Castings and compost

Hi there

Last year we grew a variety of vegetables on our patio in containers, and we are starting prep to do the same this year. All very exciting, but we're a bit worried about what to do with our soil from last year. We have lots of shop-bought compost that we used last year and then kept over winter in a big aerated bin, and castings from the wormery we started last Jan. I really want to make sure that our soil is good quality. I have read a little bit about the potential loss of nutrients from used soil, and about the importance of testing the soil's Ph, too. I have a few questions:
* can anyone please recommend a good value Ph kit?
* would it be good to mix all our casings with all of last year's soil, into one big bin? Or would it be better to use the old compost and then cover the tops of the pots with castings, like mulch?
Thanks for your help!
Joe

 

Thanks Armandii but we only have pots (on a flat roof). We're thinking it might be best to mix all the compost from last year with the castings to replenish the nutrients. However, we are worried about pest transfer (even though last summer was mercifully disease-free for us) - how would we check/test for pests, disease, etc in last year's soil?

Also, any ideas on a cheap ph test?

 

Instead of a pH test kit of the kind where you use chemicals and mix it all up in a container and then wait for it to change colour before comparing the colour to a colour chart, and then you run out of the chemical additive after a couple of goes...

How about a pH meter?

I got one from Amazon a couple of years ago for a fiver, brand new.

EDIT: Forgot to add, the advantage of a meter over the chemical kit is that you just wet the soil, shove the meter probes in, give it 30 seconds, then read your pH off the dial. Wipe clean, stick in a drawer, job done until next time. They don't even need batteries because the electricity comes from the electrochemical reaction that occurs when you put two dissimilar metals (the two probes are coated in different metals) into a something that is either acid or alkaline. If the soil is neutral, no power happens and the needle stays put. If its alkaline the polarity of the electricity is one way round, for acid it is the other way round, and the needle moves one way or the other across the scale thus giving you your reading. Pure witchcraft on a stick.

 

Hi joe,

On thursday Feb 17th, Aldi are selling pH meters for £3.49 each if your interested [hr]
p.s. Yes... i am a tightwad

 

No... i really am a tightwad