COMPOST REVIEW 2013

Discussion in 'Compost, Fertilisers & Recycling' started by ARMANDII, Feb 6, 2013.

  1. ARMANDII

    ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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    Well, despite my first experience with the B&Q Verve Peat Free General Purpose Compost in that I rated it as not fit for purpose I have bought two 125 litres of the B&Q Verve Peat Added Compost to see what that was like. I rate it as being not too bad. The compost was crumbly, had a nice texture to it, and very little bits of sticks or lumps in it.
     
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    • joolz68

      joolz68 Total Gardener

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      Take a look at this..westlands,i bought 3x 50lt bags for £10 from tesco with my online grocery shopping a few week back,last week i opened one and seemed ok, i used some for some cuttings..this is what the top of my pots are like now :frown:
      [​IMG]
      So i decided to use some more today(benefit of the doubt n all) and when i dug deeper in the bag i ended up finding crompressed white mouldy clumps :gaah:

      I use a tub to mix my perlite.
      [​IMG]
      I wont be ordering any more!
       
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      • Fat Controller

        Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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        They are not alone Joolz - I bought three bags of Miracle Grow compost at my local garden centre a couple of weeks back, and I am getting quite a lot of mould on the tops of my pots and trays.

        I wonder if the wet weather last year has had some sort of an effect?
         
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        • joolz68

          joolz68 Total Gardener

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          Would putting sand or grit on top help after ive scraped it off that is?:dunno:
          I cant get to buy anymore till weekend x
           
        • Fat Controller

          Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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          No idea - I have just been roughing mine up a bit and trying to ignore it until I can get some different stuff to pot on with.
           
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          • Dorothy

            Dorothy Gardener

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            Hi has anyone tried the compost B&M are selling? It is called Easy Grow and it is in 40ltr bags, price £1.99. I brought a bag at the weekend to see what it was like.It is very dark and crumbly with just a few twigs in it.It actually looked quite good.I have used it today to pot on some coleus. I have mixed it with grit.:)
             
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            • Sheal

              Sheal Total Gardener

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              Joolz, I've found the chunkier the mix the more inclined it is to mould, I think it's because it retains water longer. Some months ago I bought a bag of Levingtons 'Waterlocker' multi purpose, which is no good whatsoever for seedlings because it's so chunky. I've used it in a couple of household plants and not keen but it's perfect for containers that are in a sunny situation. I've bought more recently to use them as a mulch for my sandy soil beds......and it does what it says on the bag and retains the water longer. :) For everything else I will stick with B&Q's Verve.
               
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              • ARMANDII

                ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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                Looks like you've found new anti-biotic mould there, Joolz!!:hate-shocked: :snork:
                 
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                • joolz68

                  joolz68 Total Gardener

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                  I will be doing from now on sheal :) although i might buy a bag from B&M to try as dorothy has :blue thumb:

                  Great,ive chucked it on my trellis planter i hope it doesnt fix any poorly slugs :heehee:x
                   
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                  • merleworld

                    merleworld Total Gardener

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                    Has anybody tried the B&Q general purpose compost with John Innes -50L for £3? I was going to buy JI to mix with the GP compost but thought I may as well try this stuff instead.

                    Can't believe B&Q had no bags of the Verve 60L ericaceous compost (apart from two which had split), so any money I saved on not buying the JI I ended up spending on the extra cost of buying Miracle Gro ericaceous compost :doh:
                     
                  • shiney

                    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                    I'm a bit puzzled. :scratch:

                    There has been mention of B&M and I've never heard of it. So I Googled it and they came up with b&m (small letters) which seems to fit the bill. Then I put in my postcode and it showed a map with a few stores on.

                    Most stores on the map had a 'b' emblem and a very few had an 'h' and it indicated that 'h' is a 'Homestore'. So I zoomed in on the nearest which happens to be an 'h' and I recognised the store. It is our biggest Wickes store!!!! Anyone know anything about a connection?
                     
                  • ARMANDII

                    ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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                    Well, it's possible that B&M, Savers. Homestore, and Wickes are owned by a conglomerate............although that seems strange as the first three stores undercut Wickes by a fair margin. B&M, Homestore, and Savers are quite strong in the Midlands and Northwest. Charlies [slightly upmarket] is strong in Wales and the ajoining counties, whiles Boyes is strong in the NorthEast.:coffee:
                     
                  • shiney

                    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                    Next time I'm in town I'll have to go past Wickes to see whether it's still under that name.
                     
                  • HarryS

                    HarryS Eternally Optimistic Gardener

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                    Shiney "B and M Bargains" for years there was only one store that I knew in Southport. It sold surplus stock and end of line products at knock down prices. Now they seem to have expanded , lots of stores about. Think of them like a designer pound shop :biggrin:
                     
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                    • Scrungee

                      Scrungee Well known for it

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