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Beginner with no idea

georgie150778georgie150778 Posts: 5
in Problem solving
Hi, 

I planted some flowers (in pots) throughout spring and summer which were fairly successful. However, now I'd like to plant bulbs for next spring but not sure if I can use the same soil/compost?Surely I don't have to throw it all away?

Thank you, 
Georgina  :)

Posts

  • tessagardenbarmytessagardenbarmy Posts: 346
    Hi Georigina.
    No you don't  have to throw  it away  but bulbs like to be well drained or they might rot,some garden  composts hold a lot of water through the winter,so I'd add some grit to the compost and refresh it with some new stuff. Bulbs have their own food store so don't  need loads of nutrition but they'd  appreciate  a bit of new stuff mixed in. Perhaps  one with added John Inness  which is more soil based.
  • DinahDinah Posts: 294
    I agree entirely whith tessagardenbarmy. You might like to look at some bulb compost near the top, they do some specially, and they do container composts at garden centres, but they are not essential. You can get different products that improve drainage, sharp (horticultural) sand/grit is quite cheap, vermiculite is very expencive but it is a wizard ingredient to have for any seed sowning or "delux" mix of compost, or last years leaf litter is very good if it has well rotted and wasn't gathered too near a busy, or winter gritted road. You can put an extra layer of broken up pots in the bottom if you are really worried about drainage, or pebbles, and it is a good idea to make sure that the pot doesn't stand in water after rainy weather. Probably not necessary if there are pleanty of holes in the bottom of the pot, or if the holes include some in the side too, I tend to find that if there is a problem with drainage it is either because the drainage holes in the pot were inadiquate, or the soil was too compacted.

    I like to take the compost out of the pots, spread it out and let it sit for a week before I re-use it, whatever it's intended purpose, though this is not necessary - it only applies if you are concerned about the soil containing minor pests (snugs and slails overwintering and eggs for example) compaction of the soil, or previouse water-logging. What sort of bulbs are you planning to put in?
  • ZeroZero1ZeroZero1 Posts: 577
    Let's start with a few definitions "compost" as bought in shops is different from garden compost. Garden compost is full of richness and nutrients. Compost as in multicompost is a one season product with good water retention properties. It can be reused, but you should fortify it. Soil, is either garden soil or "topsoil" as sold in shops. Depending on where you are your garden soil will be clay or chalk based and its PH (acidity/alkalinity), will vary The 'best' soils (but it depends on plants) are the loam based types which are mostly rotted organic material.
    All that said, bulbs have a storehouse of their own goodness right there in the bulb - by the time you buy them they are ready to rock and roll in practically any soil. It is in the second year that a good soil will feed the bulb
  • georgie150778georgie150778 Posts: 5
    Wow, thank you for all your replies. I did put stones at the bottom of each pot but great idea about the leaves, very eco friendly 😄 I'm thinking daffodils, tulips and hyacinths if suitable. I'm open to any suggestions too, I really am not green fingered but the pots/containers I had throughout spring and summer really transformed my concrete ridden garden. I'm looking forward to next spring to see all the flowers come to life. My favourite that I planted were Cosmos, they're still flowering have grown 1.5 meters high 🤣 But like I say I'm open to suggestions. 
  • dappledshadedappledshade Posts: 1,017
    Sounds like you may have bitten by the gardening bug Georgie  :)
    There are lovely autumn and late winter bulbs too, to add to your collection  - if you have space for some autumn flowering cyclamen hederifolium in a larger pot, they are delightful:
    https://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/cyclamen-hederifolium/classid.2000015297/ 
    Or maybe some autumn flowering sterbergia:
    https://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/sternbergia-lutea/classid.2000015047/
    And nothing shouts out that spring is around the corner, like a few clumps of snowdrops! 
    Enjoy.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Leaf litter doesn't mean just leaves that are kicking about Georgina - it's stuff that's been rotting down  :)
    Any compost will do for this year, although a bit of fresh stuff is nicer,  because, as Zero says, the bulbs have their own food stored in them already. For next year, to keep them doing well, you need to refresh what's there by removing some old stuff, and replacing with new, decent compost/soil. You would do that once the bulb foliage has died back, and you can add a little food at the same time, slow release, or similar.
    One thing though - did you mean that the plants you had in the pots are still in there, or have you put them somewhere else? You really need the pot to be empty before you start putting your bulbs in.
    Apologies if I've been thick and misunderstood  :) 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
    Putting bulbs into fresh compost sounds like a waste to me.  They won’t be taking advantage of the nutrients which may have leeched away by spring.
  • JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
    Sorry, I’m complicating matters - it’s as the others have said.
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