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Posted by AngelaWatson (U3126654) on Friday, 17th September 2010
What does most people do with the compost they have had in their pots for their tomatoes and their potato bags, do you throw it away or do you spread it round the garden or put in the compost bin. A bit unsure as what best to do here now that my potatos are harvested and I am about to pick my tomatoes in their pots.
Thanks
Compost bin for me.
Angela, what do you mean by 'throw it away'? And where? Don't, you paid good money for the compost. You can even grow a catch crop before you put it in the compost heap or spread it on the garden.
I mean by should I just put in wheelie bin for council pick up as didn't know whether it would be good enough to grow anything else in as all goodness would have been used by previous plants etc.
Will keep a hold of it meantime then, may even put some bulbs in the tubs and get a colourful display come springtime.
Thanks
, in reply to message 1.
Posted by globetrotter (U14085067) on Friday, 17th September 2010
Definitely don't throw it away! Either put it on your compost pile or, as I usually do, put it on the garden as a mulch, where it will add to the quality of your soil next year.
, in reply to message 5.
Posted by youngandallotmenting (U14434252) on Friday, 17th September 2010
I have heavy clay soil so I chuck it in with that to improve the quality. Personally would only add it to my compost if i had a reasonably small quantity... but every gardener has their own way of doing things!
Mine goes on the garden as a mulch and soil improver. Nan x
I refresh container composts and growbag stuff with a little pelleted chicken manure dug in, and plant rocket or cut-and-come-again salad leaves (e.g. mixed multi-coloured lettuce.) At this time of year you should get quite a lot if you do this, before the weather turns really cold.
Alternatively, you could water a little balanced liquid feed into the composts.
I've just planted some 'Meteor' peas in one container, as I hope to get some pea shoots for salads. These won't have time to form pods but that's not what I'm after at this time of year. I didn't give them extra feed as they fix nitrogen in the soil anyway, and the pea seeds contain enough energy to get them to the shoot stage, when I will cut them.
You can grow pea shoots at anytime of the year on a windowsill.
There's not a lot of point in putting it on the compost heap because it's already composted. The heap relies on the heat generated by the breakdown of the vegetation, and if there's too much ready-composted material, it won't get so warm.
The spent compost will be perfectly good as a soil conditioner - it will still contain organic material that helps retain water. Use it to top up any beds or areas that seem to need freshening up.
, in reply to message 1.
Posted by ageing_hippie (U6742113) on Monday, 20th September 2010
This is a good time of the year to do a bit of lawn care. I do a bit of spiking and raking out of dead grass thatch with a spring rake. Then I spread spent potting compost to even out any holes and hollows. It can look a bit unsightly at first but the grass quickly grows through it.
Cannot imagine ever having too much used compost! It mulches the garden, top dresses spring pots, acts as a base layer in raised beds, gets mixed with horse manure compost for non-greedy pots, gets put under the hedge to give that a surprise feed (our hedges have gone mad with thickening up since started to do that a few years ago - hedges so often get ignored, or they did by me at any rate). Top dresses the fruit cage, mulches just about everything for a nice warm balanket for winter - it's all gone by spring. Don't throw it away, if you really can't use it, put a free advert in your local rag and stand back from the ravening hordes who will collect it delightedly I imagine.
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