I have grown Tomatoes and melons for years now using Leavingtons grow bags in Hozelock watering troughs in greenhouse and poly tunnel with success - big yields and healthy plants. This year I have quite severe blossom end rot with slow growth of the beefsteak tomatoes, although the golden cherries seem OK, universal death of the marigold companion plants and death of all of the melons. On salvaging the moribund melons and putting them into pots with last year's compost, they flourish again as usual and then when put back into the grow bags they have died. Using peat free compost, I have had great problems with seed germination. Watering has been a nightmare with either saturation of the root ball or dessication as the water runs straight through. I have had some luck with the use of a mild detergent to help wetting the compost and the addition of vermiculite. From a complete packet of Marigold seeds, four germinated and the lot died once pricked out. The only thing I have changed this year is the compost - am I alone?
I have commented on other threads that most of the peat free bags have not been plain sailing this year. I have been experimenting with adding home compost, grit etc as I have had: failure to progress beyond germination on some veg, the crusty top situation and the ‘looks damp but is in fact bone dry’, some weeds.
I don’t mind making recipes but commercial bags should be ready to go imo, apart from perhaps adding extra grit for those plants which really need it. Grit, vermiculite etc is expensive too!
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Using peat free compost, I have had great problems with seed germination. Watering has been a nightmare with either saturation of the root ball or dessication as the water runs straight through. I have had some luck with the use of a mild detergent to help wetting the compost and the addition of vermiculite. From a complete packet of Marigold seeds, four germinated and the lot died once pricked out.
The only thing I have changed this year is the compost - am I alone?