The bags of New Horizon Peat free that I’m using atm are very good, but ones in the past have been rubbish, so I guess its variable.
At the garden I volunteer in we use Melcourt/Sylvagrow delivered in huge dumpy bags. It’s consistently good. If I could find Sylvagrow locally I would buy it, but have never seen it in any of our local GCs.
2024 is not that long away - hope they sort out availability/quality control soon.
I’ve been using Wickes peat-free for the last 12 months and have had no issues with it. All of the plants I’ve potted on have gone on to be successful in the pot or when moved into the ground after being in the medium for a while.
Lots of people have left negative reviews because of the “smell” of it…. I have hyperosmia and it doesn’t offend me. But then again I’m not using it as pot pourri so….
Pleased to read your comment as I've just purchased quite a bit of it. Yes it does pong, my dog thinks it smells glorious and tried to eat it The pong does appear to go once the bag is opened, or maybe I've just got used to the smell
2024 is not that long away - hope they sort out availability/quality control soon.
Quite so. And will gladly use it but until then I'm not prepared to part with hard earned cash to be a guinea pig for an industry that's had decades to develop consistent good quality peat free compost but has only done so when it became 'fashionable'. It doesn't help when people like MD boast he's been using it successfully for 25 years ...but doesn't mention he almost certainly adulterates the hell out of it...doubling the cost in the process. Probably for a product he pays top whack for in the first place.
Reading that the peat ban is about Co2, peat soaks up Co2 and we don't want to lose it. But we wont be losing it, it just means peat will be spread far and wide. A spadesful in my garden is as good as a spadesful in a bog is it not?
Reading that the peat ban is about Co2, peat soaks up Co2 and we don't want to lose it. But we wont be losing it, it just means peat will be spread far and wide. A spadesful in my garden is as good as a spadesful in a bog is it not?
Peat in a bog, where it is permanently wet, acts as a carbon store. When it is dug up and dried out, that carbon it was storing in the bog is released to the atmosphere. Therefore a spadesful in a bog is an asset, in your garden, that same spadesful is a liability.
The consensus seems to be that most folk , using many different peat free composts are not happy with it. I agree with @Chris-P-Bacon Chris-P-Bacon said:
2024 is not that long away - hope they sort out availability/quality control soon.
Quite so. And will gladly use it but until then I'm not prepared to part with hard earned cash to be a guinea pig for an industry that's had decades to develop consistent good quality peat free compost but has only done so when it became 'fashionable'. It doesn't help when people like MD boast he's been using it successfully for 25 years ...but doesn't mention he almost certainly adulterates the hell out of it...doubling the cost in the process. Probably for a product he pays top whack for in the first place.
So what peat free compost is recommended? Is the problem with peat free of having to add nutrients straight away or is it texture/water retention?
Melcourt Sylvagrow
The problem is mainly texture, and as I've found, the problem isn't confined to peat free. I think it's some kind of coir product that they add, as a cheap filler. Melcourt is made from composted bark fines and is much better, and they supply the professional horticultural trade where consistency is key.
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
It's been discussed on another thread recently, Melcourt Sylvagrow isn't widely available everywhere. Maybe it's a case of them not trying to ramp up production at the expense of quality, which is admirable, but at the same time annoying when it's not available locally. With the price of petrol/diesel being what it is, I and I'm sure many other people prefer to shop local. When I need compost I'll probably be trying B&Q as usual, or whatever I can pick up from whichever supermarket I'm shopping at.
I just used some peat-free cheapo supermarket compost from an open bag left over from last year that has been outside under a tarp and the consistency has improved, no more visible wood chippings/shreds, which seems to support my theory that it hadn't been allowed to rot down for long enough in the first place before being bagged up and sold. I'll need to feed sooner though, if it looks as if the nutrient content has declined.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
That's interesting re your open bag @JennyJ . Not exactly ideal though, if you think about it. The nutrient content will certainly be pretty much done. I expect we'll have to get used to varying qualities, but it's not great - especially for new gardeners. It could be very off putting. At least, if you have a bit of experience, it's easier to judge the quality, and can add extras etc, but that isn't ideal either. No one should be having to mix a whole lot of stuff just to get a viable product. Not everyone has room for a compost bin either, to make a product that they can amend easily.
I suppose it's inevitable though. The days of opening a bag of compost, filling pots and bunging our bedding plants or whatever into them, are disappearing, and we'll have to get round it the best we can.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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At the garden I volunteer in we use Melcourt/Sylvagrow delivered in huge dumpy bags. It’s consistently good. If I could find Sylvagrow locally I would buy it, but have never seen it in any of our local GCs.
2024 is not that long away - hope they sort out availability/quality control soon.
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
It doesn't help when people like MD boast he's been using it successfully for 25 years ...but doesn't mention he almost certainly adulterates the hell out of it...doubling the cost in the process. Probably for a product he pays top whack for in the first place.
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
More detail here:
Peatlands and climate change | IUCN
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I agree with @Chris-P-Bacon
Chris-P-Bacon said:
The problem is mainly texture, and as I've found, the problem isn't confined to peat free. I think it's some kind of coir product that they add, as a cheap filler. Melcourt is made from composted bark fines and is much better, and they supply the professional horticultural trade where consistency is key.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I expect we'll have to get used to varying qualities, but it's not great - especially for new gardeners. It could be very off putting. At least, if you have a bit of experience, it's easier to judge the quality, and can add extras etc, but that isn't ideal either. No one should be having to mix a whole lot of stuff just to get a viable product. Not everyone has room for a compost bin either, to make a product that they can amend easily.
I suppose it's inevitable though. The days of opening a bag of compost, filling pots and bunging our bedding plants or whatever into them, are disappearing, and we'll have to get round it the best we can.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...