Gardeners are (mostly!) a naturally thrifty and resourceful bunch, keen to make every penny of their gardening budget stretch as far as possible. My potting shed is filled with random objects that I just know will be useful in the garden… one day!
Good compost is key to a healthy garden, whether it is for sowing, potting or mulching. Composting is probably one of the most environmentally friendly things we can do: turning kitchen and garden waste into crumbly nutritious compost, which feeds the soil to produce healthy, organic veg, fruit, herbs and flowers.
Home composting is free, especially if you use recycled materials to make the heaps. There’s no need for fancy additives. Add a balance of about 50/50 “greens” and “browns” and wait for the magic to happen. If you want to give it a boost, urine is an ideal compost activator. To dispel a myth, all urine is fine, male or female.
However most home gardeners can not produce enough compost on their plots for mulching, potting, sowing etc, and need to supplement it with good quality peat free compost such as Dalefoot’s range of organic composts.
August is almost like a second spring, with plenty that can be sown and planted now for cropping throughout autumn, winter and spring. I start most of my seeds in modules and trays, so that I am planting out the healthiest transplants possible. This also means that the transplants are more resistant to slug attacks.
After pricking out and potting on, all spent (ie: pre-used) compost goes in a bucket in the greenhouse to be reused. Seeds don’t need very fertile compost to germinate, so it is fine to reuse it once. The important thing is to make sure that you don’t use seeds that are similar to those that have been sown in it before, because there’s bound to be some which haven’t sprouted yet. So I only use larger seeds such as peas or beans, which are easy to identify and I know that any small ones sprouting as well need to be popped into the compost heap.
I also save compost from any pots and tip that into an old compost sack, turned inside out so that I don’t get confused and think it is fresh stuff.
If the old compost has become infested with pests such as vine weevil, spread out in the open air on top of an opened out compost sack and let the birds eat the grubs. Once you are certain they have all been recycled into bird food, it is fine to use the compost.
In addition to re-using compost to germinate seeds, there are lots of other ways you can make the most out of old compost.
• Use old compost to bulk out deep raised beds. Add fresh compost (either bought or homemade) to provide nutrients for the growing plants.
• Earth up potatoes. Old compost is ideal to help keep light off potato tubers and prevent them from turning green.
• Mulch beds to help lock in moisture and suppress weeds.
• Top up pots and containers.
• Sprinkle on lawns that have been reseeded.
• Spread onto pathways to create easily weeded walkways between your beds. Composted paths are easy to hoe and keep weed free.
Spent compost can be reused as a potting compost too. To save compost for any length of time, it is best to dry it out so that it doesn’t go all mouldy in the bag. Spread out on a sheet of plastic (such as an opened out compost sack) on a sunny day, or undercover in the greenhouse or polytunnel, until dry.
Then bag up in an old compost sack, turned inside out so you’ll remember, or in a large lidded bucket.
This old compost will need extra additives mixed in to make it nutritious for the plants. Dalefoot Double Strength Wool Compost (in the orange bag) is ideal for this. Made from bracken, comfrey and sheep fleece, it can be used on its own as a top dressing in the garden. Mixed 50/50 with spent compost, you can make a fertile potting compost - double the quantity!
To make a compost that is perfect for young plants, mix 1 part Dalefoot Double Strength with 2 parts pre-used compost.
You can also use it to liven up poor quality (but not contaminated) compost bought from shops.
Alternatively, increase the fertility of old compost by adding well made homemade compost, leaf mould, liquid feeds such as comfrey and nettle, or seaweed, or worm compost from a wormery.
I don’t keep reusing it for potting on forever, it has one last moment of glory. Once the compost has been used once again, it then goes onto the garden to mulch potatoes or lock in moisture on the soil. If I am making a new bed, it will be sprinkled into that. Or I add it to the compost heap where it will become part of a new composting process.
What to do with all the plastic bags?
Buying in any kind of compost, unless you can get large bulk bags delivered, means using plastic sacks. In many parts of the UK these are recyclable - check with your local council or garden centre. There are many ways of using these strong bags.
First of all, don’t waste any compost clinging to the inside. Turn inside out and shake over a garden bed or the compost heap.
Some ideas for old compost sacks include:
Making leaf mould, if you don’t have enough space for a designated leaf mould bin. Carefully make a few extra air holes in the bag with a garden fork, fill with fallen autumn leaves and tie with string (or a strip of compost bag plastic). Leave for two years before opening to reveal beautiful leaf mould compost.
As a temporary light excluding mulch to prevent or kill off weeds. Peg down black side uppermost.
To line wooden staging in the greenhouse to prolong the life of the timber.
As a potato grow sack or large planter. Make a few holes in the bottom for extra drainage.
To line hanging baskets and other planters.
To temporarily repair shed roofs when the wind has blown the felt off in a storm.
To transport and store free composting materials such as manure or sheep fleece.
Make an impromptu rain hat and waterproof shawl if you find yourself stranded at the allotment in an unexpected heavy shower!
Steph
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Stephanie Hafferty is an award winning garden and food writer, homesteader with decades of experience, edible garden designer and teaches how to grow your own - plus what to do with those harvests!
Stephanie is currently creating a sustainable homestead on a tight budget, on half an acre in West Wales, from where she runs gardening courses.
Her garden was featured on BBC Gardeners’ World in 2022.
Follow her journey on her blog, Instagram and You Tube
Website and blog : www.NoDigHome.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephaniehafferty/
You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/StephanieHaffertyNoDigHomesteading