Re-using potting compost

[Potstubsdustbins]

Not hero Chris by a long way. More like tight as a ducks proverbial.

Potty

[veggiechicken]

Potty - you will always be a hero to me A Hero Potty Gardener

[bearded bloke]

In a different "ranking system" Potty would be a 5 star hero member I reckon

I also recycle MPC but not in such an organised manner

[Potstubsdustbins]

Now I am bloomin blushing.

Potty

[Knight of Albion]

For some reason, my potting-on technique (which I'm very happy to accept is probably quite shockingly poor) usually leaves behind most of the compost a seedling had been sitting in. Sometimes I manage to scoop out the whole plug, but often not.

Given the sheer quantity of seedlings I have on the go, that leaves me with an awful lot of part-filled cell tray cells. My question is, if I scoop it all out and mix it with fresh potting compost, can I use it again for the next batch of seedlings or pottings-on? I can't bring myself to just stick it in our compost bin, and I'm horrified to think how much I could end up spending on bags of potting compost.

Yes, most gardeners re-use compost or put it on the garden. Can come in very handy for filling in when planting out.
The only caveat to that is if the plant had a disease. Then its probably best to discard the soil.

[MrsCordial]

Where do I find the compost writings of the great Potty?

[Potstubsdustbins]

Like Potties brain pretty much scattered around and of course it really is no big thing.

Because I grow in containers it give me a storage advantage I usually over winter 10 80ltr dustbins for reuse the following season.

I start at the end of one season by discarding any compost that has had a diseased plant in it. This does not happen very often. I then riddle the used compost to remove large roots etc. and pop it in a bin and put the lid on. Come the start of the next season I sweeten the compost with a 7-7-7 base fertiliser as I need it for use. This produce's a growing medium very similar to a new bag of compost and will keep your plants happy for 6-8 weeks before you need to start feeding them.

Hope this helps

[Moopmoop]

I can usually tell when my compost is spent and shouldn't be used again, it looks rubbish and dead. I reuse compost when it looks healthy and like I would want to grow stuff in it. It really is that simple in my head ha ha

[MrsCordial]

That's great, thanks Potty and everyone. I've never really done much with my home-grown compost before, it's just been a way of not putting hen-unfriendly scraps into landfill and giving the worms somewhere to play. I now have one bin that's ready to be examined, one that has finally reached capacity yesterday and one that's just starting. My plan is to rake out the oldest compost bin in a couple of weeks time and dig it all into the bed for the pumpkins and cucumbers before they go in a couple of weeks after that. I really am blundering about in the dark with this - I've never done anything this grand before!