Specialist nurseries have found compost mixes the work for their specialities. They will also be able to continue to use peat. Think of us poor amateurs. What we need more than anything is flexibility.
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I used Westland New Horizon (peat free) in my hanging baskets and its been excellent. Its retained moisture very well and the plants have flourished. However, its a very fibrous medium and i suspect its simply loaded with nutrients ergo i don't suspect it would be much good in the long term as i doubt it has the ability to retain the nutriment and its structure. I certainly wouldn't be using it in anything other than containers for my annuals.
A good equivalence i can think of is the green wall systems that are popping up everywhere. With non-soil based systems the plants are grown in inert insulation wool and hydroponically dosed with nutrients to keep them alive. On the face of it you'd say "those plants are doing great, that must be a fantastic growing medium", but scratch just below the surface and you'll notice that its a completely unsustainable approach to gardening. Peat free, for me, is rather much the same at the moment.
I used Westland New Horizon (peat free) in my hanging baskets and its been excellent. Its retained moisture very well and the plants have flourished. However, its a very fibrous medium and i suspect its simply loaded with nutrients ergo i don't suspect it would be much good in the long term as i doubt it has the ability to retain the nutriment and its structure. I certainly wouldn't be using it in anything other than containers for my annuals.
A good equivalence i can think of is the green wall systems that are popping up everywhere. With non-soil based systems the plants are grown in inert insulation wool and hydroponically dosed with nutrients to keep them alive. On the face of it you'd say "those plants are doing great, that must be a fantastic growing medium", but scratch just below the surface and you'll notice that its a completely unsustainable approach to gardening. Peat free, for me, is rather much the same at the moment.
I know I always say it, but Sylvagrow is excellent and shows peat free compost is up to the job. Any multi-purpose compost, whether peat free or not, is a temporary growing medium and only has the nutrients added to it as fertiliser, so I am not sure why you are singling out peat free as 'unsustainable'.
At the weekend I went to get some compost and as they didn't have Sylvagrow, I bought a bag of "Rocket Grow". Totally awful stuff, just a mush of strongly smelling wood fibres. I should have known since it was described as "Container and Basket" compost. Wish I'd just bought a bag from Lidl instead.
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
I used Westland New Horizon (peat free) in my hanging baskets and its been excellent. Its retained moisture very well and the plants have flourished. However, its a very fibrous medium and i suspect its simply loaded with nutrients ergo i don't suspect it would be much good in the long term as i doubt it has the ability to retain the nutriment and its structure. I certainly wouldn't be using it in anything other than containers for my annuals.
A good equivalence i can think of is the green wall systems that are popping up everywhere. With non-soil based systems the plants are grown in inert insulation wool and hydroponically dosed with nutrients to keep them alive. On the face of it you'd say "those plants are doing great, that must be a fantastic growing medium", but scratch just below the surface and you'll notice that its a completely unsustainable approach to gardening. Peat free, for me, is rather much the same at the moment.
I know I always say it, but Sylvagrow is excellent and shows peat free compost is up to the job. Any multi-purpose compost, whether peat free or not, is a temporary growing medium and only has the nutrients added to it as fertiliser, so I am not sure why you are singling out peat free as 'unsustainable'.
At the weekend I went to get some compost and as they didn't have Sylvagrow, I bought a bag of "Rocket Grow". Totally awful stuff, just a mush of strongly smelling wood fibres. I should have known since it was described as "Container and Basket" compost. Wish I'd just bought a bag from Lidl instead.
On the basis that its usefulness is greatly diminished compared to peated material i would deem it less sustainable from a gardeners perspective (environmental is another matter of course!). As i mentioned, you can grow stuff in inert rock wool if you pump it with enough fertiliser, but that's not the answer is it? Peat free compost would make a fine mulch after its container use, but i wouldn't be digging it into my soil like i used to (and still do) with the peated mixes. Fortunately I work within the commercial side of the horticulture business and can still get my John Innes blends mixed to the original recipes.
I normally don't buy houseplant compost as I mix up my own but I bought a bag of Focus houseplant stuff this year and it was great. Inspired by that I went back for more only to have to settle for MiracleGro houseplant compost instead as they didn't have the other stuff. Worst compost I've ever seen They should be embarrassed to even sell the stuff. Very frustrating and a waste of money which doesn't do much for the company's reputation.
A month later and I've got a massive fungus gnat outbreak in the house. I'm hoovering up hundreds of them every day so I'm going to have to shove the pot outside and either regrow the plant from cuttings or try to remove most of the soil and start from bare roots.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
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"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
A good equivalence i can think of is the green wall systems that are popping up everywhere. With non-soil based systems the plants are grown in inert insulation wool and hydroponically dosed with nutrients to keep them alive. On the face of it you'd say "those plants are doing great, that must be a fantastic growing medium", but scratch just below the surface and you'll notice that its a completely unsustainable approach to gardening. Peat free, for me, is rather much the same at the moment.
At the weekend I went to get some compost and as they didn't have Sylvagrow, I bought a bag of "Rocket Grow". Totally awful stuff, just a mush of strongly smelling wood fibres. I should have known since it was described as "Container and Basket" compost. Wish I'd just bought a bag from Lidl instead.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border