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John Innes quality (or lack of it)
peteS
Posts: 966
Hi
Has anyone else found John Innes compost to be a pale shadow of what it used to be a few years back. I've used 2 or 3 different brands over the last couple of years and they are all the same. I use No's 2&3. Both I've found go very stodgy and like a mud bath following any initial soak after potting up. Again, in my experience, this then compacts allowing for poor drainage. No3 forms a hard crust when it dries out, becoming almost impervious to water. I would be delighted to know if anyone else has had such problems and how they've improved matters. Many thanks.
0
Posts
The (poor) quality of compost is an ongoing lament on this site, Peter. You are not alone.
John Innes is not a brand - it is a formula - the quality of the ingredients used by different brands is nothing to do with John Innes.
If you are concerned about the quality of the compost you buy you should contact the seller and manufacturer. There is no point in contacting John Innes.
If you feel that a loam based compost is a bit 'claggy' you can do what I do and add a small proportion of MPC at a ratio of 4:1 to lighten it. I find this works well.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
If you look at the standard John Innes No3 formula for example, it consists of 7 parts loam, 3 parts peat and 2 parts sharp sand, plus tiny amounts of various fertilisers. This formula has worked perfectly well for me and others over many years until fairly recently, with issues on drainage or clagginess never arising. So it just makes me wonder whether the manufacturers are tweaking the formula and are skimping on the two ingredients which helps keep the compost open and well drained.
I think that the term 'loam' may have quite a broad definition ... perhaps some manufacturers use better quality loam
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Philippa
It'd make more sense to contact the John Innes Manufacturers Association
http://www.johninnes.info/
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
It used to be that JI compost was free of lumps and stones but that is not the case now. I wonder how much this is due to an increase in the amount produced to keep up with the expanding gardening retail sector, or how much we are now at the mercy of fewer producers.
Which brand do you buy Ceres?
I buy Levington's John Innes composts ... I've never found lumps or stones.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Our local garden centre is in thrall to Westland. Looks as though I will have to try changing suppliers.