A good question:
❓Is it ok to re-use old potting compost after clearing out old pots?
If the crops that had been growing in the pot were free weren't stricken by pests or disease (such as vine weevil) the compost should be good to re-use.
Another thing to take into account is that any multipurpose compost is going to have enough feed or nutrients for about 3 months of growing, so you should assume that any compost taken out of the pot is lacking in nutrients and should be seen more as a growing medium to support the roots.
Older compost can have a lot of root in it, and so it can be hard to break up and may be better used as a mulch. Younger compost that has been sitting in a pot for shorter periods will be much more friable.
It's a good idea to empty out compost from pots after plants have been removed. If the compost is left for long periods it can become very compacted, and can even form a kind of 'dead end' that roots will have great difficulty getting past.
Because plant roots tend to look for nutrients near the soil surface, the low-nutrient reused compost can be used to fill up the lower parts of your container, where roots are more likely to seek out moisture. This way you can save more of your more valuable nutrient-rich compost.
Alternatively you can create a new compost mix by combining the reused compost in a 50-50 mix with new compost; you can also add some slow release plant feed pellets to the mix.
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10 сен 2024
