A gardening maxim is "you can not have too much compost." So what do you do in the bin is overflowing and ready to use? If a garden bed is empty the answer is obvious, dig it in. Compost only does great things for the soil. Add lots. Three inches one year and one inch each year thereafter is a good rule of thumb. More is better although some say you can overdo it.

Sandy soil will hold more water with lots of compost and the nutrients that used to wash away are now able to stay near the roots where the plants can use them for great growth. Earthworms will move in for the compost and will add their castings to the mix for increased plant health.

Those same earthworms may have difficulty in clay soil because it retains so much water it is liable to drown them in their own tunnels. However, a liberal dose of compost and the clay will be broken up for greater drainage and have an ability to absorb water rather than to let it pool. The increase in organic matter will attract those worms who will now have a more secure place to survive and prosper. Earthworms help a little to make a healthy soil but are a great indicator of healthy soil.

But then, what is one to do in mid season when the crops and flowers are growing and the compost is ready? You could store it but rains would leach out some of the good and besides, this is the time of year when there is a lot of green material begging to be made into compost. Consider the forest floor. There the compost is made on the top of the soil and used by the roots below. Prepare to mulch.

Compost properly made will be loose and crumbly. Run it through a 2" sieve and it is ready to mulch the garden. If you already have a mulch there take a good look at it, underneath as well as on top. Part of the bottom will be broken down to compost. If you wish you may rake down to that area, leaving you with brown material for the compost pile. Better yet, just layer more mulch on top in the form of compost. Three or four inches is not too much. It will speed up the breakdown of the mulch below it and add to the soil. Earthworms and other soil fauna will take it deeper to the roots of the plants. Each time it rains it will make a sort of compost tea that will trickle to the plant roots for a quick boost in growth. In between rains it will retain the ground moisture and forestall the soil from crusting.

Compost can always be added and be good.