What do you do with your used compost?

[gringo]

Every year when all my chilis, tomatillos, and tomatoes die off I'm left with about 100 large pots of used compost and it's always a worry and a hassle what to do with the what's left.

Last year a neighbour was re-laying and levelling his lawn so he took it all, previously I've topped up all the neighbours' flower beds (with their permission!).

I don't drive so options have to be close to home.

(It's normally about 70% bought GPC, 25% cour, the remainder perlite, vermaculite, pound shop slow release granules)

Is it worth me worrying about- ie is it still beneficial after a year's growing? Would local allotments find it useful? Useful enough to maybe drive around to pick it up?

[Bigmallly]

Sieve it & use it as seed compost.

[KevinM67]

Eat it - and let it 'pass through' you.

Perfect compost for next year.

[Bren In Pots]

Gringo have a read at what Potty does with his used compost :-

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ost_79489.html

[roitelet]

Sieve it to get the roots out add a bit more fertilizer and use it for growing things other than tomatoes or what ever grew in it before.

[SusieG]

^^^^^ roitelet, I don't even bother with the sieving ~ if I see any big pieces of root I take them out, but other than that I don't do anything else...... just fork it in to my beds, or mix it with 'fresh' compost for planting in pots ... ^^^^^

(Put any left over onto compost heap!)

[Penellype]

I reuse mine, sieved for carrots but as it comes for everything else. I try to keep track of what has grown what so that I am not repeatedly growing the same thing in the same compost, and I label it if there has been any disease, for example this year I have had problems with blackleg and blight on potatoes so I will not use that compost for anything in the potato/tomato family. Anything really dodgy is used for pots of flowers, or spread on the flower bed.

I usually add bfb to the compost before replanting, as the nutrients will have been used up from the last crop.

[Small pumpkin]

My used compost is spread onto raised beds at the end of the season then covered with a lay of farm yard manure and weed suppressant ( very large pot, 50lt + ). Or it gets broken up and composted ( smaller pots ). Or final opinion for me is save it and it gets mixed with fresh MPC next year (generally carrot buckets) and gets used for the same crop.

[gringo]

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

I do re-use a certain amount every year but despite having room for 100+ pots to grow, I don't have room to store it all over winter. Also concerned about diseases/pests ruining a whole year's worth of seedlings!

[Scoot]

Sieve it & use it as seed compost.

I tried that this year and vowed to never do it again. A lot of seedlings were stunted or even died. It was just a disaster.

Im going to have loads of used compost this year so I'll be reusing it next year on my tomatoes again. I'll use two thirds garden compost and the other third will be this years used compost. Some of it will go in my compost bin but I reckon the majority will just get binned.

Or maybe i'll usebitbfor my carrots next year too and to fill a few hanging baskets.

[BUFFS]

I have been adding BFB to the old compost, 2/3 ins of soil skimmed off a raised bed and the old compost goes on,with some of the mature stuff from the compost bin going on top of that, all by the end of September and let the worms do the rest, doing the next the following year. Reusing the old compost gave my tatties a touch of scab, so I won't be doing that again.

[Jay-ell]

This year I've planted onions and leeks into the compost the toms came out of.

Last year I used the spent compost along with garden compost and BFB to build up the level of a couple of beds and added some to the compost bin to reenergise. I've also added the spent compost from the cucamelons this year onto a bed to build up the organic matter and added BFB - I'll be topping that off with horse muck.

[Potstubsdustbins]

#10 I agree Scoot even I buy fresh for seed cutting other than that I try to reuse.

[Cadalot]

22 flower buckets of compost coir mix will be transported to the allotment and used as browns in the compost bins and get re energised in the process, the remainder will be added to beds and soil improver and then covered in horse manure.

[Chris11]

Sieve it & use it as seed compost.

I tried that this year and vowed to never do it again. A lot of seedlings were stunted or even died. It was just a disaster.

Agreed. I did that one year and lost a lot of tomato/chilli seedlings due to what I later learned was damping off, probably caused by fungus from the re-used compost. Seedlings early season are particularly vulnerable to damping off.

I'd agree with Big Mally's suggestion for later, more hardy sowings. I've re-used old compost, mixed in with garden soil to increase water retention, for starting sunflowers in small pots without any problem.

MPC gets re-used one way or another. I try and rotate it around, so if it's been used for tomatoes last year, it will used for something else this year. Usually mixed in with fresh MPC, some home-made compost and garden soil, mixed according to what's available and what's needed for the new seasons tubs.

Nutrients are added by a mix of added fresh home-made compost, slow release granules or liquid tomato feed as needed.