Reusing last years container compost?

Hi,

I have no 'garden' exactly, only a large patio with numerous pots on it, and a plastic greenhouse. Last year I tried growing tomatoes - somewhat unsuccessfully - sugar snap peas and garlic - a little more successfully - and have pots full of last years compost and no plants in them.

My hanging baskets have only got a fuschia each and some green trailing thing - I'm not sure what it's called but the leaves are vaiegated and hairy, and it has lovely purply flowers on it and smells sort of citrusy in spring - and will I think need new compost for this spring, so I can put some nice violas and lobelia in there later this year.

What I want to find out is - can I reuse the compost I had for last years plants, and what would I need to add to it for this years plants, ie my hanging basket, and anything else I want to try out this year? :confused: I realise that there's probably not a lot if nutrients left in the compost, but if I can't reuse it, I'm not sure what to do with it - I can't just chuck it on the garden and dig it in like I have done in previous years when I lived elsewhere .

Any help (or directions to other threads - I did look but couldn't find anything - honest!) would be very gratefully received. :D :D

Crikey - I haven't written an essay like this since I left Uni! LOL!

 

The nutrients in your container compost will probably be exhausted or low. I usually skim off the top couple of inches of ours and scatter it on the garden then add and mix in new compost from our worm bins and compost heap plus some slow release fertiliser tablets. However if you are wanting to grow veg the optimum NPK ratio for them will be different than that supplied by the usual slow release tablets which are produced for flowers.
In summary - you'll probably get away with planting in your existing containers if you feed either by slow release or by liquid or granular feed.

(Just wish my Uni essays had been so short :D :D )

 

Hi Sledge and welcome. I totally agree with Dave. There should be no problem in using old compost, assuming that there were no diseases or things like vine weavil in it. I always use my old compost one way or another.

As Dave said, you will have exhausted the nutrients, but they are easily put back. You should be feeding containers regularily. I feed all my flowers (in containers) once a week. Veg need even more nutrition than flowers, because you are removing such a lot - to eat.

But you can only use old compost for about two or three years. The reason is that compost decays with time, breaking into smaller and smaller bits. Once the bits become too small you will get poor drainage. And you could end up with a soggy mess and root rot. There is nothing to stop you having something like a tree in a pot for tens of years, but people who do that use a soil or rock based mixture as that won't decay.

In pots, I generally use half my old compost added to an equal volume of soil from the garden. I chuck the rest of the compost on the border. Its cheaper, it recycles the old compost, and my mixture has some nutrition from the soil - but I still feed once a week. But that's not suitable weightwise for hanging baskets.

 

Hi Sledge. You dont say if it`s a peat based compost ? If it`s a peat based compost, my guess is that you may find it hard to `wet`. Maybe the fellas here can add some thoughts on that ? Cheers...freddy.

 

Hi Sledge,you can rewet peat based compost with washing up liquid in water,Joyce 42

 

Cough Cough Freddy..

Personnaly I would bin it, and start again Sledge..

 

To be safe so would I Dee. It's just too much messing around for a few quid to re-use.

 

Shame on you `daisy-d` what WERE you thinking?

 

Dig it into your borders or veg bed and use fresh.

 

I was thinking im not a fella freddy :D


and pro she only has a balcony :D

 

:D :D