I am coming to the view that I won't buy any more commercial compost. I do compost everything and I don't use the brown bin, but my complaint is that my own compost cannot be used as a seed compost (my original complaint was that commercial compost is no better). I bought a steriliser unit some years ago, but the cost of using it was a deterrent, although if I only use it for seed compost, that would not be too expensive (especially considering how much I spent on the commercial stuff this year). I have tried some of the other solutions but none seems to work in Scotland (e.g. not enough sunshine for the plastic sheet covering method and too cold for the bubble wrap). We'll see!
@MikeOxgreen I have a small garden and I don’t want an unsightly compost bin in it, there is nowhere it can be placed where it can’t be seen and I think my eye would be drawn to it wherever it was. I had 2 compost bins on my allotment and frankly they are ugly things.
It’s up to me what I do in my own garden. Many people on this forum want to buy good quality peat free compost and so we post on here in the hope of helpful advice not unpleasant and judgmental comments.
There are peat based products available from sustainable sources, but they are very expensive. The peat comes from the water industry, they filter out peat that is in water that comes off moorland areas. The real answer is better peat free products but we will have to get used to paying a lot more for it.
There are peat based products available from sustainable sources, but they are very expensive. The peat comes from the water industry, they filter out peat that is in water that comes off moorland areas. The real answer is better peat free products but we will have to get used to paying a lot more for it.
e.g. Moorland Gold @ £15-£20 for 40 litres!
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
That's certainly the problem @bobsparkes - it just takes longer to break down so it's a case of being more patient. Heat will always speed things up, but it's very difficult to create that heat without having full on insulation round bins! It does mean that the compost isn't always available when you want it most as well. Seeds will always tend to be there, despite not putting in anything obviously 'weedy'. I certainly don't put in any persistent perennial weeds, and I leave anything a bit iffy to dry out completely nearby. The worst problem I have is grass seed coming in from elsewhere. That can be a nuisance when you've used the compost in borders! Sieving it for seed sowing is good, and usually necessary, but you'll always get some seed coming in from elsewhere, so it's a case of keeping an eye on it as your seeds germinate, and being able to recognise the plants you want to keep.
@debs - rude or offensive comments are best reported. Then press the ignore button. I missed your recent PM, and will reply to you soon. Thanks
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I’m growing my seeds in home compost, my garden has lots of self-seeders and weeds/wild flowers. I’ve had some weeds/flowers popping up in my seed trays but nothing overwhelming and easily pinched out (if I don’t want to risk disturbing my seedlings roots) or removed when potting on.
I often wonder if I would also have problems with my seed growing if I tried to use a peat based compost? Not an experiment I intend to try but I suspect some of the issues are about getting used to another product.
I’m still finding my feet using my own compost re watering needs etc but no disasters so far, I’ve had the odd germination failure (french beans have seemed reluctant this year but a second lot are fine) but whether that’s about my compost or not Im not sure. I haven’t bothered sieving it and so far that hasn’t seem to have caused any problems. ( I do sift out any large debris, stones but just by running my hands through it on the potting bench).
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
If you can sterilise a little of your homemade compost (oven, microwave should work) then you can add this as a layer on top of unsteralised compost and it avoids the vast majority of the weed seeds.
I've used this method and also just used non sterilised soil and it's been fun to see what sprouts up. I've not grown poppies for years and years but have a nice collection of seedlings now that I'm looking forward to seeing flower, they sprung up from the soil unexpectedly as a nice surprise.
Unfortunately companies rely on most of us not complaining. They don't really care if some avoid their products after using them because they shift such a volume it doesn't matter if they aren't really fit for purpose.
@MikeOxgreen I have a small garden and I don’t want an unsightly compost bin in it, there is nowhere it can be placed where it can’t be seen and I think my eye would be drawn to it wherever it was. I had 2 compost bins on my allotment and frankly they are ugly things.
It’s up to me what I do in my own garden. Many people on this forum want to buy good quality peat free compost and so we post on here in the hope of helpful advice not unpleasant and judgmental comments.
Yes I can believe that to be the rather sad truth. The average faux gardener these days is more interested in how things look rather than the actual welfare of the environment we live in. Which is stupid as they are the ones closest to it. That is why the planet is in the state it is, mankind's greed in general and putting themselves before it every time.
Of course bins don't have to be ugly, it's easy enough to mask if you really wanted to. Put it behind a bushy plant or a bamboo cane screen. You could even paint it a different colour, paint flowers or plants on it etc. The possibilities are endless.
You don't even need a bin, just dig a hole and sling the ingredients in it, cover it over with soil.
I am coming to the view that I won't buy any more commercial compost. I do compost everything and I don't use the brown bin, but my complaint is that my own compost cannot be used as a seed compost (my original complaint was that commercial compost is no better). I bought a steriliser unit some years ago, but the cost of using it was a deterrent, although if I only use it for seed compost, that would not be too expensive (especially considering how much I spent on the commercial stuff this year). I have tried some of the other solutions but none seems to work in Scotland (e.g. not enough sunshine for the plastic sheet covering method and too cold for the bubble wrap). We'll see!
As per my earlier link, a specific hot composting bin perhaps? Like the poster said earlier, it's to do with insulation. Don't stop trying, you'll work it out eventually and there is loads and loads of stuff to watch and read about composting.
What about time too? Seeds we plant have a use-by date, so you would have thought that if you keep your compost for long enough any seeds in there won't germinate anymore and have been destroyed by bacteria and worms.
Posts
The real answer is better peat free products but we will have to get used to paying a lot more for it.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Seeds will always tend to be there, despite not putting in anything obviously 'weedy'. I certainly don't put in any persistent perennial weeds, and I leave anything a bit iffy to dry out completely nearby. The worst problem I have is grass seed coming in from elsewhere. That can be a nuisance when you've used the compost in borders!
Sieving it for seed sowing is good, and usually necessary, but you'll always get some seed coming in from elsewhere, so it's a case of keeping an eye on it as your seeds germinate, and being able to recognise the plants you want to keep.
@debs - rude or offensive comments are best reported. Then press the ignore button. I missed your recent PM, and will reply to you soon. Thanks
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
I've used this method and also just used non sterilised soil and it's been fun to see what sprouts up. I've not grown poppies for years and years but have a nice collection of seedlings now that I'm looking forward to seeing flower, they sprung up from the soil unexpectedly as a nice surprise.
Unfortunately companies rely on most of us not complaining. They don't really care if some avoid their products after using them because they shift such a volume it doesn't matter if they aren't really fit for purpose.
That is why the planet is in the state it is, mankind's greed in general and putting themselves before it every time.
Of course bins don't have to be ugly, it's easy enough to mask if you really wanted to.
Put it behind a bushy plant or a bamboo cane screen.
You could even paint it a different colour, paint flowers or plants on it etc.
The possibilities are endless.
You don't even need a bin, just dig a hole and sling the ingredients in it, cover it over with soil.
Don't stop trying, you'll work it out eventually and there is loads and loads of stuff to watch and read about composting.
What about time too? Seeds we plant have a use-by date, so you would have thought that if you keep your compost for long enough any seeds in there won't germinate anymore and have been destroyed by bacteria and worms.