Ever wonder what process our compost products go through before it reaches you?

It’s a common misconception that compost is just soil with additives to help build organic matter. But the truth is, there is a science behind the process of making quality compost in bulk.

At home, your compost is likely made up of some of the following:

• Fruit and vegetable scraps
• Table scraps
• Garden waste
• Used tea leaves
• Flower cuttings
• Coffee grounds
• Eggshells
• Cardboard
• Small wood scraps

When creating compost in bulk, these sources of waste and scraps look different. The materials we source for our compost are mostly made up of different types of:

• Animal waste
• Bark fines
• Green waste
• Sawdust

What makes it so difficult to compost kitchen and other waste in bulk?

1. In production, there is very little control or knowledge of where this type of waste would come from. This can lead to issues around gaining a BioGro certification because it requires guaranteeing an organic product. There are all types of GMOs and chemicals in food that aren’t effective for compost.
2. Special consent and specific environmental regulations are required for processing kitchen and other waste on a commercial scale. Not to mention the risk of rodents and extreme odour problems.
3. There is also a risk of the final product being inconsistent if the waste is different in each batch. The materials sourced are kept to natural residues that are easily broken down for the highest quality and most consistent outcomes.

Although compost is made of natural materials, it’s still important to be conscious of the risks involved when handling it.

The composting process in your backyard can also look different from composing in bulk. However, the chemical activity required will look the same. Compost needs the perfect combination of nitrogen, carbon, and oxygen to create the microbe activity necessary to make compost. To get these to work as they should, the materials need to be combined, turned, and heated to a certain temperature to cook the raw materials for the desired outcome.

Each of these steps is essential in creating the compost that growers across South Island use on a daily basis.

1.Recovery & collection

Residues and raw materials are collected from mills and forests around New Zealand.

2. Screening

Separating the decorative grades of bark and fibre and all the raw materials into bark fines media with an in-house grinder.

3. Blending & Windrowing

The blending process includes adding composting additives to bark fines media depending on the compost being created.

4. Composting

The intensive process of aging involves turning the mounds approximately 5-7 times. This allows the mixture to heat to the desired temperatures and cook each time they’re turned.

5. Screening

A final screen is initiated to remove any oversized particles to get the required size specification and prepare for dispatch.

6. Dispatch

Delivery to growers, landscape retailers, and garden centres around the top of the south to happy customers.

We offer a range of composts depending on the needs of the growing environment. This includes:

1. Greenwaste Compost is a BioGro certified compost for commercial growers to increase nitrogen levels in soils.
2. HortGro Compost is a BioGro certified compost for farmers and commercial growers for better crop quality by increasing organic matter, carbon contents, and moisture retention in soil.
3. FishGro Compost is a BioGro certified fish-based compost for large home vegetable gardens and flower beds.
4. Barnyard Compost, an all-purpose manure-based compost for large scale planting and horticulture projects.
5. Flourish Compost, a powerful, highly-nutritious mushroom-based compost for large vegetable and flower gardens.