COMPOST REVIEW 2013

Glad to see you got some bargains

The one on the bottom right is the stuff I use.

 

I've just dragged a handful out of that hole and can't see any physical difference between Verve MPC and Verve MPC with added John Innes (the one on bottom right), but @ £1 for 60 litres I'm not complaining.

 

For those of you interested in the peat free approach.

Interesting result here from a little experiment I carried out when potting up my Alicante tomato seedlings.

The plants on the left in this photo are potted in MiracleGro 'Organic Choice' all purpose peat free compost.

For the plants on the right I used my own home made potting compost mix, which is made using, in roughly equal proportions; sieved garden compost, sieved garden soil and 2 year old leaf mould.

I think the result speaks for itself.

 

That's an interesting result Trunky. I'd like to give your idea a go next year but am worried about using my sandy soil.

 

That shouldn't be a problem Sheal. My soil is very sandy, I find it actually helps to make the compost more open and free draining, while the leaf mould and compost retain moisture, so the best of both worlds really.

 

Thanks Trunky, perhaps between us we can come up with a viable peat free compost. Yours obviously works better than what's been produced so far.

 

FC, many fingers in many different pies methinks!

 

last year wickes mpc was exactly the same as Homebase full of straw - not tried homebase this year though - tbh was a bit scared after the failures last year so stuck with the B & Q verve.

S

 

This spring I have been very pleased with

Levington's F1 low nutrient Seed & Modular compost
£6.50 for 75 litres - local independent garden centre - Hawgrips nr Leicester

The texture was very good, no wastage, and can be extended by adding sand, perlite etc if desired. I have sown most of my seeds in this with good result. Where things haven't germinated I think old seed or the previous compost was the cause.

On the strength of this I have just bought a bag of

Levington's Professional high nutrient Potting and Bedding compost
£6.50 for 75 litres - local independent garden centre

Interestingly, the texture and colour seems exactly the same. (Just shove all that brown stuff into these 'ere bags, Dave.) The proof of the compost will be in the growing, however.


In a feeble attempt to be environmentally conscious I bought a bag of

Vital Earth peat-free multipurpose compost
£5.95 for 60 litres -independent local nursery - Meynell Langley, nr Derby

They are a good nursery and had clearly made an effort to provide the best possible peat-free alternative for their customers. Apparently there were loads of probs with their last peat-free but they were reasonably pleased with this one. The smell is off-putting as usual but the texture is OK. Apparently there have been problems with over-watering as it is difficult to tell how damp the compost is as the top layer dries out when underneath it is sodden. I think I may have killed plants for this reason last year.

 

I accidentally bought some B&Q Verve Peat-Free compost a while ago and have been using it in the bottom of the larger planters (where the roots won't touch for a year or two) then putting the good stuff on top of it. It's bobbins - very fibrous and clumpy.

I went to B&Q to buy another ten bags of compost yesterday and they had run out of the Verve one with JI, so I had to get the normal MP one.