Compost, Woodchips & Mulch for Sale

• Compost
• Little Traverse Bay Residents: Get two free buckets of compost!
• Compost Use: Preparation and Application Rates
• How many yards do I need to apply X inches?
• Woodchips & Mulch

Our compost gets rave reviews from local gardeners and landscapers!

Emmet County’s Homegrown Compost

• Made from local yard and garden trimmings and food scraps.
• Independent-laboratory Tested
  Test results for compost screened in 2020:
  Solvita: Maturity
  A&L Great Lakes Laboratories: Characteristics and Nutrients
• Improve the texture and vitality of your soil.
• Get it at the Pleasantview Road Drop-off Center at 7363 S. Pleasantview Road, east of Harbor Springs.

Prices 

(There is a $5 minimum on compost purchases.)

• Bagged: ^$6 per bag or 3 bags for ^$15
• Bulk Minimum=1/4 cubic yard:  ^$5
  A quarter yard is 50 gallons!  BYOB bring your own buckets, bags, tubs and a shovel too as we can’t seem to keep any there.
• Bulk Load-Your-Own: ^$20 a cubic yard  (bring your own shovel as ours frequently disappear)
• Bulk We-Load*: ^$30 a cubic yard (into open trucks or trailers only)
  
• Volume Discount: purchases of 20 yards and up, $20 a cubic yard LOADED

When storing bulk compost, cover it with a dark tarp to keep out airborne weed seeds and prevent it from drying or getting soggy. 

*Use of our loading service is at your own risk. Emmet County will not be responsible for any damage to vehicles.

Little Traverse Bay Watershed Residents:
We’ve got FREE compost* for you!

The watershed? That’s the green area on the map!

If you live within it, you can bring your own buckets (bring a shovel, too) and get

2 buckets full of compost, free.

(Limit once per customer.) Alternately, the offer will cover one bag of compost if any are available. You can get additional bulk compost at the rates shown above.

The Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council is partnering with Emmet County to encourage residents to try compost! The project is funded by a grant from the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation. Soils amended with compost absorb rainwater better and plants grown with compost need less fertilizer, both of which reduce polluted runoff entering the area’s creeks, rivers, lakes and the Bay.

*Offer expires when 300 households have claimed the offer, so don’t delay. We will post here when grant quantities are filled.

Compost Use: Preparation and Application Rates

the following are from “Composting for the Homeowner” from the University of Illinois Extension (resource suggested by Michigan State University)

New Vegetable or Flower Garden

• Prep: clear existing vegetation and roots of tough perennial weeds.
• Use Compost: cover the area with 3 to 4 inches of compost. Till it into the top 6 inches of the soil.

In Potting Mixes

• “Compost is excellent for container growing mixes, because it stores moisture effectively and provides a variety of nutrients not typically supplied in commercial fertilizers or soil-free potting mixes.”
• Use Compost: Use 25-50% compost by volume.

Mulching Existing Gardens

• Prep: remove weeds, making sure to remove the roots of tough perennial weeds.
• Use Compost: Cover the garden or bed with 1 to 2 inches of compost.

To Support Your Lawn

• Prep: If using home-made compost, screen out chunky materials.  Aerating the sod before applying comopst will help incorporate the compost.
• Use Compost: Apply 1/8 to 1/4 inch of compost. Rake it into the crevices.

When Planting Trees or Shrubs

• Prep: collect the soil from the hole to backfill around the root ball.
• Use Compost: Mix compost into the natural soil before back filling. Use up to 25% compost (by volume). Using more than 25% compost may discourage the plant from extending its roots beyond the amended soil in the hole.

When Feeding Existing Trees

• Prep: Drill 1- to 2-inch diameter holes 12 inches deep throughout the tree canopy and beyond at 18-inch spacing. Fill the bottom of each hole with dry fertilizer at recommended rates.
• Use Compost: Top off the holes with compost.
• This treatment should supply nutrients for 2 to 3 years.

When Feeding Existing Shrubs

• Prep: Drill 1- to 2-inch diameter holes 8-10 inches deep throughout the tree canopy and beyond at 18-inch spacing. Fill the bottom of each hole with dry fertilizer at recommended rates.
• Use Compost: Top off the holes with compost.
• This treatment should supply nutrients for 2 to 3 years.

Want to make your own compost? Click here for our guide: Home Composting for You

Great for suppressing weeds in paths

Woodchips & Mulch

Load your own: ^$10 a cubic yard

We load*: ^$15 a cubic yard (open-top trucks and trailers only)

Choose from hardwood mulch, evergreen mulch, or woodchips.

*Use of our loading service is at your own risk. Emmet County will not be responsible for any damage to vehicles.

How many yards do I need to apply for compost or mulch X inches thick?

Compost is available loose and bagged. For those interested in purchasing it in bags, 40 of our bags of compost are equivalent to a cubic yard. Put another way, one bag of compost is .025 cubic yards of compost.

How We Measure Truck Bed Yardage

Length x Width x Height divided by 27 (LxWxH)/27

An average truck bed is about 2 yards if filled, but not over the edge

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