When the local council have pulled out all the 'finished' plants they have
put out in flower beds, they throw them on a big unsightly heap in a remote
corner of the cemetery.

After a while it ends up being a very sandy type of compost. It doesnt look
like there is much loam in it.

Would this be good to throw into garden pots mixed with some additional
soil? I guess the dead plants would just rot down and add some nutrition to
the mix?

It also has a lot of small bits of chopped tree bark in it. Would this tree
bark help with moisture retention, or would it be a waste of time from that
point of view? Would I be better picking out the tree bark and throwing it
away? Thanks.

On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 11:54:02 +0100, "john hamilton"
wrote:

When the local council have pulled out all the 'finished' plants they have
put out in flower beds, they throw them on a big unsightly heap in a remote
corner of the cemetery.

After a while it ends up being a very sandy type of compost. It doesnt look
like there is much loam in it.

Would this be good to throw into garden pots mixed with some additional
soil? I guess the dead plants would just rot down and add some nutrition to
the mix?

It also has a lot of small bits of chopped tree bark in it. Would this tree
bark help with moisture retention, or would it be a waste of time from that
point of view? Would I be better picking out the tree bark and throwing it
away? Thanks.

Except for the sand the organics in a gallon of potting soil will in a
few short years compost down to perhaps a tablespoonful of dust... for
instance an entire bale of peat moss will compost down to one fistful.
The litter that accumulates on a forest floor creates perhaps one inch
of topsoil in 100 years... it's best to use new potting soil. A
corner of a cemetery is a great place for laying to rest old potting
soil.

"john hamilton" wrote
When the local council have pulled out all the 'finished' plants they have
put out in flower beds, they throw them on a big unsightly heap in a
remote corner of the cemetery.

After a while it ends up being a very sandy type of compost. It doesnt
look like there is much loam in it.

Would this be good to throw into garden pots mixed with some additional
soil? I guess the dead plants would just rot down and add some nutrition
to the mix?

It also has a lot of small bits of chopped tree bark in it. Would this
tree bark help with moisture retention, or would it be a waste of time
from that point of view? Would I be better picking out the tree bark and
throwing it away? Thanks.
If it's all rotted down then I can't see a problem. Presumably it's the
original compost mixed with rotted plants and a bit of bark, sounds good to
me. Try some and see.
I often use bark chippings in compost, aids drainage without adding weight,
and it's not only orchids and citrus that appreciate it.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

"john hamilton" wrote in message
...
When the local council have pulled out all the 'finished' plants they have
put out in flower beds, they throw them on a big unsightly heap in a
remote corner of the cemetery.

After a while it ends up being a very sandy type of compost. It doesnt
look like there is much loam in it.

Would this be good to throw into garden pots mixed with some additional
soil? I guess the dead plants would just rot down and add some nutrition
to the mix?

It also has a lot of small bits of chopped tree bark in it. Would this
tree bark help with moisture retention, or would it be a waste of time
from that point of view? Would I be better picking out the tree bark and
throwing it away? Thanks.

I would think that stuff would be ok. Why not experiment? Plant some with
it and some with an alternative, and see what results?

On 18 July, 16:43, "Wallace" wrote:
"john hamilton" wrote in message

...

When the local council have pulled out all the 'finished' plants they have
put out in flower beds, they throw them on a big unsightly heap in a
remote corner of the cemetery.

After a while it ends up being a very sandy type of compost. It doesnt
look like there is much loam in it.

Would this be good to throw into garden pots mixed with some additional
soil? I guess the dead plants would just rot down and add some nutrition
to the mix?

It also has a lot of small bits of chopped tree bark in it. Would this
tree bark help with moisture retention, or would it be a waste of time
from that point of view? *Would I be better picking out the tree bark and
throwing it away? * *Thanks.

I would think that stuff would be ok. Why not experiment? *Plant some with
it and some with an alternative, and see what results?

One thing you might find is the plants growing short, most of the pot
Mums will have been treated with a growth retardant chemical which can
stay in the soil for quite a time

On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 11:54:02 +0100, "john hamilton"
wrote:

When the local council have pulled out all the 'finished' plants they have
put out in flower beds, they throw them on a big unsightly heap in a remote
corner of the cemetery.

After a while it ends up being a very sandy type of compost. It doesnt look
like there is much loam in it.

