COMPOST REVIEW 2013

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

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  1. Scrungee

    Scrungee Well known for it

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    It's now gone up to £4.49 online and no multi-save http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/101292
     
    Scrungee, Apr 30, 2013
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  2. Loofah

    Loofah Admin Staff Member

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    Think this company needs to get a grip with building consumer confidence - what are they playing at?!
     
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      Loofah, Apr 30, 2013
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    • trogre

      trogre Gardener

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      Purchased several bags of J.Arthur Bower`s MPC about 2 months ago ready for the container. Decided to plant some veggies in containers so while over B & Q I purchased 4 bags of Verve MPC, before I read the reviews from last year.

      Anyway as it turned out we have used all the 4 bags of Verve on potting up and I must admit, lovely stuff, only found the odd small twig which was not a problem.
      Today we opened a bag of J.A.Bowers to pot up some Petunias and compared to verve is not half as good.
      There were very small odd bits of plastic but it was the amount of small twigs & bits of wood in the compost. To be honest for containers the compost is ideal but for planting veggies seeds in seed cells I had to riddle to get bits of wood & big lumps out.
      I did not waste the bits of wood & larger lumps but threw it back into bag to use in containers. Last year J.A Bowers was ok but has gone downhill a bit this year.
      It does look like we cannot just rely on a "name" now but have to rely on feedback from members one year to the next.
       
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        trogre, May 3, 2013
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      • merleworld

        merleworld Total Gardener

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        I'm still using the B&Q MP compost with John Innes at £3 for 50L. I've used about 20 bags of it so far and it's such a lovely texture I just want to keep digging my hands in it. But then I am a bit odd :rolleyespink:
         
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          merleworld, May 3, 2013
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        • Scrungee

          Scrungee Well known for it

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          Me too! I've been seed sowing this afternoon and there's something satisfying about working with a compost that's 'just right'.
           
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            Scrungee, May 3, 2013
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          • Fat Controller

            Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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            I bought three bags of Westland at Tesco (70l) for a tenner weekend before last, and it seems pretty decent so far.
             
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              Fat Controller, May 3, 2013
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            • Scrungee

              Scrungee Well known for it

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              Which 'Westland' 70 litre compost, as there's multifarious versions of it?

              P.S. I've never seen bags of compost as big as 70 litres being sold in any of my local Tescos, including Tesco 'Extras'.
               
              Scrungee, May 3, 2013
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            • Fat Controller

              Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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              Apologies, just looked again and they were 50L - Multi-Purpose Compost.
               
              Fat Controller, May 3, 2013
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            • al n

              al n Total Gardener

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              I picked up a bag of the miracle grow stuff from a local GC. Quite impressed with the quality although I have bought cheaper verve and homebase stuff, I don't think it's vastly different. It's a lot lighter and finer in texture and nicer to work with though.
               
              al n, May 3, 2013
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            • sumbody

              sumbody Gardener

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              Happy to report I have been back to B & Q for more M/C and this lot is back to normal (after my 6 rogue bags from 3 weeks ago) - although I did check before buying - there was a tiny finger-hole in one of the bags :oopss:

              S
               
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                sumbody, May 4, 2013
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              • Fat Controller

                Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                Through the course of today, I have used three different composts and all were very different.

                The best, by a considerable margin was the Westland MPC that I got from Tesco; next best was the Homebase MPC+ which was similar in texture to the Westland with the odd twiggy bit (but not too many); last place is given to Miracle Gro for their offering that was little short of rubbish - very clumpy, loads of fibrous lumps (almost like they had composted cocoa liners and they hadn't composted fully) and a white-ish/blue-ish tinge as though it was on the verge of being really mouldy.

                I used the Miracle Gro for all my seedlings this year, so today's bag was the last, and although almost everything germinated, I have had a few complete failures (pansy parparaja and ascarina scandens to name a couple), and I am now wondering if its a result of this rather poor compost.:dunno:

                I suspect that the Homebase stuff and the B&Q Verve are probably from the same or similar source? I'm no expert, but it seems pretty decent to me - one thing is for sure, I am becoming less and less trusting of the Miracle Gro name.
                 
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                  Fat Controller, May 4, 2013
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                • Jenny namaste

                  Jenny namaste Total Gardener

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                  Thanks for that informative post FC. I will bear it in mind for next time,
                  Jenny
                   
                  Jenny namaste, May 4, 2013
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                • Fat Controller

                  Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                  You're welcome Jenny :) :ccheers:

                  I should add that the Homebase compost I used today was last year's batch - despite insulting my car with 9 bales of the stuff this morning, I haven't yet used this year's stuff; I will post back once I have used it :)
                   
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                    Fat Controller, May 4, 2013
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                  • shiney

                    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                    Hi, Tinyfingers, I won't tell on you! :lunapic 130165696578242 5:
                     
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                      shiney, May 5, 2013
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                    • Scrungee

                      Scrungee Well known for it

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                      A BIG thank you to all those who have poked holes in/opened bags of potting compost at B&Q!

                      verve1.jpg verve2.jpg verve3.jpg verveJI4.jpg
                       
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                        Scrungee, May 5, 2013
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