Trouble is, there's no perfect solution. Peat and coir are both pretty much clean but peat extraction destroys habitats and coir is shipped from halfway round the world. Green waste can contain undesirable stuff. I've had compost made from bark and wood chips/shreds and some batches were good whereas some were still pretty woody and not a good texture, and I can't tell until I open a bag which it's going to be. Maybe it needs more work (or just more time, and time is money) to get the composting process right. When it comes to green waste I suppose it's down to individuals to stick to the rules about what can go in, but there'll always be some who don't and councils/subcontractors can't check the contents of every bin. I would love for my own compost to be good enough to use for seed/potting but my garden is small so I don't have enough volume of garden waste for it to be hot enough to reliably kill weed seeds, and sieving to get the twiggy bits out is something I just don't have time for.
I guess we all have to choose what we're prepared to compromise on.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I have raised veg and soft fruit beds and filled them with topsoil and rotted manure. Both from CPA Horticulture I used about 80% topsoil and 20% rotted farmyard manure and mushroom compost. In hindsight I should have used less topsoil and more manure 60/40 as it needs more organic matter in there
MPC is not formulated for long-term use really
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Currently I only need about 250 litres or so; which is why I had opted for the smaller bags at garden centres. I might need more in future for other borders around the garden but as I am working through different areas of the garden it might take me quite a while and I wasn't sure how long soil can be stored for unusued.
Posts
I have raised veg and soft fruit beds and filled them with topsoil and rotted manure.
Both from CPA Horticulture
I used about 80% topsoil and 20% rotted farmyard manure and mushroom compost.
In hindsight I should have used less topsoil and more manure 60/40 as it needs more organic matter in there
MPC is not formulated for long-term use really
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.