General purpose compost

[MonumentalLentil]

I have a lot of pots, some contain plants that fare better with John Innes No. 2 apparently, so have some of that left.

The others have been happy with Jack's Magic. I am aware that compost has changed (peat) and the new lot is different, not opened it yet, it is also not available where I usually get it.

I have sand should I need it so usually mix it in.

What is a good general purpose compost please? (Preferably one that is readily available).

For reasonably mature plants I usually mix 50:50 general purpose compost with top soil. This year the topsoil looked like it already had 50:50 compost, the tomatoes seem to like it. I think I got it from Tesco.

Melcourt Sylvagrow usually wins trials for the best peat-free.

I’ve stopped using John Innes because of the peat content, so use peat-free multi-purpose compost (usually the Melcourt Sylvagrow mentioned above) mixed with varying proportions of grit and homemade compost, depending on what it’s for.

Yes, I have been doing this with the last of the Jack's Magic (from before they changed it). I have got to the stage of using up everything I had, including recycling the previously used stuff which I always do.

I haven't seen that, will take a look next time, thank you.

I thought there was a ban on using peat now which is why people have been complaining about the compost. I only got the John Innes for certain plants, it's like a big lump of topsoil all stuck together, not keen.

I’m using the new Jacks Magic mixed 50:50 with garden soil (thanks moles😂). It seems to be working ok but it’s quite dark coloured even when dry so I’ve had to be careful.

Peat isn’t yet banned - and there seem to be mixed messages coming from the UK government about when the ban will be introduced - but many gardeners have already stopped using it.

The ban comes in in 2024 for home gardeners. peat was supposed to have been voluntarily removed from compost before then but it has taken the industry time to develop alternatives.

Thank you all. I some things to consider now.