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Compost
Well, it's the time of year when I get so impatient to start sowing and getting ready for this years vegetable and flower planting .....yes too early I know but the feeling is there every year !!!
I seemed to have a bad year last year with my compost - did anyone else ?
I wonder what your thoughts are on the best composts you have used for seeds , and potting on, are you fans of peat free or not? Also anyone used coir pellets and did you like them?
Thanks for your thoughts
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This question runs and runs, we all have different opinions, what are you using it for? For seed sowing i like to use a very open mix of mainly grit, horti sand and coir or multi purpose (only for the trickier seeds).
If i had lots of money i would use carbon gold, i had a sample set from the organic gardening catalouge, it was wonderful stuff, but as i say, a little out of my price range
Not fond of lidil compost
Peat free without a doubt. The uplands and bogs are a precious resource and need a break.
I use the compost derived from wood products mixed with some perlite or the like. Works for me. I generally sieve it for seedlings.
I tend to go for Murphys or Arthur J. Bower, but mainly based on price. I use so much of the stuff that I can't afford to go top notch. It comes in at about £20 for three bags.
On the seed compost front, I splashed out on some John Innes Seed Compost. I've got to say, I just can't get the hang of it. It's lovely and 'thin' and gritty, but it always turns so heavy after a week or so. So much so that I don't think little seeds are able to break through the surface. I've tried watering from the top, and watering from underneath, and even using a spray to lightly water, but I get the same problem every time. Does anyone else?
Which? Gardening does an annual review of all composts. This year's best buy was verve multi-purpose peat free compost in 12 litre bags fom B'nq. (Other sizes are made by a different manufacturer, so may not be the same)
Tootles, it's probably not you! John Innes is not a brand name, it's a formulation. Like any recipe, the quality of the end product depends on the quality of the ingredients, which varies from one supplier to another. Which? had two J I composts as a 'Don't buy', none in the 'Best buy' category for raising young plants.
Last Christmas I was bought a variety of tomato seeds and coir pellets as a gift. I had never tried the pellets before but I found them really easy to use and had great results. So much so I have bought a larger quantity this year - a reusable tray and 45 pellets for £7.50 from Sarah Raven. I couldn't find them any cheaper elsewhere on the Internet.
Last year I had seed compost from lidl, which was "ok" but rather hairy, but once you took out the hairy bits it was ok. i have read on here that lidl compost is dodgy this year so I wont be buying any.
I do quite like B&Q verve multi purpose compost, 125 litres for about £6. It works for me so I will probably stick with it.
Im a fan of those coir bricks too, very good for seeds and really light so not hard to lump home from the shops on the bus
The best compost to use is Levington Professional Compost F1 for seedlings. Any professional nursery with a retail outlet will sell it. Have also tried Humax Original Multi purpose compost with great results
i bought a compost from asda and it was absolutely awful, it dried out very quickly and just seemed like dust with little twigs in it