Best supplier of compost 2024

Good Lord! I thought €15 (£12.85) for a 70l bag of Jiffy Pro Universal was dear At least it's local, though, so I'm going to try to negotiate free delivery and possibly a discount for a bulk buy.

 

Is he an advocate for peat free compost?

On the Moorland website it states they are in the process of developing a completely peat free compost, which suggests that their current range will have some peat incorporated in to the mix. It looks like they make the compost from sediments from rivers and pre dams to prevent the material washing down into the main drinking water reservoirs. The deposits are dug out of man made collection points, which includes leaves, silt and peat. This process is likely to occur on moorlands, so it would be interesting to know what percentage of peat is going in to the mix.

 

Its available alright but over my budget !!
https://allgrowsupplies.co.uk/delivery-information/
You could just go and get a single bag delivered by /from B&Q
/www.diy.com/departments/moorland-gold-potting-and-container-compost-40-litre-x-1/5057554223947_BQ.prd?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0MfWlfjLhAMV0ptQBh2asQgyEAYYASABEgK_avD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
but LOOK at the price !!!

 

Ok it is expensive and I live in an excluded postcode which does not help matters! However, I “ cheat”. I use my very nice ancient leaf mould which has some weed seeds in it with a bit of grit or vermiculite and only use bought in compost on the top couple of inches of seed trays etc. To me it is worth getting a compost that doesn’t dry out so much that it is impossible to water and being ancient find most composts with zero peat absolutely ghastly.
For many years I used both Wicks and Verve from B&Q but neither resemble what they used to be like.
Since when was compost black? I have also had to remove wire and got my finger cut from glass using some god forsaken stuff a couple of years ago.
I can get for nothing compost which is pretty similar to that sold cheaply by the likes of Aldi and Lidl from a recycling plant not that far from here. They were up to their eyeballs in compost and offered it to the local farmers for free delivered, they refused to take it having viewed what actually goes into the makings of said compost.

 

I've got to say I have never come across bags of potting compost with wire or glass in them, not even the odd stone, but I will admit some of it is coarser than it used to be and a bit woody.
The peat stuff I bought a few weeks ago is almost like dust and I bought a couple of bags of Jacks Magic to mix with it, as on its own its pretty claggly and airless stuff.

I never buy the cheapest stuff I can find or the most expensive, I look for multiple bag deals, but I think most of what you buy needs tinkering with these days.

 

Which is shipped and supplied by Thompson & Morgan.

The site says the following about the compost.

Moorlands Gold. An organic compost range based on peat particles that are collected from lakes and dams after being naturally filtered out of the soil and washed into rivers and streams.

The natural peat alternative compost, is made from, A blend of coir fibres, forestry by-products and naturally filtrated peat particles collected from reservoirs.

When the peat ban comes into force, which it will, we just don't know when yet. Will using peat that has not been harvested but collected from rivers etc etc still be allowed? Most stockists of this compost seem to be organic farms/shops and community gardens. According to the horticultural website, when growing organic, then you should avoid using peat. Granted the peat is not being harvested but to label a compost, peat alternative, I would expect no peat at all in the mix, grey area.

 

Given previous experience of Defra/Natural England/EA, it will probably be despatched to landfill with other dredged material .

 

Just for info, my local Lidl have bags of compost stored inside the store.

 

So glad I have my own compost and leaf mould ! Collecting the leaves in autumn can be a tad tedious but at least it’s free and the air miles are low
I do, of course, buy compost as well and have found the garden centre “own use” pretty good but it’s not cheap. My thinking being that if they really are using it for their own plants it should be better than the average commercial bags.

 

I sometimes buy it from the nursery I use, but our local outlet for all sorts of animal feed etc has good compost. It's peat based, but it's recovered from that water filtering process. I haven't bought any yet, but I may need a bag or two later for the dhalias/sweet peas etc.
The problem with home made stuff is time, and making enough of it for different usage. I have to sieve it if I want it for seed or small plants and cuttings. It takes a long time to break down well enough here.
Leaf mould is wonderful stuff, but I have to get it from other people now as I don't have suitable trees in this site. The lady that now lives in my old property round the corner would probably be delighted if I went round and collect all the leaves in autumn - I must ask her next time I see her!

 

My mum used to have a couple of beech trees with lovely leaf mould under them. (Huge garden left to go a bit wild) I used the coarser mould to pot up Cymbidium orchids and they did well. Mum died in her bed aged 95 and the house was sold so I am trying to make my own leaf mould in bags. Not so good but I will persist.
Last week I bought some Westland Gro Sure seed and cutting compost and it looks pretty good. We'll see how the seedlings do.

 

I don't use Jack's Magic as the foxes tear the bags apart. I assume there must be some animal product in it to attract them.

 

Bone meal?

 

Perhaps or BFB @Baalmaiden

 

I always used Jacks Magic in the past, but I always kept it in the shed. Too many foxes round here, although I don't remember any problems if I put it in the front garden for anything. They can access the front quite easily.