Scatter it around your flower beds as a mulch using it again in pots runs the risk of vine weevil grubs and other nasties.

Won't you be scattering these nasties around your flower beds?

This particular topic has been covered many times. Some of us swear by re using compost after re fertilising it and have done so for years without any problems. Some who have probably never tried it always advise spreading it on the garden soil.

I'll be interested to hear the answer to my question above because I cannot see the logic of advising people to spread infected compost on flower beds.

If you scatter on the surface a vine weevil grubs and the like will be seen and eaten by the birds - particularly at this time of year. We repot all our show bulbs every year and Bulba does collect some of the compost, check it thoroughly and rejuvenate to use potting up plants for the sales table at the shows... we wouldn't use it for the show plants again though.

So the correct answer to the question is yes you can use it again provided whatever grew in it looked healthy?

I've grown potatoes in bags and re used the compost for flower containers.Used carrot compost makes an excellent seed compost. Compost mixed with fresh John Innes no3 and slow release fertiliser makes an excellent final compost for larger shrubs. The list is endless. And it will be far superior to anything you buy in the shops/garden centres. No matter what the label says on the bag, you cannot have one compost that does everything.

It's also the most eco friendly way of all for all people into that sort of thing because the less you buy the more you save the planet.

We make most of our compost ourselves and given the rubbish that some people put into the brown bin for municipal composting are being even more careful... I'd say the answer was both yes and no as it depends what the compost was last used for and what you plan on using it for this time round. For example used potato compost shouldn't be used for any of the solanaceae.

I always re-use my old compost, I use it 50 -50 with new compost and some plant food. A friend of mine does the same, but sieves it to remove all the roots and bits, puts it into a large bin with some growmore and uses it as and when needed.