Whether you consider yourself an amateur gardener or you’re quite proud of your green thumb, whether you’re in charge of landscaping at a place of business or you only garden at home, stocking up on compost is one of the best things you can do for your garden. Making your own compost is time-consuming and if you don’t get the perfect mixture, it can backfire and harm your plants. Order your compost from a professional landscaping and garden supply business along with your soil, seeds, and decorative stones.

Always Combine, Never Use Alone

Even the best compost mixes are meant to accentuate a plant’s growth, not be responsible for the growth entirely. Compost combined with existing soil ads valuable nutrients to the soil, which makes the plants stronger and better able to fend off plant diseases and bug infestations. However, it needs to work with soil for the best results. Depending on the plant, compost works best in layers between soil, not mixed throughout the soil. For example, you might spread a layer of compost over soil and top that with another layer of soil, or you might leave the compost layer on top.

Use as Surface Mulch in Off Season

During autumn and winter, protect your soil and the annuals hibernating beneath the surface with a layer of compost on top of the places where you grow plant life. There’s no need to push it hard against the layer of soil in the off season, as its primary function is to retain heat in the ground and protect your seeds from the onslaught of the colder months. Once spring rolls around, mix the remaining compost into the soil or layer it with more soil as is appropriate for the type of plants you’re growing.

Add More Compost Regularly

Give your soil and plants more nutrients by adding more compost every six months or so. This is especially important to remember for house plants, as your outdoor plants may not be active for half of the year, but your indoor plants are in need of vitamins year-round.

Stock up on compost throughout the year to keep your soil and plants healthy even through the off seasons. When designing a garden, spend time thinking about the aesthetics of the landscaping – like the stones, the benches, and the gravel paths –but don’t forget the invisible compost, too, which helps turn your seeds into beautiful flora.