The other thing I didn't mention before is, we probably need to learn to adjust how we use peat free. The professional gardeners at RHS Wisley, and Kew, have all reported that they have had to adjust watering regimens etc. It seems you can't just switch from peat based to peat free. We need more information about what we need to do. I remember when peat based products came in and my father complaining about how quickly it dried out and how hard it was to re-wet if it did . Later the manufacturers put wetting agents in to tackle that particular issue.
After decades on turf I am at home and well in my comfort zone but always learning. and willing to learn.
Feet up and slipper time, Gardening is a whole new ball game but I am enjoying it a lot the challenges of it all keeps the old grey matter working. me and the good lady enjoy the compliments on the garden by passer byes. but a long way to go by the look of some folks gardens on here.
Back to compost, I just wonder if you were to get some reasonable compost would it be a good idea to put it into a composter to improve the break down of course materials, I can get hold of many leafs in the autumn and mix in a break down any thoughts?
Yes, you can make your own, if Monty can do it we can, but some people just don’t have the facilities to make it. The best thing to break down your compost is grass clippings as it gets very hot, and Chuck in the occasional bag of horse muck.
I pot up plants in containers with home made compost, add a hand full of bone meal and mix it in. I grew my daffs in compost only this winter. I would normally have bought bags of compost. When I was in my heyday of gardening I would use 60 bags of compost in a year. Not so daft now😀
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Leaves are best done in their own bin. They don't break down as readily as compost, and it's a different process. You can certainly shred them which speeds it up, but they make a different final material. Perfect for a soil improver - especially around shrubs or trees. You'd need to sift it for seeds/cuttings etc, but it can be added to other mixes too. I don't know if it would be worth re-composting the commercial stuff. I think it's just the nature of a lot of it - too much rubbish, and difficult to determine which makes are good and which are bad. It also depends what it's being used for, but growing on seeds/seedlings seems to be the main difficulty. Watering in particular, is what seems to be really problematic, and that's often tricky with seedlings- not such a problem with bigger plants and shrubs being potted on as they're generally more resilient.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I know most of the local greekeepers and groundsman and ladies around, and those who are a lot more organic than others so grass clippings will not be a problem.
I was just thinking can I improve on a basic compost and mix in some other ingredients with leafs and grass and have better results than I got this year.
If I pre mixed and stored over winter could I have a better mix for next year.
I am also thinking of what nutrition could be added to improve growth. some of my plants sown on the 22nd of January are still way to small.
I've had compost of the same brand and type that was purchased at exactly the same time, so I am assuming it's a similar batch if not the same batch, and the ones I've stored over winter have seemed to continue to break down and create a nicer compost than the ones I'd opened previously. This was with a compost that had lots of fibrous material and woody elements to it, so I think the extra time was needed. I don't know if this makes a crap compost more usable in the future but I do wonder if they rush the compost out before its really ready.
Yes, you can make your own, if Monty can do it we can, but some people just don’t have the facilities to make it. The best thing to break down your compost is grass clippings as it gets very hot, and Chuck in the occasional bag of horse muck.
I pot up plants in containers with home made compost, add a hand full of bone meal and mix it in. I grew my daffs in compost only this winter. I would normally have bought bags of compost. When I was in my heyday of gardening I would use 60 bags of compost in a year. Not so daft now😀
Good post. I've been making compost for .....um.... decades. I've added FYM, horse manure, deer poo, piles of grass mowings and all sorts of stuff and it's all been good. But I've never been able to get rid of the weed and flower seeds. I've tried various peat free composts with mixed results....but you know what is best for my tomatoes? Yes my own compost, despite the weed and flower seeds it is full of richness and I never need to add any organic or non-organic feeds to the pots.
Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
Most times you can recognise the weed seedlings and they’re easy to pull out. do you cover your compost bins with carpet, that smothers a lot of stuff and keeps it warm, we put corrugated sheets on top of that and they get hot. The bins are wood.
Also good idea to put a sprinkling of your own garden soil in there, that’s got bacteria and worms to help it on.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
I had the same problem with composted stable manure bought in bags ,it would seem to attract bind weed in particular much faster .
I’ve never been a fan of nearly all the compost bags bought in the shops ,especially the peat free types made with coconut fibres .with little body /moisture holding abilities and so requires more watering than normal topsoil .
@MrMow, seeds don't need nutrition for germination, all commercial seed composts have very low nutrients. It is only when plants are strongly growing that they need nutrients. it is fairly easy to germinate many seeds in pure perlite.
How can you lie there and think of England When you don't even know who's in the team
Posts
Feet up and slipper time, Gardening is a whole new ball game but I am enjoying it a lot the challenges of it all keeps the old grey matter working. me and the good lady enjoy the compliments on the garden by passer byes. but a long way to go by the look of some folks gardens on here.
Back to compost, I just wonder if you were to get some reasonable compost would it be a good idea to put it into a composter to improve the break down of course materials, I can get hold of many leafs in the autumn and mix in a break down any thoughts?
I pot up plants in containers with home made compost, add a hand full of bone meal and mix it in. I grew my daffs in compost only this winter. I would normally have bought bags of compost.
When I was in my heyday of gardening I would use 60 bags of compost in a year.
Not so daft now😀
I don't know if it would be worth re-composting the commercial stuff. I think it's just the nature of a lot of it - too much rubbish, and difficult to determine which makes are good and which are bad.
It also depends what it's being used for, but growing on seeds/seedlings seems to be the main difficulty. Watering in particular, is what seems to be really problematic, and that's often tricky with seedlings- not such a problem with bigger plants and shrubs being potted on as they're generally more resilient.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I know most of the local greekeepers and groundsman and ladies around, and those who are a lot more organic than others so grass clippings will not be a problem.
I was just thinking can I improve on a basic compost and mix in some other ingredients with leafs and grass and have better results than I got this year.
If I pre mixed and stored over winter could I have a better mix for next year.
I am also thinking of what nutrition could be added to improve growth. some of my plants sown on the 22nd of January are still way to small.
Photo inbound
do you cover your compost bins with carpet, that smothers a lot of stuff and keeps it warm, we put corrugated sheets on top of that and they get hot. The bins are wood.
Also good idea to put a sprinkling of your own garden soil in there, that’s got bacteria and worms to help it on.
I’ve never been a fan of nearly all the compost bags bought in the shops ,especially the peat free types made with coconut fibres .with little body /moisture holding abilities and so requires more watering than normal topsoil .
it is fairly easy to germinate many seeds in pure perlite.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border