Well, to be fair, they did send out cars and televisions that were pretty unreliable. It was just so long ago that we forget. However, that is no excuse for rubbish compost, which is not the cutting edge technologically. I'd like to know where you can get 120letres for £9, too. Not here, certainly.
they might have been unreliable,but , unlike peat free compost, they were better than their predecessors.
I just thought that Adam was fortunate to be able to get hold of four or five different peat free composts! My local garden centre has precisely NONE at the moment and even when they do have it in stock, its a choice of one brand (Miracle Gro - very fibrous) Similarly, the next one along has one brand (New Horizons decent but variable). I keep hearing how good Melcourt Sylvagrow is but not really an option up here where I live. No-one stocks it. I suppose that come time they'll have to offer more choice as peat based is phased out.
Around here it used to be usual that GC's had a sample bag of their peat based MPC cut open to let potential customers see how good it was, now they never have any open, are they trying to tell us something!
Around here it used to be usual that GC's had a sample bag of their peat based MPC cut open to let potential customers see how good it was, now they never have any open, are they trying to tell us something!
Was just gonna say it would be nice if they just had a sample by each brand! That’s always such a good thing when they have it.
Though right now they probably won’t do it till covid is officially gone. Maybe they’re just trying to eliminate things everyone would get hands in for time being.
Trouble is I have had two batches of the same make of compost, J Arthur Bowers, and they were not the same mix, the second batch were much lighter in colour and fibrous, it also cannot hold water.
It was also good to hear Adam say that he has worked 'peat free' for many years and for him to acknowledge it took a lot of work to get the compost right. Hearing that from a pro gardener of many years standing does give hope, although it shouldn't be necessary to faff around with the base compost. It wasn't generally required with peat based, they were pretty consistent in their formulation.
Surely the solution is for the manufacturers to produce a product which is fit for purpose?
Absolutely Hostafan1. That's why I said it shouldn't be necessary to faff around with the base compost. The variants Adam showed make it very clear that the producers aren't exactly trying hard to get a consistent product. My suspicion is that they think they have done their bit by having "peat free" on the bag.
How long did it take for manufacturers to come up with a suitable and consistent product when they first started selling bags of MPC?
It’s early days yet in the development of the peat-free equivalent, plus the huge increase in demand since lockdown gardening became a thing must have impacted on the availability of the ingredients … don’t know whether Br**it has had an effect too, but I wouldn’t be surprised. 🙄
For crying out loud, you can't blame Brexit or lockdown for the problems with compost. Most bagged compost has been rubbish for a good few years. Going back 10 years I would never find lumps of branches and even what appeared to be pieces of trellis in compost. There is no excuse whatsoever for not using screens which would at least remove larger rubbish like that.
Trouble is I have had two batches of the same make of compost, J Arthur Bowers, and they were not the same mix, the second batch were much lighter in colour and fibrous, it also cannot hold water.
I've had the same issue but with different brands. Absolutely no consistency even during the same year. There's no warning/excuse on the bag to suggest new formulation. I presume the stuff they are putting in is just cheaper so more profit.
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Though right now they probably won’t do it till covid is officially gone. Maybe they’re just trying to eliminate things everyone would get hands in for time being.
Absolutely Hostafan1. That's why I said it shouldn't be necessary to faff around with the base compost. The variants Adam showed make it very clear that the producers aren't exactly trying hard to get a consistent product. My suspicion is that they think they have done their bit by having "peat free" on the bag.
For crying out loud, you can't blame Brexit or lockdown for the problems with compost. Most bagged compost has been rubbish for a good few years. Going back 10 years I would never find lumps of branches and even what appeared to be pieces of trellis in compost. There is no excuse whatsoever for not using screens which would at least remove larger rubbish like that.
I've had the same issue but with different brands. Absolutely no consistency even during the same year. There's no warning/excuse on the bag to suggest new formulation. I presume the stuff they are putting in is just cheaper so more profit.