Compost, Fertilisers & Recycling

It's often a combination of planting types that works best @simone_in_wiltshire , when you have clay soil, especially if you're finding that your local climate is changing a bit. That's when it can highlight some problems. I have very little bare ground, for other reasons, but it also helps...

I was in Homebase yesterday and didn't see any!

@akwe-xavante I agree 100% Same thing when you buy food, you want to know what's in it! Last year when I started looking into compost I was very surprised that the information about each bag is so vague. Hopefully it will change with the pressure from customers.

Maybe your compost is too dry? Try watering it every now and again - I've read it should be like a moist sponge, and that's not comfortable for rodents.

Thank you @Purple Streaks. I don’t grow anything from seed now as I don’t have a greenhouse or suitable space elsewhere. I’m also impatient! I buy most of my grasses from Knoll gardens and divide them as they expand. I think that many of the grasses that I grow are also sterile, which is good as...

For sowing seed I use one part J.I seed, one part own sifted own compost & one part Coir with no feed. It works for me.

Would probably make for ideal basket weaving strands!

My problem with cardboard is the material itself. If it's new, from virgin pulp, it's just wood fibre, but recycled cardboard, and at east 75% of it is here, contains all sorts of stuff; plastic sticky tape, plastic from envelopes, packaging material such as polystyrene, polythene coated paper,...

Growmore (7-7-7 NPK general purpose fertiliser, various manufacturers):Locally (garden centres) £20 to £23 (10kg tub).Online, delivered, 25kg sack for £29.Worth looking around if (like me!) you're a bit of a skinflint.

Comfrey is the best to make a liquid feed , it was bred as a high nutrition fodder crop and the leaves contain a high proportion of potassium, ideal for promoting flowers. Grass has some nitrogen and would probably make a sludge to do more harm than good.As Nigel says, nettles are an...

I always use Tomato feed with mine.

Yes, they like spinach seedlings too

Thanks for the info. I've been throwing in a handful of granules to whatever compost is in the potting tray. Now I know the ratios, I'll start using the appropriate amounts.

fond memories of the wood stove, located in the basement. heated up the floors and walls of the house. a lovely quietness. The cement floor of the basement very forgiving to any coals fallen. A ugly stove, flat top, then a step up in the back. Front opening solid doors with two dials for...

Thanks, I'll do that. It's a mine field for sure but worth it to see everything in bloom

We made some bins about the same size as yours with a divider in the middle. On either end we made a section that we could just lift off as a whole piece to get at the compost easily, though you could equally use individual slotted slats.Having two bins allows you to readily Turn the compost...

Definitely a good option. They'll stack up nice and high and keep the moisture in but it won't get worms etc in I don't think. I'm just digging in my leaf mould pile from a couple of years ago before starting a new one. I have a spare wheelie bin too so might try it out

This link below is worth a read, especially when the manufacture is 100% peat free. The author echo's many things that I have mentioned on the forum in the past, I did say the commercial sector including myself would like to see the sales of "all purpose compost" & "multipurpose" banned by the...

@Danny Hughes I would start off by measuring the pH of the soil the blueberries are in, to see if it needs to be lower. My soil is about pH 6.5 and a number of acid loving plants grow happily, these include camellias, rhododendrons and an ornamental blueberry. I mulch these with rotted pine...