Grow bags

[jakeatno10]

I have filled large plastic boxes this year with "Grow bag" compost to grow salad potato's, peas, beans and corn. All my crops are growing at a fantastic rate. My question is, what can I do with the compost to make it usable again next year for the same purpose as I don't have any borders to put the compost in.

[Lonnie]

Sounds like you've made a form of raised bed, in my book, the best way to grow vegetables in the garden, all I can do, is tell you what I do with my raised beds, and I get very good quality veggies every year.

All I do, is put a layer of Horse Manure on top, (encourages worms, apart from the natural goodness of the stuff), then cover the lot with a thick tarpaulin, helps keep the heat in, aids self composting, and come the new planting season, approx May time, its ready.

Although I would change the compost the potatoes are in, or use a rotate your crops.

Hope this is of some help.

[WendyS]

You may not have room in your garden to create a compost heap but if you keep all your kitchen waste like potato peelings, cauliflower stalks, etc. in a thick plastic bag in a warm corner of your garden with the air excluded,, they will quickly rot down and when your growing season has finished, the resultant material can be mixed in with your existing compost to add more nutrients. as by the end of this season your growbag magterial will have been exhausted by present crops. When I have been very short of composting space in a previous small garden, I chopped up my kitchen waste very small and forked it back into the soil while the plants were growing in it. Some gardeners will say this is not idea because it takes nitrogen from the soil but it always worked very effectively for me.