I always thought all of the JI's were for use in pots whether to start off plants to go into the garden or as part of the mix for permanent pot planting. Expensive to dig it into the ground and not very effective. I would think a mulch of rotted manure would do a better job. Or, if emptying a pot, used on top of the soil as a mulch.
You do not need to dig the mulch in, lay it on the surface and let the worms do the work. Farmyard manure is a much better bet than a JI containing compost.
How can you lie there and think of England When you don't even know who's in the team
Using JI compost to dig in/mulch won't do any harm, but well-rotted manure, bagged soil improver or homemade compost will be better and less expensive (eg B&Q last weekend, manure £4.70 for 50l, soil improver the same, JI no.2 and no. 3 £4.95 for 35l).
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I always thought all of the JI's were for use in pots whether to start off plants to go into the garden or as part of the mix for permanent pot planting. Expensive to dig it into the ground and not very effective. I would think a mulch of rotted manure would do a better job. Or, if emptying a pot, used on top of the soil as a mulch.
Yes - pretty much what they're for. Different 'recipes' for different needs
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Using JI compost to dig in/mulch won't do any harm
As a mulch, any potting compost is not ideal, because it's quite a welcoming environment for weed seeds. Spent compost from your pots is a fair shout, as it's depleted, especially as a mulch for the types of plants that don't like too much richness. I wouldn't use new bought potting compost of any composition (John Innes refers to the constituents of the potting mix) as a mulch. There are much better and cheaper alternatives. Save the potting compost for the pots
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Whoever buys compost with JI to dig into the ground!
JI OR grit/h.sand. Only for the terribly clay spots to provide drainage for the grit and loam in it. JI/grit/sand have helped in particular my lavenders thrive in spots where many previous plants of the same kind have died from rot.
Whoever buys compost with JI to dig into the ground!
JI OR grit/h.sand. Only for the terribly clay spots to provide drainage for the grit and loam in it. JI/grit/sand have helped in particular my lavenders thrive in spots where many previous plants of the same kind have died from rot.
I know that this may not be the textbook remedy that comes in the textbook. Better consider it more of a home grown remedy from my experience of trying to grow my lavenders in caking muddy soil. My roses liked it and stopped struggling in it, too.
Surely clay soil, is clay soil, how do you get clay spots? I suppose you would buy expensive composts with added JI but a lot of people couldn’t, and wouldn’t.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Surely clay soil, is clay soil, how do you get clay spots? I suppose you would buy expensive composts with added JI but a lot of people couldn’t, and wouldn’t.
Just to be awkward (sorry!) my garden does have clay spots. My area has weird geology with bands of clay and bands of sand. I most definitely have heavy clay in places but am also only a few hundred metres from an old sandpit. Because I'm on a hill (long, narrow garden) I think I have various areas that are quite different soil composition from different bands of subsoil.
I do only use organic material on my clay areas though (well, on everything!).
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Farmyard manure is a much better bet than a JI containing compost.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Or for a mulch. I think most of us on the forum do that if we have it.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I suppose you would buy expensive composts with added JI but a lot of people couldn’t, and wouldn’t.
I do only use organic material on my clay areas though (well, on everything!).