You're wondering why no-one has answered a question that was never asked? In detail, why do think your own compost isn't good enough? Mine is....
I don't know if anyone is familiar with this trick, but it's widely used in cactus and Bonsai circles to retain moisture. It's the addition of a certain, but very cheap and basic cat litter to the compost mix.
With formal introduction of a ban on peat, it seemed lke a good time for a review. And shared experiences.
Is it a good time for a revue? Does this forum need to be question and answer?? Does a sentence have to end with a full stop or question mark. Is it OK to start a sentence with "and"? Innit more like conversation than perfect prose.
You're wondering why no-one has answered a question that was never asked? In detail, why do think your own compost isn't good enough? Mine is....
I don't know if anyone is familiar with this trick, but it's widely used in cactus and Bonsai circles to retain moisture. It's the addition of a certain, but very cheap and basic cat litter to the compost mix.
Just out of curiosity @Mi@MikeOxgreen , what sort of cat litter is it, and how much do you add? We have the clay granule type for the grumpy-old-man-cat's tray, own-brand of whatever supermarket we've been to (except Lidl's - theirs is kind of heavier and doesn't seem to absorb as well as others - sorry folks if that's TMI).
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I've found the sylvagrow will soak well from the top but if you put water in the saucer, nothing happens. Would a dot of washing up liquid in the watering can help?
Our commercial nursery now operates peat free as the business is striving toward a more environmentally friendly model. We tried three different peat free products in bulk and settled on one that was a kind of shredded wood/bracken concoction. The guys hated it at first but seem to have got used to it. We actually ran some trials and the peat free stuff performed better as a containerisation medium with notable increases in vegetative growth.
I should add that we only work with semi-mature trees and large specimens so its a bit easier for us to adjust to peat free as we're doing very little propagating, liner growing, seeding etc.
On a domestic level for more hands-on gardening peat is still king in my opinion. Better stock up before 2024!
Clarification - I am of course 100% in favour of the ban.
There are plenty of commercial nurseries who propagate from seed and cuttings using peat-free, it's probably a different product to the wood/bracken mixture you've had success with as a container medium.
Suitable peat free products are out there, so there's no need to worry about the ban. Availability of the really good peat free compost is also bound to improve once the ban is in effect.
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
Suitable peat free products are out there, so there's no need to worry about the ban. Availability of the really good peat free compost is also bound to improve once the ban is in effect.
I admire your optimism, however, I don't share it. Why hasn't it improved already?
Suitable peat free products are out there, so there's no need to worry about the ban. Availability of the really good peat free compost is also bound to improve once the ban is in effect.
I admire your optimism, however, I don't share it. Why hasn't it improved already?
GCs have limited space to store all the different types of compost, so will go with what sells best for them.
When peat-containing MPC is banned, all the people looking for high quality compost will be looking for the good quality peat free stuff. Demand for it will increase, and GCs will want to stock it.
I can already buy Melcourt Sylvagrow from at least 4 local GCs (<20minutes by car). I'm surprised people aren't able to get their hands on it; I would ask them whether they have spoken to their local GC's manager about it.
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
One of our local nurseries were selling compost which they claimed was the same as they used on-site. In reality it was not like anything I was either being used, or in the pots of plants for sale. It was ridiculously light and had virtually no moisture retaining capability.
I'm not sure a review of composts would actually achieve anything as even 2 bags of the same compost, purchased at the same time, can be very different in structure. There seems to be absolutely no consistency in what even the biggest names produce.
The nearest Sylvagrow stockist to me is about a 40 mile round trip and not near anywhere that I travel to regularly (and of course no guarantee that they'd have it in stock if I made a special journey to buy it). I'm not in a remote rural area, so that's quite a long trip just to buy one thing.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
Posts
In detail, why do think your own compost isn't good enough? Mine is....
I don't know if anyone is familiar with this trick, but it's widely used in cactus and Bonsai circles to retain moisture. It's the addition of a certain, but very cheap and basic cat litter to the compost mix.
Just out of curiosity @Mi@MikeOxgreen , what sort of cat litter is it, and how much do you add? We have the clay granule type for the grumpy-old-man-cat's tray, own-brand of whatever supermarket we've been to (except Lidl's - theirs is kind of heavier and doesn't seem to absorb as well as others - sorry folks if that's TMI).
Suitable peat free products are out there, so there's no need to worry about the ban. Availability of the really good peat free compost is also bound to improve once the ban is in effect.
Why hasn't it improved already?
When peat-containing MPC is banned, all the people looking for high quality compost will be looking for the good quality peat free stuff. Demand for it will increase, and GCs will want to stock it.
I can already buy Melcourt Sylvagrow from at least 4 local GCs (<20minutes by car). I'm surprised people aren't able to get their hands on it; I would ask them whether they have spoken to their local GC's manager about it.