WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THE GARDEN TODAY - 2022

So we get English stuff @pete, but maybe the selection is a bit limited. I'm not familiar with the extent of the UK stocks. We've got a fair few garden centres - but only two types of peat free I think. I've got some pH balanced 'soil improver' from the local green recycling centre. I was wondering if I might try that?

 

It was planting Winter Aconites between wet snow showers.

 

I wouldn't use the soil improver stuff, it can be a bit iffy and is only really intended for spreading on the garden.

I was looking, only looking at a local Wyvales compost area yesterday, I must say they had a really big range, but no offers and it ranged from £6 to £7 for a 60 ltr bag, a bit pricey I thought.

Id just sieve, as you say, any lumpy stuff you come across if your seed sowing.

Potting on I prefer it a bit lumpier, personally.



Peat free is becoming more available here, but still a bit limited I find, I was looking at some yesterday that was a mix of peat free and JI, not seen that one before, might be worth a try.

 

It will not be a Wyevale G/C, they were sold in 2018. The Wyevale brand was short lived, it was know as the TGCG, the garden centre group until 2012 then it was sold to a private equity company called, Terra Firma and was rebranded to Wyevale.

Wyevale is no more after selling last remaining stores to BGC (retailgazette.co.uk)

 

Yeah I know that but most of them dont seem to have a recognisable name now since they changed so most people I know locally still call them wyevale.
They look like Wyevales and the prices are like Wyevales so ...............

 

Didn't snap up half a dozen duty free bags then?

 

@JimmyB , St Peter’s garden centre on Jersey is a Blue Diamond centre and BD are making a big deal this season about having most of their compost peat free. We have a big BD centre nearby and they say they are getting peat free seed and cutting compost in shortly , wonder if yours is ?

 

Don't you have to subscribe to which to actually see the results of their tests?

The GoodHome is now sold only through B&Q, the reviews on their site are worth a read.

 

Probably, Bord na Mona was packing the compost for them in the past under the Verve brand, don't know if they still pack for them or someone else is doing it for B&Q.

One of the reviews tickled me, they gave it 5 stars saying the compost was excellent as it grows lots of mushrooms.

 

Planted a couple of Digitalis purpurea I had delivered this morning.

 

I understand, we and commercial growers need to take into account costs. When using peat based or a high percentage, then you can move large volumes.

Below is an image showing a 6 cubic metre baled peat, as you can see, I can't even get it on our truck due to the height, the whole pallet weighs 1050kg.




Growers will have these delivered in artic loads but they will already have the nutrients already blended. When I got delivery, there was 22 pallets in a high cube container, so 132 cubic metres all together, yet the wagon was underweight legally.

Now if that was soil based, John Innes, then I could only get 35 cubic metres on a truck due to the weight, extra trucks, results in extra cost per litre to move the compost, which has a knock on effect through the chain.