Wickes GP compost 2012

As far as I recall the larger companies tend to use a huge amount of by products from other industries. Bark, coir, green waste etc.

There was a time when even some of the most trusted names would do whatever they could to hide the fact that the majority of their compost was peat. Not sure if this is still the case now.

 

Homebase MP 120l from Jan 2012:

 

I bought a load of the Asda compost last year and it was quite woody (not as woody as the Westland ericaceous, but not far off). Wouldn't buy it again.

As for Homebase - in the same Which? report which put B&Q compost top, it put Homebase compost bottom of the pile.

 

Some really useful comments on here.
The last couple of years I've bought Murphy's from my local nursery. Last year was good quality stuff, but this year has more fibrous stuff in it (though no not half as bad as some of the photos on here).
A trend across brands perhaps?

 

We noticed Wickes General compost is more woody this year.

They have also reduced the bag sizes. Was 75l last year and 70l this year. They put the price up over winter too, it was 4 bags for £12 now 4 for £13, and most wont notice the change in size even if they notice the price change.

Will have to have a look at some of the other options out there, as i dont like the woody nature of it, will suck nitrogen out of the compost when first used as the wood rots further - not good.

 

I've bought Wickes Multi-purpose today.
The consistancy is generally OK. Nice and crumbly.
But there is a lot more fibrous material than previously. And there are more woody bits than in the past.
I'll have to check out some other suppliers, following suggestions above, for comparison.

 

I found out recently that after our local green bins have been collected, they are emptied at a local processing plant that chop it up. This in then transported to Carlisle where it's further processed (heaped and turned) then sold on to compost manufacturers who sell it back to us!

So when you find a bent screw in your bag of new compost you can blame Freddy at No 34 for slapdash green bin recycling and if you find a bit of plastic it's probably the kids at No17 putting their crisp packets in the wrong bin!

So I would guess the contents of our next compost bag purchase would reflect whatever the general population is putting in their green bins and around Easter time here when people first start doing some tidying up you can always see their green bins full with branches from shrubs as they get their yearly prune, I always burn woody stuff.

Steve...

 

You got a citation for this please?

There is no possibility of preventing broken glass and all sorts via this route (whereas industrial vegetation waste could be more tightly controlled) so I am concerned if this is the case.

 

No citation here, but FIFE COUNCIL do not sell compost from the greenbins back to the Public as they say, their system does not attain enough heat to destroy weeds, seeds and disease,
They say they recycle it to their own gardening service, which is a bit hard to believe,
Yes they may do SOME OF IT, but not half a million people every weeks waste, the town park and roundabouts would be Elephant high, so it must go somewhere, not land fill
so I suspect it goes to a producer of CHEAP compost available through cheap stores

I must admit recently I bought a £1 25ltr bag of compost locally and to be honest it was rougher than what I had put in my green bin apart from being BLACK with added wire,springs and glass :-)

The local sewerage works, sells composted human waste in pelleted form, very good nutrition, but after a year your garden is full of pink rubber and cotton bits ?

Jack McHammocklashing

 

That's the way our local green waste goes but is sold directly to the public.

 

Unfortunately no, but the info came from a supervisor of the collection crew who came round checking up on how well the crews do their job.

Steve...

 

I dug out an old compost heap on a plot used by a local shopkeeper and began to wonder what all the 'items' in it were, until I realised he'd been composting he'd been composting old veg from the shop and hadn't bothered taking the wrappers off the cucumbers.

Getting back on topic, I found broken glass in 2 bags of B&Q J.I. Seed Compost, but whether this was in the ground the topsoil was dug from or another sources is anybody's guess, although I thought they were rather large lumps (8mm) not to be screened out from seed compost.

Luckily I have one 75l bag of 'original' Wickes compost left that will now be restricted to seed sowing, and I've bought 3 x 60l bags of B&Q 'Verve' compost as it's now known for transplanting, potting up and trialing for seed sowing.

I would be interested if anybody seives all the woody stuff out of Wickes (or similar) compost, just how is removed.

 

Think I've read somewhere about this 'rubbish' is being used in peat based compost because of enforced(?) quotas for reducing the peat content. If gardeners have to seive it out (and throw it away) to make it fit for purpose it makes a complete nonsense of adding it.