Ways to Use Compost

In your Garden
The most obvious use is applying it to your garden to add nutrients and improve the soil texture and tilth of the soil. The nutrients you add from compost are also going to be beneficial to the garden crops more so even then commercial artificial fertilizers. This is because nutrients found in compost are in their organic forms and are much more available to the plants for uptake.
 
Weed Suppression
There is also quite a bit of researching being done with using compost as a weed killer. It does this simply by smothering the weeds in a layer of compost that prevents them from getting sunlight. Some people will apply compost
in conjunction with weed control paper which is placed directly on the soil surface with the compost spread out on top of the paper. These papers are biodegradable and as such they can be tilled right into the soil at the end of the year.

Grass Seed Starter
The properties of compost make it a excellent base on which to apply
grass seed to bare spots in your lawn. Like commercially prepared
seed starting mixes the compost provides a moisture holding bed that
gives your grass seed a fighting chance to sprout and thrive. Plus the
available nutrients contained in the compost don’t hurt anything either.

Custom Potting Soil Mixes
By making a mixture of standard soil and the compost you can create your very own potting soil right at the house that
can give everything your potted plant might need. The best part about using compost in this fashion is that at the end of
the summer the contents of the pot can simply be dumped out and the pot prepped for the next growing season with out
any fuss.

Lawn Amendment
After the compost is finished you can also scatter it thinly over
your lawn to add the nutrients and more organic matter to soil.
Don't worry if you spread it a little thick it can be easily raked out
and a little application of water will help it wash down towards the
roots of the grass.
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Starting the next Compost Pile
The nice thing about compost is that once it has been turned into compost it is essential ready to keep making more of
itself. It contains the needed microorganisms to begin the process all over again and as such it should be a necessary part
of any new pile you start.

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Further Resources