How Our Product Is Applied:
Generally accepted guidelines for applying compost recommend adding a one inch layer to your garden each year. Meeker's Magic Mix is very beneficial applied at this rate but can be used in greater or lesser quantities depending on your garden's needs. Compost can be applied in many different ways. It can be spread on the soil and tilled. It can also be used to top-dress plants or used as a mulch around trees and shrubs. For those wishing to have a chemical free green lawn, spread Meeker's Magic Mix evenly over your grass and water in thoroughy. Pets and chidren can play on the lawn immediatey with no worries! Meeker's Magic Mix is also terrific added to the soil of potted plants. Just a handful, or about 5-10 % of the potting soil can consist of Meeker's Magic Mix. This will ensure a long term benefit to the plants as nutrients contained in compost are generally slow release.
In the garden, best results from our packaged product will be achieved by applying the compost directly to the area of plant growth either by placing a handfull into a planting hole, or by tilling it into a planting row just prior to seeding.
For bulk applications, one cubic yard of compost spread at a one inch depth will cover an area of 324 square feet or an area 18 feet by 18 feet. Please contact us directly regarding bulk purchasing.
Additional Information You Should Know:
Add more. You can add carbon to your soil by mulching, growing a cover crop, and adding manure or compost. Many areas of the United States (especially areas that are traditionally agricultural) have seen a decline in organic matter and a loss of carbon. Degrading soils is "one of the major problems we face," explains Fred Magdoff, Ph.D., a professor of plant and soil sciences at the University of Vermont. This is why it's vital to add organic matter annually. Plants in warmer and wetter areas of the United States (such as the Southeast) use up organic matter more quickly, so instead of adding carbon to their soils once a year, gardeners in these areas should add it continually.
Aerate, in moderation. Because many microorganisms need oxygen, aerating the soil activates them and jump-starts the breakdown of organic matter. But "every time you disturb the soil, organic matter is lost," Magdoff explains. So till or aerate your soil only when you need to. Use raised beds, and avoid foot traffic through the garden so that you can till sparingly and keep the carbon in the soil.
Make compost. Then make more. By composting garden waste, you're using all the carbon produced in your garden. To be successful, compost must contain a balance of four ingredients: carbon, nitrogen, moisture, and oxygen. The bulky material in your garden (such as leaves, straw, and cornstalks) is high in carbon. (For more on making compost, visit OrganicGardening.com.)
Encourage soil critters. Whether they're bugs, bacteria, or fungi, your soil needs them all. They help turn the rough carbon in your garden into cakelike soil by producing microaggregates (tiny, crumbly nuggets) that stabilize and store carbon. "Soil aggregates are clumps of material that are called stable because they can't decompose much further," explains Magdoff. The stability comes from the action of microorganisms, which produce a sticky gum that glues the soil particles together. The soil is a sink, or storage place, for this kind of carbon.
Grow lots of stuff. To store the maximum amount of carbon, always keep the surface of the soil covered with growing things: trees, turf, vegetables, flowers, and cover crops. The more different kinds, the better. "Grow plants that have deep, extensive root systems and produce coarse, woody roots, because shallow, fine roots decompose too easily," says Naomi Pena, a policy analyst at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. She also advises planting trees, since they accumulate carbon in amounts two to four times higher than grass.