I complained to Westland and ICL who make some levington products, and they both claim it's a manufactured wood fibre product, to ruduce peat but I am not happy with it at all. I also buy melcourt and it's one of the few peat free materials that's any good but it's been in short supply round here as others are latching on to it.
I bought some J Arthur Bowers JI3, it's very fluffy too, nothing like the loam-based composts I've bought in the past. Mixed it with some Melcourt peat-free and a bit of extra grit, will see how it does.
I was talking to the owner of my local GC just recently...after moaning to him about the product...and he says because of constraints on the traditional ingredients which make up the likes of JI No3, loam and peat, manufacturers are trying to come up with alternative mixes. A long way to go I would say.
In some ways light and fluffy is a good thing for compost and it'll just be a case of getting used to it. Shipping heavy, wet peat is a waste of resources compared to dryer alternatives. It's certainly easier to move lighter bags around the garden too. People have got used to paying for the water though and the feel of the weight of it makes people think they're getting more value.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Not exactly JI but the almost all batches of MPC I have bought since last year from various sources have been way too fluffy. Doesn't even get properly wet and tries to float away or form a weird crust. I have started to mix a lot of garden soil to it.
Ah, but have you looked at Westland's topsoil lately. The fibrous content has even crept into that. Proper topsoil it ain't. And it's not easy to try other products either because Westland seems to be the only choice, certainly in the the local DIY outlets, supermarkets and garden centres in my area anyway.
I do tend to use my own garden soil, but I used some bought topsoil from Wickes for my Dahlias - it seemed pretty much like I remember the old JI3 actually.
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
@wild edges...light and fluffy compost has it's uses, but it's no use for holding a mature plant or rose in a pot for many years. The old, traditional formula for JI No3 was perfect for that, but if the manufacturers need or want to change the formula, fine, just let the customer know, and stop telling us on the bag it is JI No3, when it clearly isn't. After all if you bought a ham and cheese sandwich, and it turned out to have no cheese in, you'd have cause to complain.
The other problem I have found with shopping around is that they will only deliver large quantities, £100 worth in my case, which is too much/expensive for me. And no there is no one I can share with, no one around here seems to grow much.
The other problem I have found with shopping around is that they will only deliver large quantities, £100 worth in my case, which is too much/expensive for me. And no there is no one I can share with, no one around here seems to grow much.
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I do tend to use my own garden soil, but I used some bought topsoil from Wickes for my Dahlias - it seemed pretty much like I remember the old JI3 actually.
Garden & Landscape Supplies | Multi purpose compost - buy compost direct online. (thecompostshop.co.uk) if you click on most of the products there's an option to buy just 1 bag
Composts & Bark - Outside - Willowbrook Nursery and Garden Centre
Other similar gardening sites are available - I have no affiliation to these sites. You can also get it from non-specialist sites
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”