COMPOST REVIEW 2013

Went to B&Q this morning and found some damaged 125 litre bags of Verve MPC. Unfortunately they had been taped up, but fortunately they were reduced to £3.50, so at only 2.8p/litre and they will do for potting up.

I'll compare the quality against the rubbishy stuff I saw spilling from a split bag earlier in the year when I drag them out the car, but unfortunately I found some Westland compost reduced to less than half price @ £3/60litres + buy 2 get 1 free (so £2/bag 3.33p/litre) at the next garden centre and that's sitting on top of them.

 

Magnificent bargains Scrungee,
makes you wonder what the mark up is sometimes.....
Jenny

 

A compost producer near here charges £20.00 +VAT per tonne to the trade.

a-a

 

MPC weighs approx. 550g/litre (just weighed some), so 1 metric tonne (1,000 Kg) will be approx. 1,800 litres.

So 1 tonne @ £20 + VAT = £24 ÷ 1,800 = 1.3p/litre, but does that £20/tonne rate include delivery, pallets, etc.?, (and is it just tipped out of a truck into a heap on your driveway)

 

I am using the bnq one you mentioned in your first post . So far , ok . I have used it to sow seeds and they are coming up ??? ( I only hope I do not live to regret this post )

 

I took the figure from the producers website £20 + vat is ex-works in bulk quantities for what is described as 10mm Compost. - I don't think it appropriate to post a link but will PM you with the link if you like.

a-a

 

As "bulk quantities" is normally 5 tonnes, £120 (+delivery) would be lot of money to pay for an enormous pile of unseen compost that would be the equivalent of 30 x 60 litre bags p.a. for 5 years, so the vast majority would go off before it was used.

 

I have bought the B & Q verve again this year and, as has been said, apart from some twigs, bits of plastic etc - it is generally a good all-rounder - last years from Wickes and Homebase (their shops are nearer) was full of what looked like straw - although they assured me it was quality stuff, the tomatoes especially grew badly (although it could have been the rain as well) but I won't be going back there again and will be making the further journey to B & Q every time.

S

 

Loofah, it looks like there's a lot of fibre in there.

 

I've bought B&Q's multi-purpose for years John and haven't been disappointed by it's texture yet, it's particularly good for sowing and seedlings.

 

That looks like everything we all want in a basic starter mix John. Very nice indeed,
Jenny

 

I thought 70L was last year's 2012 revised stuff and the 'latest new' (2013) formula was in 75L bags as was the old original 2011 compost (gets complicated doesn't it?).

Loofah Does it state on those bags that it's suitable for seed sowing? (because it doesn't look like it to me, perhaps with the exception of beans & peas)


P.S. I've still got about one and a half bags of 'original' Wickes compost!