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Used compost - what to do with them?

celcius_kkwcelcius_kkw Posts: 753
in Problem solving
Just wondering if I could gather some ideas as to what I could do with my used compost. First and foremost, I should make a point that I garden on a large balcony and everything is in pots. I have started to grow some annuals this year (including tomatoes) and I’m starting to wonder what I’m going to do with the used compost once the season is over - as the compost would by then be hardly nutritious and I’ve got no ground to chuck them on. I have no compost bin either being on a balcony. It does seem like a waste to just throw them in the general bin (not to mention requiring a decent amount of muscle grease given there’s easily 200 litres worth of compost in total there) 

I have thought of ‘rejuvenating’ the old compost by adding organic materials and fertilisers - but not a lot has been written about that approach. Does anybody have experience with this? 

Almost all of the compost recycling options I found online assume the gardener has an actual garden - with borders and compost bins that they could add the lot to. 
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  • FlyDragonFlyDragon Posts: 834
    edited July 2020
    If I were you I'd probably look into the 'rejuvenating approach.  I don't have many pots but I don't change the compost, I mulch and add things like coffee grounds and leaf mould.  

    Physically removing compost from a balcony sounds like a nightmare. 
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    You can grow tulips in old compost. If you choose the ones that will come back next year you will need to fertilise the compost but it doesn't matter so much if they're the modern ones that don't come back.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • edhelkaedhelka Posts: 2,351
    I reuse old compost for plants that don't need much nutrients (spring bulbs, some perennials) and I also do the rejuvenating approach. I also mix it in my big pots, my roses often have something like 1/5 or 1/6 of old compost.
  • celcius_kkwcelcius_kkw Posts: 753
    edited July 2020
    @FlyDragon @B3 @edhelka

    It sounds pretty unanimous that rejuvenation is the way to go. Could you guys and gals share with me how you rejuvenate your old compost? As in specifically what do you add to the mix? 

    I am definitely planning on growing spring bulbs for next year. Also I have got two lavender plants that need to be repotted into a bigger planter - I read that they supposedly thrive in poor soil? 


  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Cosmos and nasturtiums aren't too particular either.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • FlyDragonFlyDragon Posts: 834
    I avoid animal products and try to use plant matter where possible, so my approach is very unscientific and I've only been gardening a few years so not tried and tested!  I compost pretty much everything, grass cuttings, leaves, deadheaded flowers, veg peelings, coffee grounds and I always keep a big bag of bark chips and they go on top of everything and keep the soil moist so that the bugs and worms thrive underneath, and they also rot down over winter.  I will possibly look at growing comfrey next year, good for pollinators and also makes a good fertiliser, better than manure apparently!
  • edhelkaedhelka Posts: 2,351
    I add whatever I have. Usually some new compost or manure, depending on the plant, BFB or slow-release inorganic fertiliser (probably better for pots than BFB). For lavender, I would mix it with grit (or maybe perlite in your situation) and maybe a small amount of new compost.
  • GemmaJFGemmaJF Posts: 2,286
    Any possibility of fitting in a wormery? My old pot compost goes in with raw veg kitchen scraps, dead headed flowers and torn up egg boxes. Out comes a lovely sticky compost that works well in containers for me. They do very expensive wormeries, but really any plastic container will probably do the job with a few air holes in the top. Be nice if the worms did the work for you.
  • SueAtooSueAtoo Posts: 380
    If you really want to change it for new, perhaps tipping it in a plastic sack and advertising on freecycle or similar as soil improver.
    East Dorset, new (to me) rather neglected garden.
  • celcius_kkwcelcius_kkw Posts: 753
    edited July 2020
    @FlyDragon I don’t think it’s feasible to keep a compost bin on my balcony due to the lack of space. I did look up on a more compact compost bin but given it gets so windy on my 8th floor balcony I do worry about them getting blown away - or worse tip over spilling rotten stuff everywhere... I did look up on a specific ?japanese composting method that’s indoor but it doesn’t actually generate real garden compost - just some fertiliser liquid. I’m after a composting system that would produce actual compost that can be used in pots etc but none of the indoor ones do that..

    @GemmaJF Same issue as above really.. and I’m just soooo squeamish when it comes to wriggly worms 😥

    @SueAtoo Thanks.. I thought about that but I wonder if anyone would actually want it because of risk of potential plant viruses and diseases in the used compost..? 
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