Would this be good to throw into garden pots mixed with some additional
soil? I guess the dead plants would just rot down and add some nutrition to
the mix?

It also has a lot of small bits of chopped tree bark in it. Would this tree
bark help with moisture retention, or would it be a waste of time from that
point of view? Would I be better picking out the tree bark and throwing it
away? Thanks.



I sift spent potting mix through a 1/2" hardware cloth and use it
around herbs (thyme, rosemary, sage).

On 7/18/10 11:43 AM, in article ,
"Wallace" wrote:


"john hamilton" wrote in message
...
When the local council have pulled out all the 'finished' plants they have
put out in flower beds, they throw them on a big unsightly heap in a
remote corner of the cemetery.

After a while it ends up being a very sandy type of compost. It doesnt
look like there is much loam in it.

Would this be good to throw into garden pots mixed with some additional
soil? I guess the dead plants would just rot down and add some nutrition
to the mix?

It also has a lot of small bits of chopped tree bark in it. Would this
tree bark help with moisture retention, or would it be a waste of time
from that point of view? Would I be better picking out the tree bark and
throwing it away? Thanks.

I would think that stuff would be ok. Why not experiment? Plant some with
it and some with an alternative, and see what results?


Honestly, I'd use it too - use it to lighten heavy soil or mix in with good
compost. Waste not, want not

Cheryl Isaak wrote:
Wallace wrote:
....
I would think that stuff would be ok. Why not experiment? Plant
some with it and some with an alternative, and see what results?


Honestly, I'd use it too - use it to lighten heavy soil or mix in
with good compost. Waste not, want not

same here! i'm trying to talk a greenhouse
person to call me when they are going to
throw out old plants as i would love all that
lightener to throw on top of (and to mix in)
with this clay. even if it takes a few years
for the roots to fall apart it would still work
great.


songbird

On 7/20/10 9:16 AM, in article , "songbird"
wrote:

Cheryl Isaak wrote:
Wallace wrote:
...
I would think that stuff would be ok. Why not experiment? Plant
some with it and some with an alternative, and see what results?


Honestly, I'd use it too - use it to lighten heavy soil or mix in
with good compost. Waste not, want not

same here! i'm trying to talk a greenhouse
person to call me when they are going to
throw out old plants as i would love all that
lightener to throw on top of (and to mix in)
with this clay. even if it takes a few years
for the roots to fall apart it would still work
great.


songbird


And it will work - over time with patience. Good luck

C

On 22 July, 12:51, Cheryl Isaak wrote:
On 7/20/10 9:16 AM, in article , "songbird"





wrote:
Cheryl Isaak wrote:
Wallace wrote:
...
I would think that stuff would be ok. Why not experiment? *Plant
some with it and some with an alternative, and see what results?

Honestly, I'd use it too - use it to lighten heavy soil or mix in
with good compost. Waste not, want not

same here! *i'm trying to talk a greenhouse
person to call me when they are going to
throw out old plants as i would love all that
lightener to throw on top of (and to mix in)
with this clay. *even if it takes a few years
for the roots to fall apart it would still work
great.

songbird

And it will work - over time with patience. Good luck

C- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Just be carefull if you are geting old pots of compost from someones
glasshouse, the plants may have just given up the ghost or them may
have been killed by something, what comes to mind is vine weevil,
something you don't want to bring in to your garden.
David Hill

In article ,
Cheryl Isaak wrote:

On 7/20/10 9:16 AM, in article , "songbird"
wrote:

Cheryl Isaak wrote:
Wallace wrote:
...
I would think that stuff would be ok. Why not experiment? Plant
some with it and some with an alternative, and see what results?


Honestly, I'd use it too - use it to lighten heavy soil or mix in
with good compost. Waste not, want not

same here! i'm trying to talk a greenhouse
person to call me when they are going to
throw out old plants as i would love all that
lightener to throw on top of (and to mix in)
with this clay. even if it takes a few years
for the roots to fall apart it would still work
great.


songbird


And it will work - over time with patience. Good luck

C

And you can speed up the process by keeping the beds mulched. As with
composting, the Carbon/Nitrogen ratio should be about 25/1.
Occasionally, you may want to pull back the mulch to warm the soil, but
in general, keep it covered in mulch, and the earthworms will do wonders
for your soil. This gives you great soil, and no digging.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/7/2/maude
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/2...al_crime_scene