By Rogi
NRW,
Germany 
Hallo all. Last year in autumn I emptied most of my compost heap on to the veggie garden and dug it well in expecting bumper crops this year...but they are not up to my expectations...I was wondering if I did the right thing by digging the compost in in autumn....would it be better to do it in spring...did all the goodness get washed away during winter?.
30 Jun, 2013
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« have a lovely large yew tree in my garden that's been there for 15yrs, almost...
More likely the weather than the compost. And to be absolutely accurate, there is very little actual food in compost. It's effect is to improve the structure of the soil so that beneficial bacteria etc. can increase the soils fertility. It also improves moisture retention and drainage by opening up the soil.
I think most of us are suffering from poor growth in veg.
The old rule used to be mulch in Autumn to preserve warmth and manure in Spring to warm the soil up.
We dug our compost heap in to the Veg beds in Autumn too by the way.
30 Jun, 2013