Compost, Fertilisers & Recycling

That's a useful site, Oktarine - hadn't come across it before. Thanks! :D

Peat free composts can be a bit rough for seed sowing. There is a new Genie range of peat and loam free composts made from UK sourced 100% re-cycled ingredients. They are intended for seeds and cuttings etcSee:http://www.vitalearth.tv/

I'm tackling whitefly and aphids from a different direction. Every hibernating or semi hiberanting ladybird I find in the garden gets a new cosy winter home under a few peach tree leaves in the greenhouse. Hopefully they will do the job!

Just make sure you dig it in before it sets seed!There are various types. I used phacelia tanacetifolium (from memory think that's how it was spelt....) They are suitable for different soils and conditions, and vary in their timing, so you need to know what you're using.

No, just a double hanger! (To catch the offspring, of course!)

We have about 7 compost heaps - Martin made them out of planks of wood, as the compost rots and heap gets smaller, we take planks away and start another one, so its always ano ongoing prosess.

Hi sash,if i was you i wouldnt put anymore on.Come spring,fork over what you spread at end of summer.You could put some fresh in the bottom of your tatie trenches though.

May be in those days some growers may not have known that they need light to emerge and perhaps covered them too much, just a thought.

Thanks everyone for the helpful tips.One cutting was a fuschia and has come along well. A cutting from a wild blackberry has also thrived. But my holly cutting did not do at all well, this I dipped in rooting powder and did put in a pot compost.The pansies were in compost alone and have...

Well if you use it now it is not going to feed any plant because they are more or less dormant. That lovely juice will just wash away in the winter rains.

Nice site TG.. I do mix several different kinds of composts for my different types of plants, because as they say, it is very hard to buy a good one so much better to make my own..

WM you do have a wicked sense of humour,love it :D :D

We use a garden vac/blower that shreds. It's a brilliant tool particularly for getting at the leaves that creep under our hedges.( And yes we do leave some leaves under some of the hedges as shelter for wildlife/foraging birds) We'll gradually empty the black sacks as layers on the compost heaps...

Oops, Need to add to that message.The composted bark came from my local family run garden centre. I'm still a novice at computing. Lou S

I might add that if you work on clay soil the salt will harm your soil structure, while the benefits from the alginates in it are unnecessary, so possibly best avoided. It is a matter of balancing the need for organic matter with the need to keep sodium out of the soil profile which tips in...

Thanks guys It's my first attempt at composting and it seems to be rotting down really well. Taking on board all your advice, think I'll play 'slugs in space' with the ones on the lid and sides and any others I can grab and then scrutinise the compost before I use it to make sure there's...

I use about two thirds multi-purpose compost and one third sharp sand. All the books I have read suggest added drainage material.

of course stupid me

Probably fruit flies as the name implies probably feeding on your fruit waste they are no problem at all part of the composting cycle

Thanks, no i think i have been lucky this year and the plants have remained really healthy.