Spent Potato/Tomato Compost

katholicos

Thinking ahead, what can i do with spent potato compost this year? I'm thinking specifically of the large pots and bags i am currently growing spuds in. When my spuds have finished growing and i harvest them.can i use it to plant my next lot of potatoes in for example...or would this encourage disease? (even if by the looks of things no disease is present?)

I understand from what i have gleaned thus far, that I should not add the used potato compost to the 'general' compost heap because of the risk of diseasing the whole heap but i don't want to waste the spent compost, even if it has few or no nutrients left in it.

I don't have flowers beds or flower borders or flowers in pots (yet) even, so i can't use it in that way. I have a lot more seed potatoes to put in as and when though,so would be interested to know if it can be re-used or not.

Also, i have heard that tomatoes suffer from the same/similar diseases that tatties are prone to, so I am presuming that the spent tomato compost can be used in the same way that my spent tatty compost can be...or i might be wrong about that....it ain't unknown.

Any advice appreciated. Ta very much.

LJM

can you not keep it to regrow some more potatoes in

foxgloves

If the plants don't look diseased, then I use the old growbags to plant lettuce, rocket, mizuna, etc, for autumn/winter salads. If I think the plants look iffy & don't want to risk it, then I mulch it under the privet hedge as that seems immune to everything.

TonyMMM

I use mine as a mulch all around the garden

Jack's_mummy

I use mine to mulch the flower beds but as you dont' have any yet then that's not much good. Unless you have an area you could keep it piled up in to dig it in if you are thinking of starting flower beds off.

I wouldn't use it for potatoes or tomatoes again but would probably for lettuce or somehting totally different.

bottlehalffull

Put it on flower beds, or make a separate heap with it.
Too good to waste.

soul619

can you not put it n a compost pile and reuse next year? with other compost?

balloo_2

I was going to ask the same question as soul619. Great Minds and all that

Gopppers

soul619 wrote: »

can you not put it n a compost pile and reuse next year? with other compost?

Just bumping this as I want to know if this can be done as well!!

Gops x

bottlehalffull

Discussing this yesterday with a neighbour.

If you don't grow tomatoes or spuds in your garden soil, then just use it as a mulch. If you want to be extra safe then compost it on it's own and only use it on flower beds.

It's too valuable to waste.

I suspect putting it on the soil and mixing in some well rotted compost will be just the autumnal treat your garden needs.