Bought a Yard of Compost...

[pdxwindjammer]

There was a half off deal for a yard of compost that I purchased and it expires in December. I plan on picking it up in November after I return from a long holiday in Europe.

I have learned from experience that you really don't want to throw a nice heavy layer of compost on a plot of soil and then leave it be until planting season. This year I had completely weeded my community garden plots, got a load of free alpaca poop and covered my garden with it. Well, the rains came and I didn't get up to my garden for a couple of weeks and when I returned the weeds and thistles were chest high and I had to start over again!

If I spread the load of compost over my community garden plot and then cover with a big tarp, with the soil be okay for planting in the spring after the compost has been under a tarp for several months? I want to cover it to prevent the weeds from engulfing my plot but I don't know what that will do to the microorganisms under the tarp.

If it is not a good idea to do this, I will just let the coupon expire and use the paid value towards compost in the spring.

THoughts?