a cold lemonade."  The one last effort to push the compost down deeper will pay dividends for many years to come.

    Note for turf - If you fail to incorporate the Dairy Compost into your existing soil, your sod or seed will fail.  Dairy Compost is not a soil, it is meant to amend an existing soil; therefore, it must be tilled in to the appropriate depth for the amount that is used.  Just as we don't plant directly into ammonium sulfate, we discourage planting directly into compost.  If tilling is difficult or not desired, please use one of our fool-proof soils.  These can be planted into directly with superior results.

    Note for turf - Be sure to spread the Dairy Compost evenly over the entire area that you will be planting with grass.  Oftentimes we dump a load of compost in the center of  where the new lawn will be.  There is a danger of leaving an excessive amount of compost where the truck dumped and having only a trace of compost spread in the farthest corner of the yard.  Consistent spreading is key for a consistent result.

Topdressing turf - Depth recommendations for topdressing turf are 1/4" broadcast over the top of the turf.  The Dairy Compost is potent and will give a boost of organic nutrients and biology at this low application rate.  A good measure of what 1/4" looks like in growing grass is this: when you first begin to see the dairy compost in the grass, you have reached 1/4" of depth.  Generally 1/4" is the amount of dairy compost that will fall between the grass blades and go unnoticed, therefore not disturbing the grass' photosynthesis.  We do not recommend going deeper than 1/4" because at this point the grass begins to starve for light.  As I learned the hard way, grass stops growing when it is covered up.  Don't make the same mistake I did; stop when you first begin to see the compost in the grass.  We recommend tossing the Dairy Compost with a common shovel for the easiest effort. For further ideas on topdressing turf with dairy compost, see "Turf Rejuvenation" on the products and prices menu.

Tree planting - The depth recommendation for tree planting is 20% of the volume of material put back into the tree's hole.  Dairy Compost is potent and therefore we do not recommend exceeding this amount.  Be sure to mix it well with the whole of the soil that you are using to backfill the tree.  If you have any carbonaceous organic matter available, we recommend using an additional 15% of that.  Good examples of carbonaceous organic matter are decomposing mulch, decomposing leaves, etc.  Trees enjoy soils rich in organic matter, but do not thrive in an excess of nutrients that too much Dairy Compost will bring with it.  If you are looking for a compost to use in excess of 20% in tree planting, consider our Composted Bark, Garden Compost Recipe #5, or our Fertile Mulch.

Tree and berry topdressing - Nutrients and biology can be easily made available to trees or berries by using Dairy Compost.  Depth recommendations for tree and berry topdressing vary between 1/4 - 2".  The use within this recommendation would vary depending on which other fertilizers you are planning to use for those trees or berries during the growing season.  If Dairy Compost is the only fertilzation used in many years, error on the heavy side; however, if other fertilzers are in the plan for this year, then error on the ligher side.  Incorporation is optional when topdressing trees and berries.  If you do incorporate the Dairy Compost, be sure not to damage the existing roots of your plant.  When you topdress or incorporate the compost into the top few inches of soil, biology and water will take the nutrients down into the root zone.