Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: paul veg on July 19, 2011, 21:15

Title: reuse compost
Post by: paul veg on July 19, 2011, 21:15: Hi all, quick question, can I reuse compost or has the goodness been taken out , I planned to riddle it first...or can i add anything to bring back goodness, cheers

Paul
Title: Re: reuse compost
Post by: Ice on July 19, 2011, 21:20: Chuck it on your plot as a soil improver and don't be so tight. :lol:
Title: Re: reuse compost
Post by: mumofstig on July 19, 2011, 21:25: add a little BF&B and grow some Autumn King carrots and then when you've harvested them, use as Ice suggests.
Title: Re: reuse compost
Post by: sunshineband on July 19, 2011, 21:28: I follow MoS on this one :D

Sometimes I use it to grow winter lettuces in the unheated greenhouse too, before digging it into raised beds :)
Title: Re: reuse compost
Post by: SUTTY1 on July 19, 2011, 21:32: But if want to be thrifty there was a post on here this year by munty, i think, giving good details and quantities of goodies to add and rejuvinate the compost :D :D :D
Title: Re: reuse compost
Post by: Ice on July 19, 2011, 21:37: Sorry, can't post any more I have socks to darn. ::) :lol:
Title: Re: reuse compost
Post by: sunshineband on July 19, 2011, 21:44: Quote from: Ice on July 19, 2011, 21:37
Sorry, can't post any more I have socks to darn. ::) :lol:

Now that's good use of time :lol:
Title: Re: reuse compost
Post by: m1ckz on July 20, 2011, 06:59: OMG
do you still darn socks now lmao :mad: :ohmy: :D
Title: Re: reuse compost
Post by: sunshineband on July 20, 2011, 07:14: But of course --- don't all frugal minded folk?
Title: Re: reuse compost
Post by: bigben on July 20, 2011, 09:08: Quote from: paul veg on July 19, 2011, 21:15
Hi all, quick question, can I reuse compost or has the goodness been taken out , I planned to riddle it first...or can i add anything to bring back goodness, cheers

Paul

I grow spuds in big pots and once I have lifted the spuds I add a bit of growmore or chicken pellets and a little more commercial compost to cover the top then use if for salad stuff, spinage, kale, carrots - anything that you can plant this time of year. Then I chuck it on the plot as a soil improver.
Title: Re: reuse compost
Post by: DD. on July 20, 2011, 10:01: I grow next year's radish in mine, in the good old cat litter trays - no extra nutrients needed.
Title: Re: reuse compost
Post by: Christine on July 20, 2011, 16:09: It all depends. If you have hammered the compost in pots and tubs as I do over the year, then it becomes soil improver and the tubs get another dose of new compost for the next year.

As the soil on my allotment had been hammered for years before I took in on, I've been really working to bring it back to some sort of health. Throw on more Growmore may work for a time but the time comes when the soil needs care and attention.
Title: Re: reuse compost
Post by: TerryB on July 20, 2011, 16:17: Because my soil has lots of stones I always grow my carrots in a mix of compost and sharp sand. I'm going to use the compost in the grow bags, used to grow this years toms in, and sharp sand with some BFB added next year.
Title: Re: reuse compost
Post by: JayG on July 20, 2011, 18:48: I use a mixture of BFB, dried chicken poo and Growmore, and also water once or twice with Miracle Grow when re-using old compost (it's a "belt and braces" approach to replacing the lost nutrients but be sparing with the quantities!)

Seems to work OK, but with anything precious I mix some new compost in as well. and I would avoid trying to grow tomatoes in old potato compost (or vice-versa) just in case.