I just screened out the fine compost of my finished pile. I am not ready to use it at this time,so I put it in a black plastic bag and left it on the ground by my other pile. Is this ok?

Maybe. But my philosophy is that you can never have or make too much compost! (LOL)

Why not use it as a continous mulch or side dressing around every plant you got, and keep making more?

I think so. I use a separate bin to store my "screened" compost if I can't use it right away or I'm saving up for a big project. I would think as long as it continues to smell good, it is good.

My question is wouldn't you destroy some microbes if you put compost in a plastic bag? Of course I guess you wouldn't close it up... Isn't it soooo therapeutic to turn those piles!!
Plano Patty

I agree with Patty. It makes me feel good every time I turn my compost and see all those little gray bugs working so hard to turn the ingredients into compost. Then two days later I see the compost has gone down about 12 inches in the bin.

I think it would be better to store the finished compost in something other than a plastic bag. Seems like the bottom would likely to come out of the plastic bag if it were left on the ground for very long. Have you thought of using 5 gal. buckets (plastic).

jhenry