6 Best Composts for Gardens: Boost Your Crop from the Inside
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Plants love to grow in soil that’s nutrient-rich, biologically active, and well structured. Regularly adding compost to your soil is the best way to ensure that your soil can provide an excellent growing environment for your vegetable garden or flower patch for many seasons.
Compost is usually the first purchase I make in anticipation of a new growing season. I love the idea of renewing my soil through a tried-and-tested method that’s been around for thousands of years.
That’s why I’m excited to present this list of the 6 best composts for gardens of any type. Whether you’re looking to renew the soil in a large vegetable patch or add some compost to a raised flower bed, I’m sure there’s an option for you on this list.
Let’s jump right into it!
Key Takeaways
To create this list, I took a look back through all the compost products I’ve used over the years and also conducted a ton of online research. I’m confident about this list of the six best composts for gardens.
Overall, Espoma Organic Land and Sea Gourmet Compost with Lobster & Crab Meal is the best compost for gardens. It has high-quality ingredients and nutrient-packed formula. The all-natural formula is great to use in soil that hosts a wide variety of plants, including flowers, vegetables, trees, and shrubs.
I’ve also included a couple of products with more defined use cases on this list, including the flower-focused Coast of Maine Organic Natural Gardening Compost Potting Planting Soil Blend for Roses and Other Flowers and the scent-free Garden Magic Compost and Manure – Odor Free Blend for those who really hate smelly manures and composts.
Best Overall: Espoma Organic Land and Sea Gourmet Compost with Lobster & Crab Meal
Why This is a Quality Choice: Espoma Organic Land and Sea Gourmet Compost with Lobster & Crab Meal is an outstanding compost mix that’s made with high-quality natural ingredients.
I’ve recommended it as tops overall of the best composts for gardens as a result of wide applicability to many different gardening projects (it’s equally effective for vegetables, flowers, and shrubs/trees) and excellent customer reviews.
It also contains both endo- and ecto-mycorrhizae, which are fungal ingredients that help roots absorb water and nutrients.
Who is this for? I think that this compost would fit the needs of most home gardeners, as it can make a positive impact in all sorts of different growing environments.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: This mix contains limestone, which means the only type of plants it’s not appropriate for use with are those that need a high-pH environment.
Type: Organic | Ingredients: Aged forest products, sphagnum peat moss, humus, limestone, lobster meal & crab meal | Package size: 27.5 lbs
Best Budget: Ribbon Organics OMRI Certified Organic Compost
Why This is a Quality Choice: If you ask me, R&M Organics Premium Organic Compost perfectly strikes a balance between quality and affordability. It’s a certified-organic compost that also offers great value for money with its huge 35-pound bag. The manufacturer also offers various bundles of this product together with soils and fertilizers, which can help you order everything you need while saving on shipping.
Who is this for? This is a great choice for gardeners who need a large volume of compost but don’t want to break the bank when ordering it.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: The compost formula doesn’t contain any added nutrients like phosphorus or potassium, so I’d recommend using a fertilizer to augment it.
Type: Organic | Ingredients: Brush, cut firewood, garden debris, grass clippings, leaves, sod, vegetable waste, and wood chips | Package size: 35 lbs
Best Odor Free: Michigan Peat Garden Magic Compost and Manure – Odor Free Blend
Why This is a Quality Choice: One of the most common complaints that compost users have is the objectionable smell that comes from bags of compost. Although most people expect compost to smell (since manure is often one of the main ingredients), it can truly be too much. Luckily, that’s not a problem with this odor-free blend from Michigan Peat.
Who is this for? If you’re sensitive to smells and hate using compost as a result, this product offers a great solution.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: It’s not the cheapest compost on this list, but that does make some sense as a result of the unique feature the product promises.
Type: Organic | Ingredients: Organic reed sedge peat and composted animal manure | Package size: 40 lbs
Best for Flower Beds: Coast of Maine Organic Natural Gardening Compost Potting Planting Soil Blend for Roses and Other Flowers
Why This is a Quality Choice: Since many flowers need a higher-pH environment than other plants to thrive, it can be difficult to find composts that are ideal for the flower beds they’re growing in. Luckily, this problem is neatly solved by Coast of Maine Organic Natural Gardening Compost Potting Planting Soil Blend for Roses and Other Flowers. It contains both compost and potting soil that are specifically formulated for roses and other flowers.
Who is this for? Passionate rose gardeners will definitely appreciate the unique qualities of this soil and compost blend.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: This isn’t a product you can use across your entire garden, so it’s not great for people looking for a one-size-fits-all solution.
Type: Organic compost plus potting soil | Ingredients: Compost, sphagnum peat moss, and aged bark | Package size: 15.5 lbs
Best Soil and Compost Mix: Vermont Compost Company High-Nutrient Compost-Based Potting Soil for Plants & Vegetables
Why This is a Quality Choice: Less experienced gardeners can sometimes struggle with the process of mixing together several different products to create a growing environment. Happily using Vermont Compost Company High-Nutrient Compost-Based Potting Soil for Plants & Vegetables takes a lot of that complicated work out of the equation.
