Best Multi Purpose compost 2015...Your thoughts please.

I have used Humax , lovely grade of compost , as you say difficult to find. Not seen it around for over two years now.

 

I've already bought 4 bags of Levingtons seed compost I got from a closing down sale but this year I'm going to try and see if I can go without buying anymore compost and mix my own.I've got quite a stock of leaf mould,loam and homemade compost so will give it a go

 

will you heat treat / sterilise first Loli? How weed free will it be?
Jenny

 

This is my local garden centre's selection of multipurpose compost anyone have any experience?
http://www.honnorandjeffrey.com/compost.html#compoststart

I haven't used any for years so I'm unsure of what to get so far I've just bought two bags of Levingtons JI Seed & Cutting and one bag of JI No. 1

 

I'll maybe pour some boiling water over the seed mix but not worried about the potting on mixes.I like many others have spent lots of money on bags of compost of all different quality only to find when opening it there's everything from lots of bark,quite large twigs,clusters of snail eggs and even glass.I know what's gone into my own.How good a quality it is time will tell

Sieved and mixed a barrow full for my Strawberry plants

 

I bought some bags of the 56L JAB earlier this year from Wyevale when they were doing six 56L bags for £18 and were sending every house in our area leaflets with £5 off £15 vouchers in
£5 off £15 @ Wyevale and I got 6 bags for £13 (plus free hot drink in café voucher), so got 3 bags for £6.50 and the price in that link is 3 bags for £17!

The JAB MPC is to left and is light and 'fluffy', with lots of small fibres and similar to a peat free/reduced peat compost (peat content not marked). I would not use it for seed sowing, only potting up. On the right hand side of the tray is Verve MPC (58% peat) @ 5p/L that has no visible fibres and I would be happy sowing seeds in, although I use Seed Compost for anything small than peas, beans, etc.

 

Is this the soil based compost?

Hey this looks good, can you send a couple of bags to Wales please!!

 

@HarryS Yes, brilliant, but er, what has happened to Winter

 

Being on the Isle of Wight we don't have a Wyevale or a Wickes as others have mentioned or even a Wilkinsons for the end of season bargains

We do however have a B&Q so I will investigate their Verve MPC as that doesn't look all that bad in comparison to some I've seen.

Many thanks @Scrungee

 

Hi All. There was a post in 2014 about peat coming back ,well it is . In Swindon at Argyle Street Pet & Garden Street they have absolutely bags of it in stock. Violet 40L of dark peat around £3 ,cannot remember the exact price. I was only able to get 2 bags in boot but will go back for another 1/2 dozen.
Will mix the peat with m/purpose compost so should make a difference,hopefully. For the past 2 years we have used verve 125 L bags and had no real problems with it. Few small twigs but no large bits of plastic or glass. I always think even if you put a plant in the soil the roots have got to work their way through stones and sometimes roots. So generally I do not bother to sift through the compost as roots are more than capable with dealing with twigs etc. If I need something that is fine then I will sieve. Used to buy Wickes until 2 years ago as it got awful but no idea what it is like now.
This is the uncomfortable time of day for me at computer as cat likes to pinch my soft chair and have a kip on it by the sun coming through window. If I do not give up the chair she will sit in front of the screen and poke me with one claw till I give in. I have to now sit on a hard plastic chair. My wife tells me the cat has me wrapped round her little claw and I spoil her ,never

 

I used Homebase MPC for the first time last year & it was good, so am using it again this year.
It's the one in the 120ltr bags with the yellow Gazania picture on. £8 a bag or £14 for 2

 

I'm wondering if one bag each of every MPC was mixed together with some JI compost, sharp sand and Perlite, if everybody would then be happy with it?

 

No, because it depends what is being planted in it.
I have some horse shino rotting down for my Canna experiment. To that I'll add grit and some MPC in varying quantities (from none up to 50%) and sand. For my Sesbania I add perlite and water gel. And so on. So MPC is there for bulk as far as I'm concerned. The nice thing about Humax is that for seedlings and for some plants I use it just as it comes out of the bag.

 

Irish peat has been back here on the island a while too.