Being the class dunce, I'll post it on here instead.
Can you reuse compost?
Right, lift your jaw, or self off the floor now and consider it for a moment. I'm talking containers with compost from last year. Thinking about it logically as possible, compost contains the right balance of nutrients for things to grow. Plants grew, and took the nutrients, how are they replaced?With your average bed of soil, there's so much of it and a bit of compost is added each year, and I guess there's a balance. And besides, you have worms to look after it all for you. Grow a few peas, fix a bit of nitrogen, rotate a few crops and away you go.
But is compost like a battery, with only a certain amount of juice. And how can I tell when the juice runs out?
And what if the compost has been contaminated? Oh yes, I left a few containers out with their compost from last year, and the weeds took hold. This morning I took the weeds out, and their roots had run riot, right to the bottom of the container?
In the picture above, you may be able to spot roots all tangled up like headphones left in a coat pocket for a week, miraculously inter-twined. If I leave them in there, will the weeds re-grow? And how do I make sure I don't pick and eat them instead of my planned salad leaves? Death by leaf...
So I have just spent an hour of my life picking through all my weed-riddled containers, patiently picking out the noodles, shaking them free of dirt and bringing the compost, hopefully, back to life. I've refreshed the containers with extra new material and with any luck I'll be happy as rabbit very soon. Come salad leaves come:
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| Last year's emerging crop |
6 comments:
Quite ambitious, eh? How many blogs? Dont fizzle out with spring fever....lol! Good luck! I saw your curry plant on the other site...(no comment available)....I finally whacked mine as it got so large...we shall see! If you want some exotic herbs..let me now..I have some "salad burnet" seeds I am trying to give away! (and german chamomile and chives!)
I think yes and I wrote about it recently back in February http://clairescrops.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/container-garden-using-spent-compost.html
The question also came up on Gardeners Question Time a few weeks ago and most of the experts said No - but I disagree. I think as long as you put more nutrients in the soil and you practice a little bit of crop rotation I can't see why you should buy new every year.
Especially as if you don't recycle compost - growing in containers would be extremely expensive and for some of us its the only option to growing our own.
Motormouth, yes I think I may be taking on far too much but this gardening lark is rather addictive! Very kind of you to offer the seeds, v interested - email me Thehaplessgardener@gmail.com
Claire, enjoyed your blog post, thank you. Loving your defiance in the face of the experts too!
Hey Hapless Gardener,
Hope all is well down there in Bristol. I am officially climbing aboard your bandwagon for green fingery, but with a considerably limited plot to experiment with!
Glad you're enjoying your time down there.
Good to hear from you Mr G, and great to hear you're on this particular bandwagon! What are you growing? I need to get you writing for the guest bed too!
Hey Tom,
I decided to start a Flickr diary of my plants as i add more and give them time to grow (or die!).
I can see how you have got into this, as it is quite addictive and i always want another plant, though have run out of room now.
Hope you are well down there. All good here in Greenwich.
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