Peat-free compost?

[TheSpottedZebra]

What peat-free compost is everyone using this year? I'm using std B&Q's own. I've bought multiple huge bags of it, but it is… shite. Mostly woodchip, very coarse. And almost all my plants, and there are many, are very yellow and illing. No pest damage, I don't think it's the weather, it is multiple seeds and plant families. It must be the compost.

How are people finding peat-free?

NB i DO make my own compost as well, but to nowhere near the volume that I need/want.

I'm on a gardening Facebook group and loads of people have been complaining about their peat free compost this year. I planted some tomato seeds in peat free and they took ages to do anything. I also had a few things that didn't germinate at all and I suspect it was the compost. So annoying when you're trying to do the right thing...

Oh are they? Has anyone else reported yellowing?
Honestly I'm normally a better gardener than this. They look so bad!

I've been using New Horizon peat free. To be honest, I don't really like it, the texture is weird and it appears to dry out really quickly. I seem to be watering it more than the pots I still have with ordinary compost in.

Homebase have 3 bags for a tenner, I repotted a couple of houseplants with it first and it really stinks, a sweet, sickly manure smell. It’s fine outside though.

I've never had any success with growing plants in it. I've gone back to using regular peat compost or I won't get any plants at all. I don't grow very many things and it's all container-grown.

I've been using the same. It definitely dries out quicker on the surface but I have water gel crystals in the pots so it's ok underneath. On my boarders it's been fine as I have heavy clay soil so I have a couple of inches of the compost and then a mulch of fine bark. I'm hoping it's dryness will help with the clay which can get very waterlogged. The worms already dug some in over winter and now I have a fresh layer ready to be worked.

I got some from wickes and it smelt very strongly of manure/cat piss. Won’t be making that mistake again

I have also used B&Q peat free compost this year. Never again. My germination rates have been terrible and growth of plants has been v poor.

I've tried New Horizon, Miracle Gro and Durstons and Durstons is by far my favourite.

I use Sylvagrow and it’s lovely stuff, not had any issues. I’ve only been gardening properly for a couple of years so it’s the only type I’ve tried.

Hmm it's not looking good, is it? Mine is exactly as Coastalcreeksider describes. The water just falls right out the bottom! At least it doesn't smell of cat piss though. That is the one positive thing I shall say about it!

I've never even SEEN Sylvagrow for sale, let alone bought it. I take it it is a lot more expensive? <off to Google>

I’m using aldi, it’s clumpy so needs working. But it seems to be doing ok

2020 I splashed out and bought dalefoot wool compost. That’s really good. It helps stop pests and it’s nutrient levels are really good so you can reuse it for a couple of years.

You have to water plants more often if going peat free. The Alternatives jsut don't have the same water holding capacity. Other than that, I've not noticed a difference.

Melcourt Sylvagrow with added John Innes. I've been using it for years and find it great. For seeds I always sieve it though. I get it at Squires, and at Wisley (I don't live that far away)

You can see why peat was so popular for gardening though.

Sylvagrow prices do seem to go up and down a lot. I just buy it when I see it’s a bit cheaper.

I also sometimes buy from here — brilliant if you are in Scotland. There must be similar places in other areas, I guess? (Again, possible naïveté of a new gardener)

caledonianhorticulture.co.uk/product/caledonian-kelpie-compost-builders-bag/

Wow, so Sulvagrow is 3xthe price of the B&Q compost. Yikes. For the amount I buy, that I totally unaffordable.

Yup, LadyGardener I now have an appreciation for peat! Obviously I like it more in situ, but I miss it in my compost!

Yes! Lots of pictures of yellow plants...

I've been using Wickes peat free and while it looks dry on the surface it's retaining water underneath, it's been fine outside but not great for starting things off in pots. It smells unfinished (though not of cats piss!), but I've noticed that in a lot of compost since 2020, it's almost as if none of it has been given enough time to become compost.

I've been looking at my plants in the pots with the New Horizon peat free compost and they just don't seem to be doing anything.

The pots of ordinary compost, the plants are bigger, look better and healthier.

I'll have to look for another brand, I'm not really impressed with NH at all.

I used a small bag of peat free for houseplants. It means my failproof method of touching the surface of the soil in the pot to see if it feels cool (moist) or room temp(dry and needs watered) no longer works as the top surface feels dry much of the time. However the plants themselves are growing away fine.

We've used Levington's PF for the first time this year and am really disappointed.

I WANT to like it. I don't want to use peat and know it's all going to be peat free in the next year or so. But germination rates are way down and growth on everything is so incredibly slow.

The surface gets dry and crispy after a couple of days but underneath the soil is often soggy - so I'm struggling to leave any pots out in the open where the sun and rain can get to them.

Anything planted in it just needs so much tweaking to keep it ok.

I've used peat free (all sorts, usually whatever is on offer at a small local garden centre) for as long as I've had my own gardens, over 20 years, and apart from a very occasional crap batch have never had a problem. I water with liquid seaweed (Maxicrop) for the first few waters because it's what my mum did to improve the nutrient content and encourage good microbes.

I'm using New Horizon. I'm not a huge fan but am persevering. I do seem to have to water a lot more frequently, and as we've not had much rain recently my water butt is empty so am watering from the mains tap. Beginning to wonder whether the extra water is actually diminishing the environmental good of not using peat...

Lidls PF grow bags and pot compost are alright this year (the general purpose stuff is coarse and clumpy). Peat free compost behaviours differently to peat based, particularly in the way it retains water (dried on top quicker so many people end up overwatering PF pots). You cant just treat it the same as peat, but it can work brilliantly with a bit of research.