Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Reusing compost?

SafflowerSafflower Posts: 66
in Problem solving
When planting up this year's fuscias (in containers), I didn't have much compost due to COVID so I just reused was was left in the pots from last year. The plants seem to be doing fine. I guess fresh compost would have been better but I couldn't get any at the time. I like the idea of not being wasteful and saving money too. Thoughts?

Posts

  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    If the plants in it didn't have any diseases it makes sense to reuse and just amp it with some slow release fertiliser and maybe the odd scoop of manure or top soil. I so all the time and see no issue with it.
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Start feeding sooner than you would with fresh compost that has a couple of months' worth of fertiliser in it.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • Butterfly66Butterfly66 Posts: 970
    I’m trying to reduce the compost I buy (to reduce plastic) so all my pots this year are last years compost pepped up with some home-made and bonemeal. Will be interesting to see how they all do. Before that I used to eek out in the new compost with some old so it might not be that big a shift.

    I’ve used old compost from summer bedding for my pots of bulbs for several years and they do well as of course most of their food is in the bulb- I give them some feed as they die down if they’re ones to flower the next year.

    Next step will be using my own compost for my seed sowing. I‘ve chickened out so far this year on the basis that I didn’t have leaf mould and didn’t want to buy in grit or perlite (that seemed to defeat the object as they’re in plastic bags too). But it then occurred to me that a lot of seeds you can sow direct so they're happy with no leaf mould or grit. So am just going to experiment with a mix of old compost and sieved home-made. I’ve got some seeds to sow later in the summer so will try some in new mpc and some in my mix as a comparison.
     If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero
    East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    For anybody about to reuse compost, add slow release fertiliser if you have any.  If not, start using a liquid feed from day 1.
  • SafflowerSafflower Posts: 66
    Thanks for the advice! Much appreciated. :smile:
  • JacquimcmahonJacquimcmahon Posts: 1,039
    Living with a first floor terrace if compost comes up the stairs it stays! I just top up all of my pots with feed and new compost when the levels drop in the pots. Never had a problem and plants are happy so it can’t be that bad!
    Marne la vallée, basically just outside Paris 🇫🇷, but definitely Scottish at heart.
  • SafflowerSafflower Posts: 66
    Yep, sounds good to me!
Sign In or Register to comment.