COMPOST REVIEW 2013

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

Page 9 of 19
  1. ARMANDII

    ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jan 12, 2019
    Messages:
    48,096
    Gender:
    Male
    Ratings:
    +100,846
    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.
     
    • Like Like x 1
      ARMANDII, Mar 26, 2013
      #121 Quote in Conversation
    • joolz68

      joolz68 Total Gardener

      Joined:
      May 16, 2011
      Messages:
      4,428
      Gender:
      Female
      Location:
      alfreton uk
      Ratings:
      +5,386
      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!
       
      • Like Like x 1
      • Informative Informative x 1
        joolz68, Mar 26, 2013
        #122 Quote in Conversation
      • Fat Controller

        Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

        Joined:
        May 5, 2012
        Messages:
        28,859
        Gender:
        Male
        Occupation:
        Public Transport
        Location:
        At me 'puter, GCHQ Ashford Office, Middlesex
        Ratings:
        +54,404
        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?
         
        • Informative Informative x 1
          Fat Controller, Mar 26, 2013
          #123 Quote in Conversation
        • joolz68

          joolz68 Total Gardener

          Joined:
          May 16, 2011
          Messages:
          4,428
          Gender:
          Female
          Location:
          alfreton uk
          Ratings:
          +5,386
          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
           
          joolz68, Mar 26, 2013
          #124 Quote in Conversation
        • Fat Controller

          Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

          Joined:
          May 5, 2012
          Messages:
          28,859
          Gender:
          Male
          Occupation:
          Public Transport
          Location:
          At me 'puter, GCHQ Ashford Office, Middlesex
          Ratings:
          +54,404
          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.
           
          • Like Like x 1
            Fat Controller, Mar 26, 2013
            #125 Quote in Conversation
          • Dorothy

            Dorothy Gardener

            Joined:
            Feb 25, 2013
            Messages:
            165
            Location:
            Nottingham
            Ratings:
            +122
            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.:)
             
            • Like Like x 2
              Dorothy, Mar 26, 2013
              #126 Quote in Conversation
            • Sheal

              Sheal Total Gardener

              Joined:
              Feb 2, 2011
              Messages:
              36,548
              Gender:
              Female
              Location:
              Dingwall, Ross-shire
              Ratings:
              +56,010

              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.
               
              • Like Like x 1
                Sheal, Mar 26, 2013
                #127 Quote in Conversation
              • ARMANDII

                ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

                Joined:
                Jan 12, 2019
                Messages:
                48,096
                Gender:
                Male
                Ratings:
                +100,846

                Looks like you've found new anti-biotic mould there, Joolz!!:hate-shocked: :snork:
                 
                • Like Like x 1
                • Funny Funny x 1
                  ARMANDII, Mar 27, 2013
                  #128 Quote in Conversation
                • joolz68

                  joolz68 Total Gardener

                  Joined:
                  May 16, 2011
                  Messages:
                  4,428
                  Gender:
                  Female
                  Location:
                  alfreton uk
                  Ratings:
                  +5,386
                  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
                   
                  • Like Like x 2
                    joolz68, Mar 27, 2013
                    #129 Quote in Conversation
                  • merleworld

                    merleworld Total Gardener

                    Joined:
                    May 30, 2011
                    Messages:
                    2,673
                    Gender:
                    Female
                    Location:
                    Manchester
                    Ratings:
                    +4,087
                    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:
                     
                    merleworld, Mar 29, 2013
                    #130 Quote in Conversation
                  • shiney

                    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

                    Joined:
                    Jul 3, 2006
                    Messages:
                    65,403
                    Gender:
                    Male
                    Occupation:
                    Retired - Last Century!!!
                    Location:
                    Herts/Essex border. Zone 8b
                    Ratings:
                    +128,513
                    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?
                     
                    shiney, Mar 29, 2013
                    #131 Quote in Conversation
                  • ARMANDII

                    ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

                    Joined:
                    Jan 12, 2019
                    Messages:
                    48,096
                    Gender:
                    Male
                    Ratings:
                    +100,846
                    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:
                     
                    ARMANDII, Mar 29, 2013
                    #132 Quote in Conversation
                  • shiney

                    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

                    Joined:
                    Jul 3, 2006
                    Messages:
                    65,403
                    Gender:
                    Male
                    Occupation:
                    Retired - Last Century!!!
                    Location:
                    Herts/Essex border. Zone 8b
                    Ratings:
                    +128,513
                    Next time I'm in town I'll have to go past Wickes to see whether it's still under that name.
                     
                    shiney, Mar 29, 2013
                    #133 Quote in Conversation
                  • HarryS

                    HarryS Eternally Optimistic Gardener

                    Joined:
                    Aug 28, 2010
                    Messages:
                    8,906
                    Gender:
                    Male
                    Occupation:
                    Retired
                    Location:
                    Wigan
                    Ratings:
                    +16,252
                    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:
                     
                    • Agree Agree x 1
                    • Funny Funny x 1
                      HarryS, Mar 29, 2013
                      #134 Quote in Conversation
                    • Scrungee

                      Scrungee Well known for it

                      Joined:
                      Dec 5, 2010
                      Messages:
                      16,524
                      Location:
                      Central England on heavy clay soil
                      Ratings:
                      +28,998
                      • Like Like x 1
                        Scrungee, Mar 29, 2013
                        #135 Quote in Conversation
                      Page 9 of 19
                      Loading...
                      Similar Threads - COMPOST REVIEW 2013
                      1. bluegeranium

                        Using seed and cutting compost in tubs

                        bluegeranium, Wednesday at 2:17 PM, in forum: Container Gardening
                        Replies:
                        1
                        Views:
                        106
                        JennyJB
                        Wednesday at 2:21 PM
                      2. BB3

                        Re-using old compost

                        BB3, Apr 16, 2025, in forum: Container Gardening
                        Replies:
                        12
                        Views:
                        467
                        BB3
                        Apr 17, 2025
                      3. The Bird Lady

                        Best compost for hanging baskets

                        The Bird Lady, Apr 15, 2025, in forum: Container Gardening
                        Replies:
                        1
                        Views:
                        272
                        Spruce
                        Apr 15, 2025
                      4. Februarysgirl

                        Reusing Old Compost

                        Februarysgirl, Apr 3, 2025, in forum: Compost, Fertilisers & Recycling
                        Replies:
                        4
                        Views:
                        398
                        Februarysgirl
                        Apr 3, 2025
                      5. welshone

                        Horse Manure - Compost bin or Garden

                        welshone, Mar 29, 2025, in forum: Compost, Fertilisers & Recycling
                        Replies:
                        22
                        Views:
                        973
                        infradig
                        Apr 2, 2025

                      Share This Page

                      1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
                        By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
                        Accept Learn More...
                        Dismiss Notice