At tuf-turf we understand that our job is not to just sell lawn and garden products, but to provide you, our customers with the knowledge and understanding of how you can create and maintain the beautiful landscape surrounding your home.

Lee Smith, the owner of tuf-turf in Saanich BC answers several of the questions customers want to know about compost below…

A conversation about compost:

What is compost used for? 

What is the compost made of?

When to use compost?

Is compost the same as soil?

The compost we sell at tuf-turf is made of organics. It’s primarily shredded wood fiber, which includes roots, stumps, trunks, branches, and leaves or needles put through a grinder. It’s been composted for a minimum of a year and often well over two years. It’s then put through a screening plant and comes out relatively fine. It’s a great form of organic material to add to any vegetable garden or plant garden.

Does the compost contain any food waste or manure?

The compost we sell does not contain any food waste, nor does it contain manure of any kind. We choose not to use products that contain manures because of the potential problems such as weed seeds which can be predominant in manures and they also have the potential for creating to much interest from your pets. None of our products have manure in them.

Our compost is ideal for digging into your soil. We suggest putting three or four inches of compost on top of your soil and tilling it in, ideally to a depth for six or eight inches. This will help to lighten your soil. If your soil is compact or has a lot of sand in it, or is deficient in organics then this is a great product to add. Organics make food available to your plants and make the soil “friable”, which means that it becomes lighter and easier for the roots of vegetables and plants to get through. This also makes the nutrient that is in the soil much more available, and by adding more nutrients, you’re enriching it, making it a better product.

There are times when you don’t need to add more soil to your garden. A great option can be just amending your soil by adding compost and tilling it in before planting your flowers or vegetables.

You can also use our compost as a mulch on top. As it breaks down or gets tilled into the garden over time, it will add that nutrient for long-term soil health.

If someone bought soil from tuf-turf for their gardens for this year, could they could top or enrich them with the compost next year?

Yes, absolutely! Or even use it as a straight mulch this year. And then through the winter, just through natural breakdown and next spring’s planting, it will make more nutrients available in the soil.

Use our soil calculator to figure out how much compost you will need to purchase…

We also sell Mulch and Soils, click on each to read more about them…

Learn more about Lee Smith, owner of tuf-turf