What do you do with used compost?

Answer 1

Turn the compost out into a pile next to the bin to "cure". Usually the inside of the bin contents is more broken down than the outside, so as you're turning it, mix the inner and outer parts of the bin contents as you build the curing pile.

Break up any wet, slimy parts, and mix them with drier materials. If the contents are too dry, add some water at this stage. The pile should have a 50% moisture content--about as damp as a wrung-out sponge. If you squeeze a handful hard, only a drop or two of moisture should drip out.

Make sure the pile is in contact with the ground, so red compost worms and microarthropod "shredders" can enter the pile and go to work on it, breaking it down into smaller and smaller pieces. When you're done, cover the pile with a tarp or sheet of plastic, to keep rain out. Excess water creates slimy, smelly, anaerobic pockets, and leaches water-soluble nutrients out of the pile. Start adding new materials to the bin.

Allow the pile to cure for a few weeks to a few months. Longer curing produces compost with more beneficial fungi, which is particularly good for fruiting plants like tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, chiles, squash, melons, and cucumbers.

Answer 2

Re-composting or re-using are things which can be done with used compost. Used compost can be added to the in-process compost bin, container, heap, pile or pit. It alternatively may be jumpstarted in its nutrient-value by mixing with a general purpose organic fertilizer or with fresh-done compost, manure, municipal compost, peat-free commercial compost, or worm compost.