By Wendikins
North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
I am accumulating used compost as I get rid of plants that are finished. I use some to top up pots that can take it but can you re use it by mixing with new compost or some kind of food? I am not supposed to put it in the green bin but can get rid of a small amount that way,otherwise I am stuck with it!! I am guessing the tomatoes I have just taken out will have drained any goodness from the compost they were in?!!
- 5 Oct, 2014
Answers
And now is the right time to mulch over borders too!
5 Oct, 2014
And if you haven't got a garden you can use it for your spring bulbs as they contain enough of their own food for one year's blooms. You can add Growmore or similar to replace the lost nutrients too.
5 Oct, 2014
There are several products for re-juvenating compost.
Vitax Q4 powder, and garden direct BTD are the best.
Both products are also the best garden fertilisers you can get.
You can mix used compost with horticultural sand, vermiculite, sterilised loam, peat, and will end up with something ten times better than anything you buy at garden centres.
5 Oct, 2014
I have the same problem... What to do with all the compost that's left in the pots when the plants are finished or when I pot them on. I mix used compost with fresh compost in an old water butt, add some Growmore and use it for next years container plants.
Alternatively, you could add it to your compost container. Good compost is usually very rich in nutrients, so adding some spent compost is probably a good thing. Just make sure that you give it a good stir. Adding some soil to a compost will attract even more worms which should make a better better compost.
6 Oct, 2014
Many thanks for all your advice. I do have beds to add the compost to but currently so packed with plants I can't get to the existing soil! I have a black bin with a lid so will store it in there and rejuvenate. I read a suggestion about sieving and sterilising the compost to use for starting seeds but would need a second microwave!! Wish I had kept the old one when I bought a new one earlier this year!
6 Oct, 2014
Previous question
have you got a garden? If so, spread the used compost over the borders.
5 Oct, 2014