Mine was from the pound shop, ive found it really good for seed sowing, the texture is very light, so im not sure it will be suitable for veg beds etc, but for a quid its worth a try
For some reason the one made into a disc is nicer stuff than the brick, ive found the stuff from the bricks a little more fibrus, think i read somewhere that its toxic to dogs, so worth being careful
A compost company has been applying for permission to have a site on a farm in my village but, fortunately, residents have managed to fight it off on two occasions but we are very vigilant.. Once you start looking online at various compost sites, and speak to people living near them, it seems that once permission is given by the council the companies fail to comply with the operating rules. Some sites catch fire and are then left to burn for weeks/months so I'm not surprised our plants often fail to grow. The varying comments on the same compost company show just how differently sites are run.
For the past two years I've been using Notcutts own reduced peat compost and it's been absolutely fine - absolutely no problems. I've also had a 50ltre bag of Clover which I've been very pleased with - I bought it while visiting a small nursery - I was looking for something to use for seeds and pricking out - the nursery owner said it was what they use and their plants were really lovely. I've used a lot of compost this year - 30+ tomato plants in large bucket-sized pots, plus other tubs and pots.
I am concerned about damage caused by peat extraction but both brands state that the peat they use is not from areas of scientific interest. I may be being naive about it and if so I'm sure someone will tell me. However when I've used composts with a high coir content it's set into solid blocks in the pots, no matter what the watering regime has been. And as I think someone else has said, transporting coir from halfway across the world must have an environmental impact too ..............
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I've used the b&q multi compost, and their verve john in is 1 & 2 I have notice that the multI purpose compost has developed mushrooms in it, and my plants are not developing as good as when I've used different brands and the b&q john innis ones is actually killing my plants rather than them thriving! I will never ever use this brand ever again.
I should clarify what I said above - I've used the multi-purpose composts for planting up summer containers and the pots of tomatoes and cucumbers etc, but I always use the John Innes Loam based compost for more permanent containers(e.g. the potted fig tree) I don't think there's anything better for longer term planting.
Some of the multi-purpose brands use the John Innes name and add fertiliser to conform to that, but they're only as good as the composted material in the bags.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Having read all the posts on this link over my morning cuppa, I would be interested to know if anything further came of the e-mails sent to Gardener's World? Have you had any celebrity come forward to put our point of view? I read an article about 4 or 5 years ago that said Which had found B and Q MPC was by far the best, and have used it ever since. Up until this year I have always found it Ok, but other products I have used have contained all the addistional stuff mentioned in other posts, glass, branches, plastic etc., Perhaps I have just been lucky with my batch from B and Q. before now, but I have to say this year's batch is no where near as good as previous years. Am just about to get some chooks, so my home made compost source will increase from next year. Our garden is about an acre, and I grow a huge number of plants from seeds each year, so I need a lot. Am tempted to go down to the sea and recycle some seeweed too!
As a very experienced and successful gardener,(over 40 yrs experience ), I have to say that this years verve compost has cost me dearly .
I've lost all my basket plugs, and a dozen penstemon plugs where the roots just rotted away. I also used the compost to fill many containers for summer bedding (perennials ) and these plants have not put on any weight at all.
BEST THING IS TO HIT THE MANUFACTURER WHERE IT HURTS.....DONT BUY ANYMORE, PUT THE WORD AROUND .
I must say i haven't noticed any problems with B&Q MPC but this year I have only used it on larger plants . I did get miracle gro and found it full of rubbish so won't buy that again. Got Westland grosure for the baskets and it was clean and fine hopeful that it produces results as the season progresses .
I remember Geoff Hamilton, years ago, advising everyone to switch from peat based composts to coir based ones. I tried B&Q coir compost and loved it.
Then I went to live in the Republic of Ireland. They have peat blocks to burn on their fires, and the power stations run on the stuff!
I have since returned. I reckon the peat in gardener's compost is negligible as regards what Ireland is doing, so in the absence of coir based compost, I have no difficulty using it.
