A vegetable garden includes edible plants, so it's very important to choose anything to feed it and the soil. For example, organic composts that include non-toxic ingredients are safe to humans when eating. If you can choose the best organic compost for vegetable garden, it can help your plants grow better and improve the condition of your soil. Below are some of my recommendations.
Here are the best organic composts for vegetable garden you can buy in 2024:
- Best For Tomatoes: Blue Ribbon Organics OMRI Certified Organic Compost
- Best For Cold-Hardy Vegetables: Espoma Organic Land and Sea Gourmet Compost
- Best For Larger Yield: Fishnure Organic Humus Compost
- Best For Stronger Roots: Wakefield Biochar with Mycorrhizal Fungi
- Best For Tastier Vegetables: Soil Blend Super Compost Organic Plant Food
- Best For Faster Growth: Black Kow Mushroom Growing Mix Compost
6 Best Organic Composts For Vegetable Garden | ||
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Best For Tomatoes | Blue Ribbon Organics OMRI Certified Organic Compost | |
Best For Cold-Hardy Vegetables | Espoma Organic Land and Sea Gourmet Compost | |
Best For Larger Yield | Fishnure Organic Humus Compost | |
Best For Stronger Roots | Wakefield Biochar with Mycorrhizal Fungi | |
Best For Tastier Vegetables | Soil Blend Super Compost Organic Plant Food | |
Best For Faster Growth | Black Kow Mushroom Growing Mix Compost |
Best For Tomatoes: Blue Ribbon Organics OMRI Certified Organic Compost
- Effective
- Pleasant smell
- Easy to spread
- Expensive
If you are looking for a compost for tomatoes, you should know what they need to provide a product with suitable features.
Tomatoes are a water-loving plant with a high-demand crop, so they require a lot of nutrients and water to produce more and better fruits. Thus, this heavy feeder needs a compost that can hold moisture and nutrients as well as possible.
Luckily, the Blue Ribbon Organics OMRI Certified Organic Compost has worm castings that bring many benefits for tomatoes.
The humus in earthworm castings can improve the water retention of the soil, its aeration, especially, this ingredient can keep the nutrients in the soil to release and feed your tomatoes slowly. Finally, customers also said that this product works well on their tomato plants.
Blue Ribbon Organics OMRI Certified Organic Compost Specifications | |
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Size | 7.9 gallons |
Form | Powder |
Ingredients | All natural and organic materials |
Highlight Features | OMRI Certified |
The Blue Ribbon Organics OMRI Certified Organic Compost can retain water and nutrients very well, so it works well for tomatoes.
Best For Cold-Hardy Vegetables: Espoma Organic Land and Sea Gourmet Compost
- Safe on all plants
- Effective
- Pricey
If you want to grow cold-hardy vegetables, use the Espoma Organic Land and Sea Gourmet Compost.
Although the manufacturer said that their product works well at any time of the year, according to customers, it can solve their problem that the low temperature will burn the plant's roots.
Espoma Organic Land and Sea Gourmet Compost Specifications | |
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Size | 1 Cubic Foot Bag |
Form | Powder |
Ingredients | Natural and organic ingredients, lobster and crab meal |
Highlight Features | A proprietary blend of endo & ecto mycorrhizae No synthetic plant foods and chemicals |
The Espoma Organic Land and Sea Gourmet Compost is good for cold-hardy vegetables because it doesn't cause burning the roots when the temperature is low.
Best For Larger Yield: Fishnure Organic Humus Compost
- Odorless
- Easy to use
- Expensive
If you want a larger yield, invest in a compost with a high nutrient and water-holding capacity. This helps your plants reach as much water and many nutrients as possible for larger yields.
The Fishnure Organic Humus Compost is a typical example because it has an amount of organic matter with proprietary living fertilizer mix, straw, fish manure, and high nutrient clay. According to the manufacturer, their product's water-holding capacity is very effective.
Fishnure Organic Humus Compost Specifications | |
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Size | 8 lbs |
Form | Granules |
Ingredients | Proprietary living fertilizer Mix, Fish Manure, Straw, High nutrient clay |
Coverage | 480 square feet coverage for 8 pounds |
Highlight Features | Organic, living fertilizer and soil conditioning humus compost Microscopic clay particles Odorless |
The Fishnure Organic Humus Compost has more nutrients than others, so it can give you a larger yield.
