Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

reusing compost

Collapse

This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • reusing compost

    Hi can anyone let me know if i can re use my compost
    from my containers and large hessian grow bags as i don't have soil only concrete.this is my first attempt at growing anything
    and thanks to some good advice from the good people on this sight i have grown some pumpkins tomato s bell peppers
    basil and parsly and sweet corn. And i find it such a great hobby.
    S0 do i have to throw the compost away which will be a shame and not to mention the waste of money. I was hoping to plant some garlic. so any advice would be most welcome
    many thanks in advance
    mrbiffo


  • #2
    Yes and No is the answer.

    Really no if the idea is simply to put whatever you have in another container and try to grow stuff in it - you will have used all the nutrients up that was in it.

    The Yes bit is you can however put it in a container and add manure to it to replace the nutrients that have been used - I have done this with potato's in containers and should be fine with other veg.

    Will say that old/used compost looks darker and better then new compost, so maybe the compost is composting down into something useful.

    Comment


    • #3
      We re use ours, hubby sieves any roots out and we just re fertilise next year, a lovely crop this year, and no pests. Go for it.
      Nannys make memories

      Comment


      • #4
        mrbiffo have a read at this older thread on reusing compost Potstubsdustbins has some excellent advice :-

        http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ost_79489.html
        Location....East Midlands.

        Comment


        • #5
          I reuse mine with a couple of provisos. I add blood fish and bone to it, and I tend to top it up with a bit of fresh compost. I also keep a note of what I have grown in each pot, and don't follow like with like. If I've had a problem with pests or disease I chuck it or put it on the garden over winter.

          I would think if you give it a bit of feed you will be fine to follow any of your crops with garlic as none of those you have already grown are from the onion family. Have a good dig about before you start and look out in particular for comma shaped white grubs with brown heads. If you find these (vine weevil larvae), throw the compost away.
          Last edited by Penellype; 10-10-2014, 01:20 PM.
          A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP. - Leonard Nimoy

          Comment


          • #6
            Good advise above. One thing I would add is purchase new compost to cut seedlings that way you know it is sterile.
            Potty by name Potty by nature.

            By appointment of VeggieChicken Member of the Nutters club.


            We hang petty thieves and appoint great ones to public office.

            Aesop 620BC-560BC

            sigpic

            Comment


            • #7
              I reuse mine. I think the "all nutrients used up" is a misnomer as that will be the case 6 or 8 weeks after planting anyway - beyond that the plants will be needing liquid feed.

              I don't reuse anything if plants are diseased, and I attempt to rotate the compost around different crops.
              K's Garden blog the story of the creation of our garden

              Comment


              • #8
                I have 2 muck heaps on the go... one this years hos muck and one last years, rotted down for use in the spring. I add all old compost to the one for spring use and fork it in well and leave the whole heap covered until I need to use it. Works well for me.
                Its Grand to be Daft...

                https://www.youtube.com/user/beauchief1?feature=mhee

                Comment


                • #9
                  Old Compost

                  Hi everyone. i would like to ask some advice on compost.
                  As i have a small garden and i grow everything in large pots and grow bags for spud
                  what i would like to know is when i have harvested all my veggies
                  can i re use the old compost as it seems a shame after all the cost.
                  so would the kind people of the grapevine shed some light on this matter
                  many thanks
                  kind regards in advance
                  mr biffo
                  kevin

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    The short answer is yes. I reuse all my old compost unless it has been associated with a disease or some such.

                    I riddle it to get rid of old roots etc store it over winter, add a base fertiliser (I use Growmore) and usually a specialist fertiliser dependant on what I am growing in it and away we go.

                    I only use new compost for seed cutting as it is sterile.
                    Potty by name Potty by nature.

                    By appointment of VeggieChicken Member of the Nutters club.


                    We hang petty thieves and appoint great ones to public office.

                    Aesop 620BC-560BC

                    sigpic

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      I second that - I never throw any compost away unless I've found disease in it (which, touch wood, has never happened so far(. I sometimes add old compost to my compost bin though, in the hope that it will bring organisms that will help the composting process.
                      https://nodigadventures.blogspot.com/

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        It moves from toms/peppers to cucubits to whatever to bulking up the outside beds - at each stage being beefed up a bit with blood, fish and bone and possibly comfrey leaves as well.

                        New all singing all dancing blog - Jasons Jungle

                        �I have not failed 1,000 times. I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways to NOT make a light bulb."
                        ― Thomas A. Edison

                        �Negative results are just what I want. They�re just as valuable to me as positive results. I can never find the thing that does the job best until I find the ones that don�t.�
                        ― Thomas A. Edison

                        - I must be a Nutter,VC says so -

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Just harvested my garlic from large pots. Re-used the compost to sow a second sowing of Spring Cabbage in modules as the birds demolished my first sowing outdoors!

                          I will use it to sow or plant anything but alliums, and beef it up with BFB!
                          My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
                          to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

                          Diversify & prosper


                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by mrbiffo View Post
                            Hi everyone. i would like to ask some advice on compost.
                            As i have a small garden and i grow everything in large pots and grow bags for spud
                            what i would like to know is when i have harvested all my veggies
                            can i re use the old compost as it seems a shame after all the cost.
                            so would the kind people of the grapevine shed some light on this matter
                            many thanks
                            kind regards in advance
                            mr biffo
                            kevin
                            You started a thread to ask pretty much the same question back in 2014
                            And you were given similar advice back then. What have you been doing with your compost for the last 2-3 years?

                            http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ost_82175.html

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              After experimenting with it I have found spent compost is not as good as fresh, so I throw mine on my allotment with leaf mould at the end of the year as a soil improver and replace each year.

                              you can re-use it and it will work but my chillies always seem to be thicker, bushier and more productive with fresh compost, they look weaker and not as dark coloured leaves with previously used, even if I add nutrients too it, it all depends what you want from it I suppose..

                              Comment

                              Latest Topics

                              Collapse

                              Recent Blog Posts

                              Collapse
                              Working...
                              X