John innes

I used to have one of those packs of the Chempack base fertiliser. My old neighbour gave it to me, and she'd won it in a raffle "at 't club" so goodness knows how long it had been sitting around in someone's shed. I did use it (in old/previously used potting compost) but whether it made any difference I don't know.

 

Correct, before MPC became the norm and more popular, most garden centres just sold baled peat, which the public would mix with Chempak to make their own. John Innes was only the real ready made compost on the market with volume sales. As the general public started buying the ready made peat based compost, there was a sharp decline in the sales of baled peat, which would of had a negative impact on Chempak. If baled peat was still the norm, then probably Chempak would still be readily available.

 

Am I right in thinking T&M took over Chempak a few years ago?

I dont think many people want to mess around mixing compost these days, plus all the publicity around the use of peat, seeing a bale of peat on sale is a rarity these days even if you could still get the base fertiliser.
I actually used to use grow bags as potting compost when they first came out and everything grew really well, not so sure it would work these days.

I think Fisons was the first multipurpose I started using.

 

As a kid I used to go to the local garden club for supplies with my dad and each Spring he'd buy bags of Levington's compost - so it's been around a while.
I'd guess that was best part of 60 years ago

 

That's interesting @gks. A couple of months ago I bought JI No.2 to use for seeds and seedlings which has been successful so far. The small garden centre I bought it from has all four types of John Innes.

 

We do have some small garden centres and diy shops that would stock all four types of John Innes. However, with them being small, they would order mixed pallets, which costs a bit more per bag as we have to break down the other pallets and restack their order. Where as the larger garden centres would purchase full pallets of each.

It's the same for me on everything I purchase, fertiliser comes in 40 x 25kg bags per pallet, if I ask for a split pallet with a mixture of different fertilisers, I pay more per bag.

The same for seed potatoes, full pallets per variety are cheaper per 20kg bag than getting a pallet of 50 x 20kg bags with numerous varieties.

Some of my trade customers, who now have to find a different supplier for compost and go direct for their orders of seed potatoes etc etc are now finding it's more expensive. They don't have the buying power that I did as I was classed as a wholesaler, where they are retail. So a garden centre in Carlisle who used to buy about 20 x 20kg bags of mixed varieties of seed potatoes has paid more going direct and collecting them from Annan than they used to pay when buying through me and our cost included delivery.

 

@pete, I agree lots of people may not want to be mixing compost, but I am reading more and more that that is the advice for how to "cope" with peat free. Several sources, including RHS advice is that some amendments will be needed for best performance . Whether we like it or not it may be something we all have to relearn to do.

 

I agree, I think everyone has got used to just take it out the bag, pot something up, water it, stand back and watch it grow.

It has become the modern way.