Overview
Laurel Valley Soils's Premium Compost is an STA Certified, high quality all-purpose compost for landscapes, gardens, farming, commercial, reclamation, DOT Projects and soil blending. This high end yet practical compost is our go-to workhorse, thanks to its high organic matter content, broad spectrum of slow release nutrients and beneficial microorganisms.
We use Premium Compost as a core ingredient in most of our soil blends and it stands on its own as a great topdressing and in situ soil amendment. Premium Compost is made from a blend of the highest grade agricultural feedstocks, composted at our state of the art facility and tested regularly through the US Composting Council's Seal of Testing Assurance (STA) Program to verify and ensure quality and consistency. Applying compost is the best way to build fertile, productive, and healthy soil.
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Ingredients
Premium Compost is made through the process of aerobically windrow composting our very own post-harvest mushroom compost. Mushroom compost is made from a majority of hay and straw with smaller proportions of horse manure, poultry litter, corncobs, cottonseed hulls, cocoa bean hulls, lime, gypsum and sphagnum peat moss.
Then, we add proprietary carbon sources to improve the carbon to nitrogen ratio as we formulate our windrows. We add a bulking agent that increases the oxygen content and temperature of the windrows. After six to nine months of composting, the aged and stabilized compost is moved into large cover-all buildings to cure for several months. The end result is a fine yet slightly granular texture that is nice to work with and provides a balance of fertility and biology.
Analytical
Our Premium Compost has a rich brown black color, a fine particle size, and a nice granular texture. With a high organic matter content it has a broad spectrum of essential nutrients, beneficial soil biology and a near neutral pH. This light and spongy compost is screened to 1/2″, and weighs 1250 to 1850 lbs/cubic yard. Contact Us for a STA Certified Technical Data Sheet.
Benefits
Applying compost is the best way to build fertile, productive, and healthy soil. The fertility supplied by compost is released slowly, lasting for at least an entire growing season if not several years, providing safe and sustainable organic nutrients.
The abundant microorganisms in compost act to enhance the soil’s immune system, helping to fight off and prevent soil diseases. The physical characteristics of the organic matter help build strong soil structure, creating well aggregated and porous, yet sponge-like soil matrix that is more resistant to compaction.
This matrix provides for the right balance of moisture and oxygen in the root zone which promotes healthy deep rooting plants. It also improves the moisture holding capacity of light sandy soils while improving infiltration and permeability in heavier clay based soils. Compost also improves the cation exchange capacity (CEC) and can help adjust soil pH.
Benefits at a Glance
- Organic Matter
- Nutrients
- Biology
- Water Holding Capacity
- Improves Soil Structure and Porosity
STA Certified
Applications
STA Certified Premium Compost is a great choice for landscape, trees, shrubs, turf, gardens, flowers, fruit, vegetables, farming, commercial construction, reclamation, DOT work and soil blending. Premium Compost is Laurel Valley’s original high performance yet affordable all-purpose work-horse compost.
Topsoil Upgrade: The US Composting Council recommends “Strive for Five”, meaning a good target organic matter content for an ideal soil should be 5% by weight. When amending depleted or shallow soils, first start with a soil test then depending on the results mix in several inches of compost, aiming for a blended end result of 5% organic matter content by weight.
See our soils at work
Bartram’s Garden Farm
