Re use old compost for spring bulbs and save money
Autumn is bulb-planting time. During autumn, we love to plant bulbs to provide lots of spring colour. Planting into containers is always popular and to make bulb lasagnes.
The bulbs are expensive, especially Tulips which are often treated as annuals and compost is also expensive. Truth is, it is not necessary to use fresh compost for new bulbs and here is why.
Save money on expensive compost
A new bulb structure contains all the food and nutrients (apart from water,) necessary for the bulb to grow, and flower. Bulbs are little power packs and do not need additional nutrients to produce flowers for the next spring.
Save and reuse compost from any end-of-season containers you are emptying, provided it is healthy compost. This should be apparent if the plants you had previously grown in it were healthy.
If you are growing Tulips and intend to treat them as annuals, which is often the case, there is no need to feed them.
In the case of the bulbs which you intend to keep for next year, use a high potash liquid feed fortnightly after flowering to encourage the bulb development for next year.
If you continue to grow the same bulbs in old compost each year, you will need to feed more and add nutrients as time goes on. But whenever you are planting new bulbs old compost is fine.
Melcourt Sylvagrow is excellent compost, and its my compost of choice, but it comes at a price. When we are all trying to save money keep the expensive compost for the plants which really need it.
More money saving gardening tips.
More about growing spring bulbs and information on why my spring bulbs don't flower.
