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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Multipurpose compost

61 replies

fatsatsuma · 23/04/2024 16:26

Sorry to post about such a mundane topic, but I'm not sure who else to ask! Bought three sacks of peat free compost from my local garden centre. Have been using it to fill trays and small pots for pricking out seedlings, and am constantly having to remove material that hasn't rotted down - woody lumps, smal twigs/sticks and even bits of non-organic material. I've also noticed that it dries out very quickly - I didn't think I should be watering dahlia tubers before they've sprouted, but the compost I've potted them up in was bone dry within a couple of days. I thought I was buying good quality compost but this feels worse than stuff I've used in the past. Or are my expectations wrong? Is this normal?

OP posts:
RatherBeRiding · 23/04/2024 16:32

The quality of peat free compost varies quite a bit, but I am surprised you are having to pick out non-organic material! Is it branded, as in John Innes, Levingtons etc - not had a problem with those myself - i use my own compost when I have enough which is full of non-composted bits, but I can't say it's been an issue with the branded stuff from the garden centre.

And, yes, it can dry out quickly. Anything peat-free just doesn't hold the water in the same way that peat based compost does so you have to keen an eye on it especially in a warm greenhouse or propagator.

Yamadori · 23/04/2024 16:32

It is the new normal, I'm afraid to say.

They are making compost out of any old rubbish they can get their hands on nowadays, because they can't use peat any more. The quality is extremely variable to say the least.

Would sieving it before use be an option?

Yamadori · 23/04/2024 16:38

@RatherBeRiding John Innes isn't a brand, it is a name used to describe a variety of soil-based formulae for different purposes, originally named after someone called - you guessed it - John Innes.

So John Innes No2 for instance can be produced by any number of compost manufacturers. I only found this out myself a year or so ago.

TonTonMacoute · 23/04/2024 18:11

I agree, some stuff out there is pretty poor. I had one bag that looked like the contents of a hoover bag.

I have found Melcourt Sylvagrow to be the best, but it seems to be out of stock quite often so I assume it’s the most popular for that reason.

I don’t know how organised you are, but if you can mix in home made compost or leaf mould with bought compost that can help with water retention. Mushroom compost is meant to be good too.

VeraForever · 23/04/2024 18:24

I'm so fed up of peat free composts.

Fungus gnats to name one issue and all my fellow gardeners report the same.

I had some bags of peat free last year that contained lengths of blue plastic, clumps of not yet decayed wood pieces and what I can only describe as dust.

So much of my seedlings failed and there was much rotting.

I despair.

VeraForever · 23/04/2024 18:25

Monty has casually mentioned adding leaf mould but that's great, if you have leaf mould.

fatsatsuma · 23/04/2024 19:22

Thanks all. Depressing that this seems to be the new normal. I am making my own compost but don't think it's ready yet. And no leaf mould alas.

OP posts:
PilgorTheGoat · 23/04/2024 19:24

My compost today had several fruit stickers mixed in and, as you say, lots of twigs.

Blueskyandbluesea · 24/04/2024 04:19

I'm having terrible problems with peat free too. Fungus gnats after repotting my houseplants, they were awful last year, I lost so many seedlings. There's often a white mould on bits that haven't composted and its difficult to keep it the right level of moist- I find I'm over watering and getting rot, because once you let even the surface dry, it just turns to dust. Lots of bits of plastic. I suspect some of it is contaminated with weedkiller too.

I was on the peat free bandwagon years and years ago, long before it became mainstream. I used coconut coir compost, it was great and apart from some long strandy bits, it worked really well.

Scintella · 24/04/2024 04:39

Those who make their own compost - how do you estimate the strength of nutrients in it before adding leaf mould ?

AlisonDonut · 24/04/2024 05:20

Scintella · 24/04/2024 04:39

Those who make their own compost - how do you estimate the strength of nutrients in it before adding leaf mould ?

I'm just off to the airport so place marking as I make all my own compost these days so will come back later to this.

JanglingJack · 24/04/2024 05:31

Asda compost is shocking this year. God knows what's in it. Half of it like cat poo, then there's bit sheep wool, not to mention the twigs and whatever else.

Some things are growing, but with others I'm wondering if the seedlings can't push through!

Levingtons was really good last year, I might stick with that for next batch.

JanglingJack · 24/04/2024 05:33

I've also found lots of little blue plastic balls in mine. Tiny. I squished one though and it had some sort of liquid in it. It obviously didn't reassure me about being organic.

billysboy · 24/04/2024 06:25

Jack’s Magic has been the same this year with lumps and bits of twigs etc
have had some seedlings come up and wither away , that could be my incompetence though

changefromhr · 24/04/2024 06:54

JanglingJack · 24/04/2024 05:33

I've also found lots of little blue plastic balls in mine. Tiny. I squished one though and it had some sort of liquid in it. It obviously didn't reassure me about being organic.

Are you sure these weren't fertiliser balls/pellets? My aldi enriched compost has added seaweed in it. Look like greenish blue balls.

bluecomputerscreen · 24/04/2024 07:01

mix it with coir (those block you add water to)

we will just have to adjust to peat free.

amiahoarder · 24/04/2024 07:02

I appreciate that we are having problems ( me too) with peat free compost but we really can't continue to degrade our peat bogs. We need more research on how to make the best compost, or go back to the old ways of making it at home

EventuallyDecluttered · 24/04/2024 07:16

I've noticed the same in recent years but this year have used Westland Seed and Multi Purpose John Innes composts which are both peat free and have been pleasantly surprised, no gnats, no lumps of bark, only one tiny piece of blue plastic so far.

