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'Spent' compost

pjwizonpjwizon Posts: 52
in Problem solving
The traditional wisdom is that after a year or do compost is exhausted and of no nutrient value. Need this be true? Why not apply a balanced fertiliser, such as blood, fish and bone, to pots planted in compost in an attempt to re-vitalise the compost? Or where possible, scrape an inch off the top of the compost and apply a layer of manure. 

I ask as I find peat free composts to be pretty useless in that they have little moisture retention (even those said to have a moisture retentive medium added), and I suspect gardening with pots will be a lot harder once peat free compost is banned. 

I do understand the environmental need to stop using peat, but if I can keep pots planted with peat based composts going for a few years by applying fertilisers etc, that seems preferable to switching to peat free composts.  

Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Why not indeed? I used to dump my compost on the flower beds. Not wasted, but I've now taken to jiggling in some slow release fertiliser and reusing it unless it's mostly roots, then it goes on the beds or the compost heap
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • rowlandscastle444rowlandscastle444 Posts: 2,612
    I put my used compost back in the compost heap, and mix with all the usual nutrients. Never had a problem. I definitely do not re-use it immediately, for plants.
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    There is more to growing media than fertiliser. Continually reusing compost will eventually lead to problems.
    I use one lot of MPC for bulbs and the following years annuals, then it gets used as mulch.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I do it the other way around - reusing the compost from summer containers for planting bulbs in the autumn, because the bulbs don't need any feed until after they've grown and flowered. I think problems are less likely if the re-use is for a different kind of plant (from a different family).
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    That’s probably more sensible.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
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