Discararded pot plants used as a pot filler?

 

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"


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

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

 



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