Best For Stronger Roots: Wakefield Biochar with Mycorrhizal Fungi
- Mixed-well blend - good texture
- Great for potted plants and bonsai
- Pricey
In case you need to strengthen your plants' weak root system or enhance the germination of seeds, choose the Wakefield Biochar with Mycorrhizal Fungi. It is because this compost has the right balance of water and all essential nutrients for a complete growth of roots.
Wakefield Biochar with Mycorrhizal Fungi Specifications | |
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Size | 1 cu/ft |
Form | Powder |
Ingredients | 80% premium compost and 20% biochar |
Highlight Features | OMRI-Listed and FSC-Certified biochar OMRI-Listed compost |
The Wakefield Biochar with Mycorrhizal Fungi can improve the condition of your plants' roots.
Best For Tastier Vegetables: Soil Blend Super Compost Organic Plant Food
- Mixed and composted well blend
- Safe to use
- Expensive
Do you want your flowers to bloom more beautiful and colorful?
Do you want larger yields of bigger and tastier fruits and vegetables?
The Soil Blend Super Compost Organic Plant Food can meet both requirements because it is specially formulated from cow manure, alfalfa meal, and pure earthworm castings. There are many nutrients from these ingredients for complete growth. In particular, the latter can improve the water retention and soil aeration to keep the nutrients from leaching away.
Soil Blend Super Compost Organic Plant Food Specifications | |
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Size | 40 lbs |
Form | Powder |
Highlight Features | Certified Organic American Vegetarian Association Approved & Recommended NON-GMO 2-2-2 (NPK ratio) |
The Soil Blend Super Compost Organic Plant Food can help your flower bloom more beautifully and fruits and vegetables grow tastier.
Best For Faster Growth: Black Kow Mushroom Growing Mix Compost
- Effective as advertised
- Thick and healthy appearance
- Overprice
Are you needing to speed up the germination of your seeds? If yes, the Black Kow Mushroom Growing Mix Compost can help them germinate faster and grow better.
This mushroom compost can amend the clay soil very well so that the root can easily go into the soil to start growing.
Black Kow Mushroom Growing Mix Compost Specifications | |
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Size | 40 pounds |
Ingredients | Composted mushroom soil |
Highlight Features | Composted cow manure |
The Black Kow Mushroom Growing Mix Compost can help your seeds germinate quicker and plants grow faster.
How To Choose The Best Organic Compost For Vegetable Garden?
Why Should You Choose Organic Compost For Your Vegetable Garden Instead Of Non-Organic Type?
Plants use what is in the soil to produce fruits and vegetables. Therefore, if your soil is full of toxins and chemical ingredients, they will transfer into what you eat.
Certified organic composts are high in organic matter, nutrients, and materials without containing unnatural materials such as pesticides and toxins, so it's safe to use on edible vegetables. This type of compost can alleviate synthetic chemicals, but it amends the soil to improve its quality without attracting pests or getting diseases.
Which Ingredients In Compost Are Good For Vegetable Garden?
Clover
- Vegetable leaves, vines, stalks, and scraps
- Tea leaves
- Sphagnum moss
- Peat moss
- Peanut hulls
- Manure from herbivore animals (horses and cows)
- Leaves
- Kelp
- Hops from beer brewing
- Straw or hay
- Grass clippings without chemicals
- Fruit scraps
- Flowers
- Egg shells
- Corn cobs and corn stalks
- Coffee grounds
Which Ingredients In Compost Are Not Good For Vegetable Garden?
Wood shavings or sawdust unless you need to adjust the soil pH
- Weeds without seed
- Sewage sludge
- Oil, grease, and fat
- Non-organic plant materials
- Meat and bones
- Manure from carnivore or omnivore
- Diseased plants
- Dairy
- Ashes (wood and coal unless you need to adjust soil pH)
What Are The Signs Of A Good Compost For Vegetable Garden?
