I do this too @Allotment Boy in my tubs of tomatoes/cucumbers. I take the surface compost and throw it away with the roots of previous plants, take half the compost out and mulch the garden with it, and add new to the top to plant into. Every three years I replace the lot.
Each year I plant up a lot of tubs with bulbs, topping them with pansies and violas to be a bit interesting before the bulbs come up, they usually flower through the winter and on into summer between the leaves of the bulbs. I buy tiny plug plants in bulk and pot them on into recycled modules of sifted compost. This year, using multi purpose peat free compost with a little slow release fertiliser and some perlite for the first time last autumn, I lost a lot of the baby plants - they just didn't root well into the PF filled modules, and those that survived to planting out in the tubs have since died. The bulb pots have drainage holes, crocks in the bottom and are raised up on feet, but the tops are hard and green, wet and rotting. Gardeners' World January 2022 had a review of PF composts, and I note there are many more expensive brands than my £6/50litres, but clearly my cheap multi purpose is a false economy since I've wasted all those baby plants. I just hope the bulbs haven't rotted too. I have some turf from new borders rotting down in old compost bags, and have bought some compressed coir on line, perhaps that mixed with a bit of an expensive brand like Dalefoot will be better for my spring sowing and seedlings, but I am definitely not enamoured with cheap PF compost from the hardware chain stores.
Last year was bad for all types of compost @yvonnepittams I think they were trying to produce more than was expected, which resulted in compost not really ready to sell. It was woody, lumpy stuff not fit for sowing, but that was across the whole range of composts, not just peat free ( or even the cheap stuff) This was reported here by many growers about many ranges.
I've bought tiny amounts of compost containing peat in the past few years. I mostly use my own garden compost for pots and tomatoes. Last year I tried Miracle Grow peat-free growbags for my tomatoes and it was terrible, as well as expensive. No chance I'll buy that again. This year I am going to try the council made soil conditioner for the tomatoes. It's bound to be an improvement on the Miracle Grow product.
We've got to all stop using peat as mining it is habitat destroying.
Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
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I have some turf from new borders rotting down in old compost bags, and have bought some compressed coir on line, perhaps that mixed with a bit of an expensive brand like Dalefoot will be better for my spring sowing and seedlings, but I am definitely not enamoured with cheap PF compost from the hardware chain stores.
I think they were trying to produce more than was expected, which resulted in compost not really ready to sell. It was woody, lumpy stuff not fit for sowing, but that was across the whole range of composts, not just peat free ( or even the cheap stuff) This was reported here by many growers about many ranges.
We've got to all stop using peat as mining it is habitat destroying.