Compost is the process of recycling organic materials such as green waste, kitchen scraps and other biodegradable materials.  The compost processes the product of natural decomposition of plant and animal wastes by bacteria, fungi, worms and other beneficial organisms. Harvest Blend Compost is made from a variety of local feedstocks: recycled yard trimmings, food scraps, bio-solids, grape pomace and clean wood waste from residential curbside and commercial collection programs.

Years of testing by certified laboratories have shown that pesticides are undetectable in finished Harvest Blend Compost. The naturally occurring microbes and heat generated during composting break down most toxic chemicals into safe compounds. In addition, the large volume of clean yard trimmings, food scraps and wood processed at our Regional Facility dilutes contaminants to safe levels that are well below regulatory standards set by the USEPA, and local Public Health Districts.

Materials certified for use in organic agriculture do not have to come from organic sources. Barnyard manures and byproducts like bone or feather meal, and plant-based fertilizers such as cottonseed meal that are approved for use in producing organic crops are not required to originate from animals or crops that are raised organically. They may contain residues of chemicals and even heavy metals used as fungicides.

Recommended compost application rates for various plantings are listed below. The higher rates are for sandy soils, lower rates for heavy clay:

Lawns:  1 to 2 inches of compost mixed 8 inches deep into soil.
New Shrub and Tree beds:  2 to 4 inches of compost mixed 8 to 12 inches deep.
Established Shrub and Tree beds:  Mulch with 2-3 inches of compost/bark mix every few years.
New Annual Gardens:  2 to 4 inches of compost mixed 8 to 10 inches deep.
Established Annual Gardens:  1 to 2 inches each year, mixed a 2 to 6 inches deep.

• Buying and using Harvest Blend Compost Completes the Cycle and supports a sustainable local economy.
• Compost is a concentrated source of plant nutrients, stores water for plants and feeds soil life that help plants get nutrients from the soil and fight off pests.
• Compost helps build and maintain healthy soils while minimizing erosion, chemical and water usage.
• Adding compost to your soil is more important and beneficial for most plants than using fertilizer.
• Composting these materials diverts them from costly transport to distant landfills, where they would generate methane—which is a “greenhouse gas” that is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide in creating climate warming.

Harvest Blend Compost is made from clean yard trimmings, food scraps, wood and bio-solids that are separated at their sources before being mixed with trash. Non-organic material that is accidentally mixed in with these clean compostables is removed by hand-sorting and screening prior to composting, and screening of finished compost.

Harvest Blend employs an environmentally friendly and field proven system of aerobic compost production that ensures the compost heats to temperatures hot enough to kill diseases and pests and biodegrades any toxic chemicals that may be present.

We take organic material that would otherwise be mixed in with trash and shipped to landfills at great expense, and through carefully managed thermophilic decomposition, stabilize and sanitize the feedstock. By using a naturally occurring mix of heat, moisture and oxygen, green waste, food waste and bio-solids are transformed into nutrient rich Harvest Blend Compost!

The organic matter in finished compost is a high-quality source of food for diverse organisms that repopulate it during the curing phase at our facilities, and from natural sources in and around your garden. The positive conditions created by adding compost (balanced nutrients, neutral pH, moist and well aerated soil) favor diverse populations of soil organisms. In these conditions beneficials will generally keep pests under control. At the end of the process, the compost is extremely active with microbes.

It is best to mix compost with mineral soils (clay, sand or loam) for gardening, to have ideal texture and provide anchorage for plant roots. 100% compost does not drain well and may encourage pest or disease problems. Lawns grown in too much compost will be soggy and uneven.

Mushrooms are natural decomposers that thrive on partially decomposed wood chips and bark. These materials persist in the compost for years. They help keep the soil loose and serve as food for beneficial soil life –like mushrooms—which eventually break down and release the nutrients to plants. These are “wild” mushrooms. They are not likely poisonous, but it is recommended that curious children and pets be kept away from them. Turning or mixing a pile will usually stop mushroom growth.

Finished yard trimmings composts are close to neutral in pH (7.0) and help to buffer our naturally acidic soils.

It depends on what you are growing and how much compost you use. Mature compost should provide all the nutrients needed for shrubs and trees when applied at the application rates recommended above. Compost releases nutrients slowly, especially in cool weather, so it is not a complete substitute for fertilizers on fast growing annual crops or lawns—it may allow reduction of recommended fertilization rates by 50% on these plants.

During the primary composting process, the material heats up to over 150 degrees F for at least two weeks which is sufficient to kill all weed seeds. The piles are mixed twice, so that every part of the pile is exposed to at least a week of high temperatures. The product is then screened and left to cure for 2-5 months.

During curing, the pile is exposed to weed seeds blown into the property. Before product is sold the outside layer is scraped off and put back through the composting system, but additional seeds may be blown into the compost while it awaits sale or at resale yards at nurseries or soil vendors.