It should have a dark brown, even black color, smooth consistency with a neutral and earthy smell. Don't choose a sticky and muddy compost with entire pieces of plant matter.
What Is The Best Type Of Compost For Your Vegetables?
It depends on what you grow:
Manure-Based Compost
Although the manure-based compost attracts pests, and its smell is unpleasant, this type is high in nitrogen. So, it works well for vegetables that require a high level of nitrogen such as tomatoes and broccoli. If the climate in your area is hot, a high level of nitrogen can keep your plants from getting too much sun.
Composts Made From Food Scraps
This type is low in nitrogen and high in carbon, so they can balance vegetables that are high in nitrogen. In particular, its smell is not as bad as manure-based composts and this type doesn't attract many pests. For a cold climate, a compost with a high level of carbon can keep your plants from getting too much frost.
Leaf-Based Compost
Although this type is low in nutrients, it is a significant source of organic matter.
Should You Choose Free-peat Moss Composts For Your Vegetable Garden?
Yes. This ingredient is naturally acidic. Its pH range is from 4.0 to 4.5 while most garden plants love a slightly alkaline soil that has a pH range from 6.0 - 7.0. Applying peat moss in your vegetable garden will make the soil more acidic, resulting in nutrient deficiencies.
Which Brands Make The Best Organic Compost For Vegetable Garden?
Purple Cow Organics
Although the name of this brand is Purple Cow Organics, they provide plant-based compost instead of products made from cow-based manure.
Their activated composts can help you improve your poor-quality soil because of a large amount of organic matter.
FAQs
Can I grow vegetables in 100% compost?
Yes. You can grow some certain vegetables in 100% compost. However, the high concentration of nitrogen in compost can make your plants produce a super-abundance of foliage. The majority of veggies grow better in a good mix of topsoil, vermiculite, and compost.
Note: Don't use a newly formed compost heap that tends to heat up significantly for the first 6 weeks. The roots of your new plants can be burnt in it.
As mentioned, some certain plants can grow well in 100% compost because they can deal with a high level of nitrogen and are not prone to burn. Below are some of them:
- Courgette loves nitrogen.
- Pumpkins and squash can grow well even in new compost.
- Both hot peppers and bell peppers can grow well in 100% compost.
- Although potatoes can grow well in 100% compost, they will grow more leaves than having many big tubers. Some tubers are scabby due to the high nitrogen level.
- Carrots also have a lot of foliage with little carrot root.
Here are what you shouldn't grow in pure compost:
- Cabbage can just produce its leaves without having the heart in the plant, sprouts in the Brussels, or flower in the cauliflower.
- Like other root vegetables, beetroot mainly produce leaves, so there will be small beets.
- Although tomatoes can grow well, 100% compost produces weak plants.
How long should compost sit before use?
Compost should sit from 1 to 12 months before using. The specific period of the time can change depending on the size of materials in the compost, the management degree, and intended use.
Or you can use the compost if it has the following signs:
The pile of the compost has shrunk to one-half the original volume.
You can't recognize the original organic material ingredients in the compost anymore.
For hot composting method, you can use the compost when the pile doesn't generate a significant amount of heat anymore.
The compost is available to use when it has a dark crumbly appearance with an earthy odor.
Should I turn the compost every day?
Although you need to turn the compost for aeration that plays an important role in the decomposition rate of organic material, it's not essential to do it every day.
Normally, you should actively decompose materials every 3-4 days. For materials with slowed microbial activity, it's okay to turn them less often.
Can I just put compost on top of the soil?
Yes, you can just put compost on top of the soil. This is mulching which is one of many ways to apply the compost in your garden.
For mulching, you can add a layer that is 2-4 inches in thickness on the top of the soil around your plants to offer nutrients from the top-down. In particular, this allows the shallow roots of new plants to access nutrients faster. Mulching helps your plants to retain its moisture, so you don't have to water regularly. In the cold months, this layer can protect your plants from being damaged by frost.
Do I water before or after compost?
Watering after compost helps it seep further down into the soil.
Conclusion
Are all organic composts good for vegetables? This is right but not enough. Choose the best organic compost for vegetable garden that works well with each specific case.