tips on reducing the amount of compost I buy...

[BigDahliaFan]

I have a lot of plants in containers - mostly large containers. Some are established so I'll just take the top couple of inches of compost off and refresh the top once a year or so.

But for annuals - I've grown zinnia and asters from seed this year - I have large pots of tulips in the spring that I replace with annuals in the summer.

I'm probably on my 10th bag of compost already this year. I mix it up a bit using old compost mixed with new, add some home made compost - but I've only got room for a hot box. And some leaf mould (thought that's limited too).

What do other people do?

I make my own, buy a bulk bag in the spring. Also some councils sell/give away any compost made from the garden waste collections which could be worth looking in to.

Agree with PP, I have several compost bins and a wormery where I make my own. Every so often I have a bulk delivery from a local supplier, it costs about £45 for a big dumpy bag.

I mix and match these as required.

I've got a few big containers and have done a kind of Hügelkultur thing by putting logs in the bottom, smaller branch/twiggy bits on top of the logs then shreddings. The last few inches I filled with a mixture of my own made compost, a bit of sieved soil and bought compost. I'll need to top up with compost every year as the mixture breaks down but it was good not to have to buy in too much compost initially. It was handy I was having tree work done at the time but I know tree surgeons are often pleased to be able to get rid of waste material.

I have used plastic bottles in the bottom of my big planters when I plant annuals. They have shallow roots, so often don’t reach the bottles, it makes the planter light in case I want to move it and reuses the bottles.