Who is this for? Gardeners who aren’t a fan of mixing together multiple products on their own should consider picking up a bag of this excellent product from the Vermont Compost Company. It is quite simply one of the best composts for gardens.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: You do give up a little bit of control when using products that include both potting soil and compost, but that tradeoff makes sense for a lot of home gardeners.
Type: Organic compost plus soil | Ingredients: Composted manure and plant materials, blonde horticultural grade sphagnum peat moss, crushed and screened granite and basalt, blood meal, kelp meal, bone meal, gypsum, vermiculite, and coconut coir | Package size: 20 qt.
Best Worm Castings: Brut Organic Worm Castings
Why This is a Quality Choice: The final product on this list of the best composts for gardens might be controversial with some gardeners, since worm casting isn’t technically compost. However, adding worm castings to your soil accomplishes many of the same goals as compost use and has added benefits like adding humic and folic acids to the soil.
Who is this for? If you feel like your soil could use a boost to its humic and folic acid contents (which can help improve root growth and water absorption), I’d recommend using this product instead of a conventional compost for a growing season.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: Worm castings don’t contribute as much as compost to creating an airy yet secure soil text, which might be a concern based on your particular soil conditions.
Type: Worm castings | Ingredients: Reed Sedge peat and worm castings | Package size: 30 lbs
Buying Considerations for the Best Composts For Gardens
Ingredients
The type, and quality, of the ingredients in a compost are a crucial thing to think about when thinking about your options. Many gardeners prefer to use an all-natural or organic compost blend, since this can help renew soil through natural processes.
An option like Espoma Organic Land and Sea Gourmet Compost with Lobster & Crab Meal or R&M Organics Premium Organic Compost would be perfect if that describes your thinking. Other gardeners don’t mind using composts that have synthetic ingredients added, since these can boost the nutrient levels of soil quickly.
Type
There are a number of different forms that compost comes in. Some products are pure compost or manure, which need to be thoroughly mixed with a soil product to be effective. Others come pre-mixed with soil (and sometimes with fertilizer or plant food), which saves you from having to take that extra step.
Finally, some composts come in a dried granule form that breaks down when it comes into contact with water. All of these different types of compost can be effective, so which one you choose is ultimately up to personal preference. You can go with whatever is most convenient and easy for you to use!
Size
Finally, you want to ensure that you’re buying the right amount of compost for your needs. This can save you from having to either re-order compost because you ran out too quickly or having a bunch of extra compost that you have to store or throw away.
I’d recommend making an estimate of how much compost you need by measuring your growing areas and thinking about how much compost you want to add to your soil mix. Taking this simple step will help you order the perfect amount each and every growing season.
How I Choose These Products
I used a mix of my own personal experience with using composts in my garden and considerable online research to come up with this list of the best composts for gardens. Since I’ve ordered a lot of compost over the years, I have tested out a lot of the different fertilizers on this list. This gives me a lot of insight into the quality and consistency of what various brands offer, as well as how the products tend to perform—at least in my yard.
That last part is why it was important to me to research what other customers have said about using these products. I always want to get an idea of what other people have seen in order to form a better idea about how a compost (or a potting soil or a grow bag) performs in many different contexts. I hope that all that work has produced a list of products that can help you improve your gardening outcomes.
Final Verdict
Overall, I had to recommend Espoma Organic Land and Sea Gourmet Compost with Lobster & Crab Meal as the top pick among the best composts for gardens. The natural ingredients that are sourced from the shells of lobsters and crabs bring a ton of nutrients to your soil without relying on any synthetic plant foods. I’ve seen amazing results when using this product in terms of both higher vegetable yields and larger and more brilliant flowers. There’s no reason you can’t achieve the same outstanding results.
FAQs
Which compost is best for all plants?
Since different types of plants can have very different needs in terms of factors like soil acidity, nutrient levels, and soil texture. This means that there isn’t any one compost that’s perfectly suited for all plants. In general, however, an all-purpose compost will be appropriate for most types of flowers and vegetables.
It’s best to do a bit of research into the exact type of plants you’re planning to grow. It’s important to learn whether or not they require specific soil conditions to thrive. If you need to, you can choose an appropriate product or use a pH tester to ensure that the compost you’re planning on using will work.
What are the 3 main compost ingredients?
It’s possible to break composts down into the following three components: brown matter (like dry leaves, wood chips, and other materials that are rich in carbon), green matter (like fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grinds, and grass cuttings, all of which are nitrogen-rich), and air. Brown and green matter provide material for your plants to root in and nutrients, respectively. Air provides the soil structure and texture.
What is the best compost for beginners?
Although I’m a big fan of home composting using tools like a compost tumbler, I do understand that getting everything set up can be difficult for beginners. If you’d rather just pick up a pre-made compost as someone just starting out on your gardening journey, then I’d recommend picking up a simple all-purpose compost like the Espoma Organic Land and Sea Gourmet Compost with Lobster & Crab Meal.
Or, if you’re looking for something a little more specific for an upcoming gardening project, you might consider a product with a more restricted use case like the Coast of Maine Organic Natural Gardening Compost Potting Planting Soil Blend for Roses and Other Flowers
