Compost
A cubic yard of compost weighs approximately 900 lbs = about 0.45 tons.
One of the best things you can do for your landscape is to use compost. Mulching a landscape refers to covering exposed soil with inert materials. It can help plants grow, reduce weeding labor, save water and make a garden area look cleaner and more decorative.
By spreading over and tilling in the bare soil with compost you create a buffering layer. That layer will help insulate plant roots from radical temperature changes. It also keeps moisture from evaporating fast so you can reduce the water needs of your plants. That same buffer zone will make it harder for weeds to germinate and using wood chips or pecan shells to fill in the empty spaces will make the landscape more attractive.
All Acme materials are measured and sold by volume. Weights will vary slightly according to moisture content. Bulk material prices picked up at our yard include one time loading. Some screened materials contain fines. Tones and sizing may vary over time. All prices “plus 9.1% sales tax.”
Effective 01-01-10 prices subject to change
 | White Mountain Compost | WMCOMP A low pH of 6.1 this pine based forest compost blends well with our alkaline soils here in the valley. | $27.00 | $16.50 |
 | Native Compost | NCOMP This compost is made from green waste material: grass, leaves and shrub trimmings, bark and sawdust. Gypsum is added as a soil conditioner. Excellent garden soil amendment and ground cover. This humus-like soil booster provides a correct balance of nutrition, organic matter, and particularly bacteria, that are vital to plant nutrition to the soil. | $29.00 | $17.50 |
 | Golf Course Omni Compost | GCOMNI Higher in nitrogen, and composted with bio-solids, formulated to retain moisture, screened extra fine for over-seeding/reseeding minus the wood chips. Commercially used in parks, sports fields, and golf courses. | $39.00 | $22.50 |
 | Pine Mulch | PMULCH 1/4" minus fine pine mulch works well in ground cover blanketing the soil to help retain moisture. | $25.00 | $15.50 |
 | Manure Blend | MANB We've blended our Steer Manure 30% with our Native Compost 70% to amend your existing soil or blend with one of ours. Great germination medium for over-seeding when temps drop below 64% at night. Also, amend 1 to 1 to improve your existing soil . | $30.00 | $18.00 |
 | Composted Horse Manure | COMPM Heat aerated and composted matured horse manure virtually free of weed seeds and pathogens. Mix in 50/50 with existing soil to add nutrients to your soil or as a seed cover. | $19.00 | $12.50 |
 | Steer Manure | SMAN An excellent fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other nutrients. It also adds organic matter to the soil which improves soil structure, aeration, soil moisture-holding capacity, and water infiltration. It is screened, aged, "cooked" and rinsed to remove up to 80% of salts. | $27.00 | $16.50 |
 | Bag Chicken Manure | CHICKM 1/2 cubic foot bag (14 lbs.) from organically fed layer hens and reservation straw seasoned about 3 months. Will cover about 40 square ft, or mix 10 -20% accordingly. Contains high Nitrogen (30% urea) and Calcium and many desirable nutrients beneficial to organic gardens. | $10.00 | $ |
How to use manure
No matter what kind of manure you use, use it as a soil amendment, not a mulch. In other words, don’t put raw manure directly on garden soils. Raw manure generally releases nitrogen compounds and ammonia which can burn plant roots, young plants and interfere with seed germination. In fact, it’s recommended that all animal manure should be aged for at least 6 months. Many gardeners spread fresh manure in the fall and turn it in to the top 6 inches of soil a month before spring planting.
A better treatment is to hot-compost manure before applying it to the garden. Hot composting, where the pile reaches at least 150 degrees F) helps to reduce the probability of passing dangerous pathogens on to people who handle the manure or eat food grown with manure compost.
The bottom line
Anywhere from 75 to 90 percent of the plant nutrients fed to animals are excreted in their manure, so it should be no surprise that the stuff is an excellent fertilizer. E.B. White, author of Charlotte’s Web, agrees. “There is no doubt about it, the basic satisfaction in farming is manure.”
Acme bulk products are available to our customers in small quantities by the bucket or sandbag:
Self-load fill your own containers measured and priced by the 5 gallon bucket.
Self-load sandbags, polypropylene or burlap. You may pre-order and We-Fill for $1 extra per bag. Delivery available.