Ask before you buy compost

Are you ready for spring planting? You might as well get the ground ready wherever you've already cleared away vegetables or annual flowers. And one of the best things you can do to get the ground ready is to apply compost.

A third of a cubic yard, which is about a third of a ton, makes a satisfying meal for every hundred square feet of planted area.

That's a lot of compost, but these days there are plenty of places to buy it at a reasonable price, delivered, if you can't make enough in your backyard. Bagged compost is one option, but fresh bulk compost is cheaper, and is seething with beneficial microorganisms that also go to work killing off diseases and making the soil nice and crumbly.

Start your search for bulk compost in newspaper ads and the Yellow Pages.

"Compost" is an obvious starting point in the Yellow Pages, but also try "Topsoil," "Fertilizers," "Mulch," "Manure" and "Mushrooms". Be clear that what you want is compost, not just an old pile of wood chips, manure or what might be offered under the nebulous term "black dirt."

Also avoid composts mixed with soil and then sold as "topsoil." You have soil; what you want is compost.

Once you've found someone who truly sells compost, a few more questions can help you determine the quality of the product.

Ask what went into the compost, because all other things being equal, more variety in means a greater range of nutrients out. Also, especially in your vegetable garden, avoid using composts containing any industrial wastes.

Ask about the acidity, or pH, of the finished product. Ideally, it should be near neutral, with a pH of 6 to 7.

Ask about rocks. Besides the bother of the rocks, why pay for rocks rather than compost?

Particularly important is whether any compost contains viable weed seeds. You don't want the layer of rich, brown compost that you spread on your soil to grow into a carpet of weeds. Time and temperature kill most weed seeds, but weeds and weed seeds creep into sloppy piles or those that sit around too long, especially if left uncovered, so ask how the compost was stored.

Finally, try to get a sample of the compost before you get a truckload. Look at it: Little or nothing of what went into the mix should be visible. Feel it: Unless it's wet, it should be crumbly. And smell it: Finished compost has the rich, appealing aroma of the forest floor.