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?

Sylvagrow is the best I've found, I'm using a slightly cheaper Melcourt now I'm mostly planting out or potting up.

Last year I could only get Miraclegro pf, Melcourt is much better.

Last year and this year im using incredipeatfree. It's obviously rather different in texture to peat containing composts, but i mix it with a bit of sharp sand and a bit of chicken pellets and my plants are all doing really well. I also have the dry top so it is difficult to tell when water is needed, but I'm happy to continue with this type of compost now that i know it works ok!

I’ve used Incredipeatfree and it’s Incredisappointing for me. It dries out in a jiffy and it’s obviously poorer in organic matter. In 11 years of allotmenteering these are the worst, most stunted seedlings I’ve ever produced. I have had to resign myself to buying tomato plants to put in my plot.

Gardeners World is didactic about peat free, Monty Don makes a point of saying “ peat free compost” at every turn. I haven’t ever seen GW have an honest conversation about the fact that peat free products just aren’t very good.

I used New Horizon. Plants are doing OK but it was a bit whiff. My main problem was the dogs found it delicious so I never knew if they had eaten my sweet pea seeds so popped more in, now I'm having to transplant wherever I can find a space.

I bought some organic peat free compost and some Westland John Innes peat free compost for seeds. Planted lots of different seeds in each, literally nothing came up in the organic but the Westland John Innes was absolutely brilliant.

I find very cheap compost is generally full of little bits of plastic. B and Q stuff is awful for it.