Shredded prunings and hen manure (gallinaza), composted together at Las Rosas (Agüimes, Gran Canaria). Here is how much to use, when and how, for each use.
Six rules that hold for every use. The rest of the guide applies them case by case.
Work it into the top 15–20 cm. Left on the surface, it dries out and is wasted; used on its own as a potting mix, it is too strong.
Mix it in and water one or two weeks before sowing or transplanting, so the soil can settle.
Vegetables 1–1.5 kg/m², fruit trees 5–15 kg per tree, pots 20%, ornamentals 0.25–0.5 kg per plant, lawn 1 kg/m².
A thorough watering settles the mix and carries down some of the salts that every compost contains.
Keep it off seeds, bare roots and freshly planted seedlings, and away from trunks and stems.
Somewhere dry and ventilated, with the bag closed and out of the reach of children.
You need
From a tonne upwards, bulk is the better buy: ask Ayagaures.
Doses from the Compost G+ product sheet. They are a guide: if you have a soil analysis or an adviser, go by what they say.
The five doses on the product sheet, with how to apply each one.
1–1.5 kg/m²10 to 15 tonnes per hectare
When preparing the soil, one or two weeks before planting.
5–15 kg per treethe low end for a young tree, the high end for a large mature one
At planting, in the soil of the planting hole; after that, once a year, before the buds break.
20% of the potting mixone part compost to four parts soil
When filling the pot or repotting.
0.25–0.5 kg per plantdepending on the size of the plant
At planting and, on established plants, at the start of the growing season.
1 kg/m²a thin layer, under a centimetre
Before sowing, mixed into the soil; on an established lawn, after mowing and aerating.
Which of the five doses suits each crop, and when. A guide only: your soil analysis and your adviser have the final say.
| Crop | Dose | When | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–1.5 kg/m² | When preparing the ground, before planting the seed potatoes. | Mixed into the soil, not in the furrow next to the seed potatoes. | |
| 1–1.5 kg/m² | Before transplanting, in the ridge or the planting row. | Water well before setting out the seedling. | |
| 1 kg/m² | Before planting. | Lettuce tolerates little salt: low dose, well mixed in. | |
| 1 kg/m² | In good time, two weeks before. | Among the most salt-sensitive crops. | |
| 5–15 kg per plant | Once a year, spread over the watered area. | Never heaped against the plant. | |
| 5–15 kg per tree | At planting and before the buds break. | Salt-sensitive: well mixed in, away from the trunk and watered in. | |
| 5–15 kg per tree | At planting and once a year. | The low end for young trees. | |
| 0.25–0.5 kg per plant | At planting or as growth starts. | Keep it off the stems. |
The doses come from the product sheet (vegetables, fruit trees, ornamentals); the split by crop and the timings are a guide only.
The sheet gives a conductivity of 6–8 dS/m. That is a measure of the salts in the compost, as in any organic fertiliser made with manure. Used properly, it is not a problem.
Conductivity of the product (dS/m)
Measured in the product, not in your soil: once it is mixed in at the right dose, far less salt reaches the soil.
The figures on the Ministry of Agriculture’s registry sheet, number F0005621/2033, and what each one means for your soil.
Aerobic composting in trenches with forced air and in piles turned regularly, with a high-temperature phase that sanitises it.
See the sheet in the Ministry’s registrySalmonella absent in 25 g and E. coli 3 MPN/g, according to the Ministry sheet: below the limits of Real Decreto 506/2013.
| What | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Total nitrogen (N) | 2.0–2.3% | Food for green growth; nearly all in organic form, released slowly. |
| Organic nitrogen | 1.8–2.2% | The part of the nitrogen that watering does not wash out; it is released as the crop grows. |
| Phosphorus (P₂O₅) | 2.2–2.7% | Roots, flowers and fruit. |
| Potassium (K₂O) | 1.9–2.3% | Fruit quality and size, drought resistance. |
| Total organic matter | 35–40% | What loosens the soil and helps it hold water. |
| Organic carbon | 21–26% | The basis of organic matter and of life in the soil. |
| Humic acids | 2.5–3.5% | Help the soil hold water and nutrients. |
| Fulvic acids | 2.9–4.0% | Help the plant take up nutrients. |
| C/N ratio | 9–12 | Between 9 and 12 means a mature compost: it does not rob the plant of nitrogen. |
| pH | 7–8.5 | Neutral to slightly alkaline. |
| Electrical conductivity | 6–8dS/m | The salts it contains: that is why you mix it in and water. |
| Maximum moisture | 15–27% | It comes dry: the weight is compost, not water. |
| Particle size | 90% < 25mm | Fine and screened: 90% passes through a 25 mm mesh. |
The island’s prunings and hen manure go in at one end of the Las Rosas plant, in Agüimes, and come out at the other as screened compost.
Shredded plant waste (50–60%) and hen manure (40–50%), mixed in the right proportions.
Forced air and regular turning keep the composting aerobic and hot: that is what sanitises it.
A trommel screens it until 90% passes through the 25 mm mesh. It comes out mature and ready to use.
571,360 kg
of Compost G+ distributed in 2025, three times as much as in 2024: on farms, in municipal gardens and in school gardens.
At 22 garden centres, hardware stores and farm shops in Gran Canaria and at four Spar supermarkets; also in Tenerife and Lanzarote.
For the vegetable patch, pots and garden at home.
For farms and large gardens. About 200–300 m² of vegetable garden.
For farm businesses and councils, with delivery.
22 stockists
Ayagaures stockist list, July 2026.
Las Arenas, Vecindario, Hoya de la Playa and La Ballena.
Order BigBags and bulk directly from Ayagaures Medioambiente.
For anyone using it on a farm. This guide is advice only; the law is what counts.
Every application of fertiliser or organic matter goes in the fertilisation section of your farm record book (cuaderno de explotación), with the date, the plot and the amount (Real Decreto 1051/2022 on sustainable soil nutrition, art. 5).
Organic materials must be buried within 24 hours. A compost is exempt if its analysis certificate shows less than 0.6% ammoniacal nitrogen: ask for your batch’s certificate (RD 1051/2022, art. 10.3). Either way, mixing it in is best for the salt.
Inside the plot, on high ground, away from ravines, wells and water intakes. Compost can wait up to 20 days; uncomposted manure, 10 (RD 1051/2022, art. 9.2, as amended by RD 840/2024).
If your farm is certified organic, check with your certification body before using it.
No. It is a soil improver to mix into the soil, not a potting mix: in pots, 20% of the total; in the ground, the dose per square metre, mixed into the top 15–20 cm.
It comes out mature and stable after composting: it smells of earth, not of fresh manure. A bag that gets wet and stays closed for a long time can pick up a smell, so keep it dry.
Before planting or sowing, one or two weeks ahead, and water it in. On established fruit trees and ornamentals, once a year, at the start of the growing season.
It provides organic matter and some nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (2-2-2), released slowly. Demanding crops usually need fertiliser as well; your adviser or your soil analysis will tell you how much.
Yes: composting with a high-temperature phase sanitises it, and the Ministry sheet records no Salmonella in 25 g. Wear gloves and wash your hands, as with any fertiliser.
A 15 kg bag covers 10–15 m² of vegetable garden, 1–3 trees, 30–60 ornamental plants or 15 m² of lawn. The calculator works it out for you.
Ask your certification body before using it on a certified farm.
On your phone, on paper or in your irrigation community’s WhatsApp group.
Six A4 pages with the doses, the salt advice and the crop table, for the tool shed or the office.
Download the guide as a PDF
