compost as mulch

A friend told me he throws mushroom compost in his flower beds instead of mulch. He claims the compost keeps the weeds at bay and of course the compost is great for the plants, but he doesn't work the compost into the soil, just lets it lay there like mulch. Any comments; think it would work, burn the plants stems, waste of good compost, cause more weeds ?

I mulch with compost too. I've never had a problem with weeds or burns on my plants. But you need to make sure the compost is thoroughly . . . Composted. It eventually gets mixed into the soil over time. Its a lazy way to ammend your beds!

Finished compost would not burn plants. (unfinished compost has the potential to burn plants.**)

Lots of people use compost as mulch or topdressing.

There are alot of no-till purists that will not work the compost into the soil because they do not want to upset the soil structure, fungal colonies et al. And there are the lazies (like me) who do not want exert any effort, so I toss it on top and let it work its way into the soil naturally.

*** some people do composting in place.... where oganic matter is placed directly into planting areas and it decomposes in its eventual resting place. (I don't think it works well if you have dogs, so I've been hesitant to try that myself.)

Compost is a good type of mulch. It helps keep moisture in, it will eventually break down and enrich the soil, and some plants love the compost (such as lilies which create stem offsets and which really enjoy the compost). With this type of compost, the less composted (e.g. it contains more rough pieces) the better it is to ensure aeration.

Thank you all for the great info.I think I just might give this a try as I hate weeding(doesn't everyone) and lazy is a good thing in the garden. I just find it hard to beleive my friend had a good idea, first one in the 20 years I have known him!!!!!

The only other concern is mushroom compost is often Sawdust and Horse Manure. Again if not composted long enough look out for seed growth using it on top.

Is there anyting wrong with using pure hardwood saw dust as mulch?

Not really but it will use nitrogen up in the soil so it is always a good idea to mix it with manure.

I mix compost with my dirt to plant, but have only topdressed the asparagus with it. Doesn't the bed get built up? I know not to add too thick a layer, but it seems like the bed gets built up. Kind of a dumb question.

Very little cause the compost becomes carbon and nitrogen used by the plants and more importantly the bugs, worms, and bacteria to make the Garden of Eden. On my asparagus I try not to put too much goodies on top cause they like sandy loam. I raise them at the back of my garden with the radishes and rhubarb. They all are weak soil plants.

Thanks, that explains it. Luckily I have fairly good sandyish soil. I've worked a lot of weeds into the garden over the years.

I never take credit for the weed arrival. The seeds are everywhere and all you need is to disturb the soil to give them a benefit over other plants. Well all I do is disturb soil so its Adams fault cause he made our Creator mad and along came weeds. LOL

Laugh. I always considered it green manure. Now when I plant, I only disturb the row. In the fall I turn it all with a shovel. I love the look of fresh turned dirt and never get tired of seeing a tractor and plow do it's magic.

I use the fine compost to put in my soil.

We always mulch with a barkdust mulch - medium - because it does not erode or "cake" and crust like fine compost.

What is barkdust? Like a sawdust?

I think some people call it "multi-bark", but it's ground up bark. In Oregon, it's primarily from Hemlock and Douglas fir. It's either shredded looking with some fines in it, or, there are different "nugget" styles from small nuggets of about 3/4" to huge nuggets, almost 3" wide (more like chunks).

The small nuggets are nice around water features and near swimming pool plantings.

Ah, I've had the nuggets. They look nice, but a heavy rain floats them. I've switched to cypress.

I try not to use cypress mulch because of recent warnings about Lousiana sources.
http://knitagarden.typepad.com/knitagarden/2006/04/say_no_.html

I didn't know that. We have already switched to the brown hardwood mulch because it looks more the color of dirt. Guess that was a good thing!