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john innes compost
peteS
Posts: 966
I've use quite a bit of John Innes No2 to fill a few pots this summer. What I've noticed though, it is tending to go rock hard on top when it dries out a bit and seems to be compacting much more than it has done in the past when I've used it. Is it just me or has there been some change to it's formula since I last used it a few years ago. I say this because I've had other pots planted up with JI No3 for years now but they still seem to be less compacted and drain better.
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I have noticed that Levington's JI seems to have a lot of clay nowadays, so in future I will get mine from a different manufacturer, and I would suggest that you do likewise. There seems to be some scope for variation within the basic formulation.
I agree with Alan. John Innes is a 'recipe' if you like and different compost producers use their own interpretations. I am also not keen on Levington's version
When I use JI No. 2 or 3 I quite often add a bit of multi purpose compost (9:1) as it helps stop compacting too much.
...and vice versa I use JI No.3 in my multi purpose compost (4:1) to stop it drying out too much and give a bit of weight.
Last edited: 06 July 2016 18:24:46