What it is
A 2-cubic-foot bag of hot-composted enriched organic compost. Same material we sell bulk by the yard, in a bag for small-job convenience. Dark, crumbly, smells like fresh earth — not ammonia (which would mean it's under-finished).
When to use bagged compost
- Annual top-dress for existing beds — work an inch of compost into the top 4 inches of soil each spring. Two bags handles a 20-sq-ft bed.
- Vegetable bed prep — mix 30% by volume into your soil at install. A 4x4 bed needs about 3 bags for the initial mix.
- Container amendment — combine with topsoil for raised planters and pots.
- Tree and shrub planting — mix 25% compost into the backfill for tree pits. Slow-release nutrition through the first season.
- Lawn top-dress — sift over a freshly cored lawn. Builds turf soil over years.
How much do I need
14 bags per cubic yard. For bigger projects, bulk by the yard is significantly cheaper.
| Job | Bags |
|---|---|
| 4x4 raised bed (initial amendment) | 3 |
| 8x4 raised bed (initial amendment) | 6 |
| 200 sq ft existing bed (annual top-dress) | 7 (or 1/2 yard bulk) |
| 1,000 sq ft lawn top-dress | bulk only |
Is your compost weed-free?
Hot-composted material reaches 140-160°F in the pile, which kills most weed seeds. No bulk compost is 100% weed-free (a stray seed always finds a way through the screen), but ours is as close as it gets at commercial scale.
Compost vs topsoil
People sometimes use these interchangeably and they shouldn't. Compost is the amendment — high in organic matter, low in mineral mass, full of biology. Topsoil is the bulk — mostly mineral, low in organic matter, structural. For a new bed, you want both: ~70% soil mix and 30% compost. For an existing bed, just compost as a top-dress.
Buying tips
- Slightly damp from the bag is normal — compost should hold moisture.
- If a bag smells like ammonia, don't plant in it yet — let it air out 24-48 hours first.
- Two bags of compost per square yard of vegetable bed at install is the rough rule.
Pickup or delivery
Bagged is pickup any time. Free with bulk delivery, small fee for bagged-only.