Posts
For some reason the one made into a disc is nicer stuff than the brick, ive found the stuff from the bricks a little more fibrus, think i read somewhere that its toxic to dogs, so worth being careful
A compost company has been applying for permission to have a site on a farm in my village but, fortunately, residents have managed to fight it off on two occasions but we are very vigilant.. Once you start looking online at various compost sites, and speak to people living near them, it seems that once permission is given by the council the companies fail to comply with the operating rules. Some sites catch fire and are then left to burn for weeks/months so I'm not surprised our plants often fail to grow. The varying comments on the same compost company show just how differently sites are run.
For the past two years I've been using Notcutts own reduced peat compost and it's been absolutely fine - absolutely no problems. I've also had a 50ltre bag of Clover which I've been very pleased with - I bought it while visiting a small nursery - I was looking for something to use for seeds and pricking out - the nursery owner said it was what they use and their plants were really lovely. I've used a lot of compost this year - 30+ tomato plants in large bucket-sized pots, plus other tubs and pots.
I am concerned about damage caused by peat extraction but both brands state that the peat they use is not from areas of scientific interest. I may be being naive about it and if so I'm sure someone will tell me. However when I've used composts with a high coir content it's set into solid blocks in the pots, no matter what the watering regime has been. And as I think someone else has said, transporting coir from halfway across the world must have an environmental impact too ..............
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I am concerned about peat, but often i just have to have whatever is in the shop, dont think ive had any proper compost this year
Would like to try some of the fancy composts in the OGC, maybe next year
I've used the b&q multi compost, and their verve john in is 1 & 2 I have notice that the multI purpose compost has developed mushrooms in it, and my plants are not developing as good as when I've used different brands and the b&q john innis ones is actually killing my plants rather than them thriving! I will never ever use this brand ever again.
I should clarify what I said above - I've used the multi-purpose composts for planting up summer containers and the pots of tomatoes and cucumbers etc, but I always use the John Innes Loam based compost for more permanent containers(e.g. the potted fig tree) I don't think there's anything better for longer term planting.
Some of the multi-purpose brands use the John Innes name and add fertiliser to conform to that, but they're only as good as the composted material in the bags.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Having read all the posts on this link over my morning cuppa, I would be interested to know if anything further came of the e-mails sent to Gardener's World? Have you had any celebrity come forward to put our point of view? I read an article about 4 or 5 years ago that said Which had found B and Q MPC was by far the best, and have used it ever since. Up until this year I have always found it Ok, but other products I have used have contained all the addistional stuff mentioned in other posts, glass, branches, plastic etc., Perhaps I have just been lucky with my batch from B and Q. before now, but I have to say this year's batch is no where near as good as previous years. Am just about to get some chooks, so my home made compost source will increase from next year. Our garden is about an acre, and I grow a huge number of plants from seeds each year, so I need a lot. Am tempted to go down to the sea and recycle some seeweed too!
As a very experienced and successful gardener,(over 40 yrs experience ), I have to say that this years verve compost has cost me dearly .
I've lost all my basket plugs, and a dozen penstemon plugs where the roots just rotted away. I also used the compost to fill many containers for summer bedding (perennials ) and these plants have not put on any weight at all.
BEST THING IS TO HIT THE MANUFACTURER WHERE IT HURTS.....DONT BUY ANYMORE, PUT THE WORD AROUND .
I must say i haven't noticed any problems with B&Q MPC but this year I have only used it on larger plants . I did get miracle gro and found it full of rubbish so won't buy that again. Got Westland grosure for the baskets and it was clean and fine hopeful that it produces results as the season progresses .
I remember Geoff Hamilton, years ago, advising everyone to switch from peat based composts to coir based ones. I tried B&Q coir compost and loved it.
Then I went to live in the Republic of Ireland. They have peat blocks to burn on their fires, and the power stations run on the stuff!
I have since returned. I reckon the peat in gardener's compost is negligible as regards what Ireland is doing, so in the absence of coir based compost, I have no difficulty using it.