It's funny you mention seed sowing @Lyn. I have been thinking about it over the last few days. I appreciate that seed compost doesn't require much in the way of "oomph", but my worry is the way that peat free compost tends to dry out. I have honestly thought that l may have to give up growing from seed if it becomes too difficult.
Given the way weed seeds germinate in newly de-turfed and planted soil here I'm fairly sure we've been conned into paying for special, low fertility compost for seeds for decades.
I can see that more expensive and rarer seeds may be worth coddling a bit but it can't be beyond us to sieve a bit of our own soil and mix it with some sieved garden compost and have something really good and, what's more, that has the same conditions and cultures of the soil in which they will eventually be planted.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
If it counts for anything (and I suspect it doesn't) I have always used peat-free compost, never bought specific seed compost and always have perfectly good germination. The only failures have been out-of-date seeds or ones that need special / difficult conditions (stratification etc) which I've not met. All the usual annuals, veg, biennials, perennials etc have always been fine. I don't do anything special.
'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
There isn't the fuss over here about peat or not and there seems to be no standard either for a Levington's style or John Innes formula for composts. I only ever buy MPC as a soil conditioner. I buy another compost which says it is specially for seeds and cuttings but can't see any difference in texture or consistency.
I have found one or two brands to avoid as they seem to be full of twigs and bits of gubbins that should have been sieved out, even for bigger plants. I only ever buy it when they have it on offer such as BOGOF or 3 for 2.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Surely we just have to get a bit more creative when sowing seeds? Given that everything seems to germinate on its own, without input from me, when self-seeding in normal garden soil or in my gravel drive, I'm going to try something different next year. How about sand, or perlite? What could go wrong?
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
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I can see that more expensive and rarer seeds may be worth coddling a bit but it can't be beyond us to sieve a bit of our own soil and mix it with some sieved garden compost and have something really good and, what's more, that has the same conditions and cultures of the soil in which they will eventually be planted.
I haven't used specific seed compost for years, just MPC with vermiculite mixed in.
I have found one or two brands to avoid as they seem to be full of twigs and bits of gubbins that should have been sieved out, even for bigger plants. I only ever buy it when they have it on offer such as BOGOF or 3 for 2.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”