ErrolTheDragon · 24/04/2024 08:05

I've been disappointed by multipurpose composts that seem to be mostly wood chip.
I'm not using it for seeds this year - I've bought a bag john innes 1 and 2 for sowing and then potting on, It seems better to me. I recently got some tub and basket, I think the same brand as the disappointing multipurpose (Westland iirc) because that's what the local nursery sells - that looks better as well.

Uncooperativefingers · 24/04/2024 08:15

The problem isn't peat free compost, albeit the transition to that does mean you have to learn to garden a little differently. But surely that's a small price to pay for preserving peat bogs?! They're fantastic carbon sinks

We are also using soil faster than it is produced in the UK. Our expectation of two bags of compost for £7 being reasonable is probably going to have to be a thing of the past.

The problem, imo, is poor quality compost. I'm sure, over time, someone will realise the marketing opportunity and produce a reliable quality supply. At a cost.

Having said that, I've had no issues with Levingtons, albeit there are some twiggy bits. But I have a ruthless streak in the garden and seedlings have to get on with it or be dumped!

AlisonDonut · 24/04/2024 08:29

Scintella · 24/04/2024 04:39

Those who make their own compost - how do you estimate the strength of nutrients in it before adding leaf mould ?

Ok back with a coffee.

I used to work in horticulture and have had more than my fair share of bad composts, from one bag that was so rancid it killed off everything people put in it [I wasn't there to stop them, but I had bought it so it was on me to resolve - it was basically fresh horse manure in the bag]...to bags of basically woodchip that had hardly begun to degrade.

The industry although warned were not prepared enough and have not sourced enough non peat materials to make decent compost IMHO. I suspect their thinking is that if enough people complain they can maybe get a reprieve but who knows. This attitude worked with herbicides and pesticides decade after decade.

So for home made compost - I make leaf mould, normal dalek type compost and wormery compost. I also have a number of tumblers.

I put kitchen scraps into the tumblers and balance that with shredded paper or cardboard. Once they are kind of all black [every 3-4 months] I tip it out and share it out between all 3 trays of my wormery, that means the wormery finishes it off and does it pretty quickly. I then keep that aside to mix with the leaf mould.

The main dalek type compost gets spread on top of veggie beds, and it breaks down over winter and gets mixed in when I prep the bed for planting out. Anything still woody or large gets taken out and put back into a dalek. I get alot of seedlings growing out of this so they get pulled out usually when I'm weeding or prepping.

By the time the leaf mould is ready, which is usually 18 months after collecting the leaves, it has had some worm activity just by the nature of worms finding their way in, so it already has some nutrients in it. I mix it with the worm compost probably about 2/3 leaf mould and 1/3 worm compost. I often just use the leaf mould for potting general stuff, if it is quite dark, and save the wormery stuff to use on the fruiting plants [tomatoes, peppers, melons etc].

I often have to actually cut the leaf mould down rather than bump it up for nutrition, and for that I use coir blocks. So I'll sieve leaf mould into a large container and then add a block of coir and then mix it up a week or so later when I am due to use it. If you leave the leaf mould another year, and sieve it [this is important it seems] you get a much better nutrient level, rather than use it too soon which gives you a lower nutrient level.

I usually find if I collect leaves by mowing them up in October/November year 0, and sieve it the next autumn year 1, and put the sieved stuff seperate from the stuff retained in the sieve [which goes back into the leaf mould area], that's when the worms come and do their thing. If I don't sieve it, and the sticks and branches that end up in the mix somehow delay the process. I then use it spring year 2.

There are companies that have spent years making peat free compost, but it is much more labour intensive than just digging peat up, so it will be more expensive. Vital Earth used to make a great one, Melcourt make a fantastic range, and New Horizon were a less pricey option [not sure about now]. Dalefoot make a wool and bracken one, which apparently is very good [I couldn't use it as allergic to the lanolin]. Fertile Fibre was the best though, very expensive but I used to enjoy when I had to use this one for workshops and training as it was certified for organic use, a real treat.

bluecomputerscreen · 24/04/2024 08:49

for indoor plants and seedlings that start off indoors I use coir.

doesn't smell and holds on to water really well. it doesn't contain fertiliser so you have to add your own (not a problem for indoor plants)

plus it's a by-product of the food industry. and as it's shipped dehydrated doesn't need as much space.

olderbutwiser · 24/04/2024 08:51

blimey @AlisonDonut that’s quite a labour of love.

Good quality peat free is relatively expensive - £36 for 160litres of Melcourt tub and basket this year - but compared to what I spend on other gardening kit it’s not the most expensive thing by any means, I spend more on plants and seeds and the odd lovely pot, and all the compost gets used.

Off to sow my tithonia and pot up my brassicas. 🥬

MereDintofPandiculation · 24/04/2024 11:02

New Horizon were a less pricey option New Horizon was fantastic, but the company were taken over and it’s not available now

Peat bogs are indeed a wonderful heat sink, far better than forest, which is not surprising when you consider that peat is buried forever, whereas trees eventually fall and rot and release their carbon. There is no way we can possibly justify digging up peat for recreational gardening.

Peat covers 3% of the world’s surface but store twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests

Peatlands store twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests

World Wetlands Day on 2 February is a chance to highlight the vital role of peatlands in mitigating climate change.

https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/peatlands-store-twice-much-carbon-all-worlds-forests

Chewbecca · 24/04/2024 11:07

Of my 16 runner and french bean seeds, only 2 have germinated this year. I wonder if it's the compost?

I do have one of the big plastic compost bins in the garden but have never worked out how best to use it and whenever I look it seems complicated & hard work. I am now resolved to find an idiots guide and start.