This product may contain clopyralid, an herbicide that has been found to be a very long lasting plant poison that will survive the composting process. The only way to know this would be to have some of it tested which may be fairly expensive.

Hi Kathy, Like rhizo said, nevermind terryb -- I've seen post after post from him not offering anything constructive, useful or helpful. Let's get started.... Just beginning how bad have a I messed up? Not at all! You're fine.... One of the best things about natural/organic turf programs is that organic fertilizer may be applied any day, any time of day, and at any amount without fear of hurting the turf. You've put down quite a bit of fertilizer already this season, so you don't need any more at the moment, but we'll come back to that in a bit. Do I need to apply compost when the Bermuda is starting to break dormancy or while it is still dormant? You can apply compost now or later or you can choose not to, it's not really mandatory. The primary purpose of applying compost is the introduction of beneficial microorganisms. Unless your lawn's been really hammered with lots of chemicals in the last few years, there are soil microbes there already & feeding them in the form of organic protein based fertilizers will cause them to multiply. The application of compost is sort of a shortcut in this process. IMHO the only problem with applying compost is that it's quite a labor intensive backbreaking process. It requires about a cubic yard of compost for every 1000sqft of turf & to apply, you take it out in a wheelbarrow, shovel it out & then use a broom and/or landscape rake to spread. I did it in early March last year & frankly, If I had it to do over, I'd apply compost tea instead. Far easier, far less expensive & still you get the benefit you're after of the introduction of beneficial microorganisms. To learn more about compost tea, you can look in the Soil & Compost forum FAQ's and don't miss checking out Deuley's Little Texas Tea Brewer for instructions on a very inexpensive home brewer. Should I apply anymore fertilizer this growing season or wait till fall? Bermuda is a "heavy feeder", it likes fertilizer. I applied alfalfa pellets 3 wks ago & now my bermuda's coming out of dormancy, so I applied soybean meal a few days ago. I'll apply soybean meal @ 14-15lbs per 1000sqft approx every 4 to 6 weeks until first frost. Then I get to take a break til next spring. You can see the results of organically feeding my bermudagrass by looking at my member page (but beware, if you have dial-up, it;ll take a while for the page to load, I have many pics on there.) Any thoughts on lime? Only apply lime if you do a soil test & the test indicates you need lime to adjust the PH level. Keep in mind that now that you're feeding your microherd, you'll be naturally shifting PH towards neutral. Well, that's my 2 cents & I hope it helps some. Good day, Dan

The word of the day is "Let the buyer beware" . How many here would call someone and say "I want a new car. Get me one and I will pay you what you want"? Why do we do that with soil? So often we see here someone bought some soil and it was not what they wanted, or expected, because they relied on the seller to give them what they wanted and that happens seldom. Someone wanting to purchase soil needs to determine what they want and go and look for it., same as buying that car. Do not rely on someone's description of soil as "topsoil" (a meaningless term), or "garden soil" (also meaningless), but go and look at what is being sold. Look at the soil, smell the soil, feel the soil, ask for a one cup sample of the soil for testing as described in "Soil test for organic matter" above. A good soil mix for a garden is one with about 45 percent sand, 25 percent silt, 25 percent clay and 5 percent organic matter, soil some maintain is improbable to get. If we all demand that mix it will become available if those selling soil want to stay in business. If we, as buyers, demand quality we will get it. kimmq is kimmsr

How bad this might be will largely depend on how well-rotted the compost is. Active compost not only creates heat, it also makes nutrients less available in the soil, which is pretty much the opposite of what people want compost to do. "Finished" compost is still not a great thing to put up against the roots of a plant, because it can be too rich. Top dressing with compost is great. If you want to mix compost into the soil in your planting hole, I would suggest that you mix some into the soil in the bottom, but then cap that with a good layer of dirt from the hole you dug, and fill the rest of the hole with the topsoil you removed when you dug the hole. In this way, the young plant's roots won't be burnt by the compost, because they are protected by a layer of soil. If the compost isn't quite done composting, it gives it a while to finish up, while the plant's roots grow toward the compost. As the plant matures, its roots will grow into the area that is enriched by the compost. P.S. If it were mine I would dig it up and sort this out.