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Shop bought multipurpose compost
AHR
Posts: 361
hello
iv not bought multipurpose compost for a while until recently.
I bought one bag of miracle grow compost and it was FULL of twigs and not fully composted.
Then I bough some Westfield compost and the compost had gone white. ( I'm not sure why this is. maybe you guys do?)
I also bough a bag of virve (b and q own brand) apparently recommended by which Magazine. after using this I found little weeds growing in my pots
is it just a bit of bad luck or have others had the same problem.
0
Posts
Verve was the worst compost I have ever bought.
You are not alone Giddy. Don't worry though as peat free composts often have lots of bark/woodchips in them which contain fungi that like the damp conditions in a bag of compost. This appears as white mould but is harmless and will soon disappear when the compost is used. I had a disappointing result using the well known DIY store brand so I buy from my local GC now.
I don't buy peat free compost, because it's usually useless.
Levington's has been ok this year.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Same here nodislab. I bought it a couple of years ago - never again.
Been using my own this year. It's full of weeds but they're my weeds
I wonder if the poor quality is because they're buying the stuff from the council brown bins and this is being sold on too quickly .
Also people probably chuck bits of plastic etc in their bins and this might account for the foreign objects that have been found.
I have been using Jacks Magic for a few years now, it seems to be the best I have found.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
I usually buy mpc from Mole Valley Farmers when it's on offer. I assume compost is only as good as its aftercare so don't worry too much about the initial look of it.
I too don't buy peat free compost. I think it's even more useless than mpc and it's overpriced for reasons which have never been explained. Maybe they think that "green" folk are more gullible?
As a onetime B&Qaholic I can categorically state that any Verve products I have bought have been c**p. I happily used their "own brand" products for years but since Verve was introduced I've stopped. I include paintbrushes and duct tape in that.
I have limited choice in the brand of compost I use but I have struggled with my JI this year. If I can I stick to Westfield or Levingtons but conditions this year have been shocking. I have had plants in pots go stagnant in a mix of MPC/JI.
I am a fan of jack's magic too. Seems good for everything. Not bad for seed germination or cuttings either.
I feel bad about the peat but the only alternative seems to be have a compost heap. I pulled up ground elder the other day that could only have got in my flowerbed from compost.
I know council green waste bins say no noxious weeds but I wonder how many ignorant people chuck them in. I would not be surprised at people putting in some japanese knotweed if only because they thought is was an ordinary weed.