Help with compost purchased - start again?

[Compostconundrum]

I needed to top up my raised beds ready to plant out various veg seedlings, so I bought some compost at the weekend.

I bought some Supagrow organic compost.
when i started using it it looked ok but smelt awful, like farm muck.
So then I looked it up to see if there were any reviews and I found that what people were saying about it wasn’t good (don’t ask me why I didn’t do this when I bought it!)
People were questioning what it was made of and a few had said that it seemed to have killed their plants.

I’m now worrying about what I’ve put in my garden. I used a mix of top soil and compost.
My garden stinks.

Shall I try and dig it out and get something else? I would have to start again and plant direct ☹️

I'd probably take a potful and sow something very quick to germinate in it and see what happens. I'd also put an established cheap but healthy plant in some and see if it was OK. before I started digging it all up.

I suspect that if they don't actually die then you'll be fine - and maybe mix it up with some new compost....

Is it very wet or damp? That can make compost stink if it's been stored badly - but once it's dried out it's usually OK....

I was in a rush to get it done at the weekend before another week of work so I’ve already planted the veg seedings into it although I could take them out ?

The leftover seedlings were potted on as spares, but using the same compost.

Farm muck actually makes great soil improver providing it's appropriately rotted. Although it does stink when it first goes down. And if it's not well rotted it can burn roots of plants.

Given this is just for topping up your beds, and it went down with topsoil, I wouldn't worry too much. Personally I'd rummage it in and carry on rather than try to dig it out.

If you want to splurge on compost for topping up your beds I've always had excellent results with Sylvagrow with added John Innes (in pots). Not the cheapest option but a great texture with no nasties.

Well rotted compost should not come into direct contact with your plants' roots. Mix a handful or two of compost with ordinary garden or potting soil and use sparingly.

If you have basically planted your plants in compost , that will likely kill them and you will need to replant them as suggested above.

I bought a lot of this from wickes recently. It does smell of manure - I assumed as it had been stored next to the manure. But the smell hasn’t really dissipated which is a little odd.

The texture is lovely but I was just saying that I was starting to suspect there was something wrong with it… Whole batches of my seedlings have died once potted on. I’ve never experienced similar.

I’ve used it with lots of more established plants and it seems fine. I don’t know if it’s imagined and the problem is something else or it is indeed the compost…

I also notice that it isn’t being restocked at all. Not sure if that means something or nothing 🤷‍♀️

I remember reading that certain veg do not like manure because it’s too rich (may have been Carol Klein’s book). Root veg and green veg need very well rotted manure that has had time to break down so it may be too rich for your raised beds. Though the fact you’ve diluted it with top soil may make it ok. How annoying after nurturing your seedlings.

What are you talking about? Of course compost can come into contact with plant roots?!

@Whataretalkingabout has used the word “compost” mistakenly instead of “manure”. Just switch the word and it makes sense.

However, since we’ve bought compost there should be no manure in it! I know manure can burn plants and is too fierce for many. But I don’t expect it in my compost.

I’m now thinking the smell of this compost isn’t simply a storage issue and is some form of contamination. Which would explain all my dying seedlings 😡

Think I will send an email to supagrow. I’ve just purchased Durstons Organic compost as a replacement which was always my go to previously. - more expensive but never an issue with quality.

I don’t even know if it’s got any manure in it. It certainly smells like it might, but that’s not like any other organic compost I’ve bought before.

It wouldn’t bother me so much if I wasn’t growing vegetables in it.

Having read the reviews and what gribbit987 says I’m just not sure I can trust this product.

How long ago did you start using it @Gribbit987 ?

I think if you’ve mixed it with top soil, haven’t used it on tiny saplings and haven’t had immediate death you will be fine.

My crops annd plugs are failing as they are potted on. Literally within hours they flop over and begin to die. I lost a tray of beans, tray of geums, tray of tomatoes, tray of peas. I was totally perplexed. Doing nothing different to previous years. Got to a point where I suspected the compost but then thought it must be me!

I haven’t seen any reviews complaining about the compost though? Where have you found them? The ones on Wickes, where I purchased, are pretty standard. The negatives being strange debris in the mix or bits of plastic. Which I’ve had happen with nearly every brand I’ve ever bought 🤷‍♀️

I’ve bought 30 bags this month. I could probably return them except I took most to the allotment (up a massive hill) and the idea of bringing them back is not appealing 😆 So I will just use as top dressing or with more robust larger plants.

The reviews are on Trust Pilot.

For peace of mind I decided to dig out what I could last night, as I just wouldn’t have enjoyed eating anything grown in that. I hope my seedlings will survive being repotted temporarily .

I’ve ordered some Sylvagrow as suggested on here, so that will hopefully be here by the end of the week and I can start again 😩

@Gribbit987

I’ve also had the same issue with other composts, in that they always seem contaminated with glass and bits of plastic.

Decided I won’t be buying any compost made with council green waste in future, you just can’t trust what people put in their bins, and I especially don’t want anything that’s been in contact with weed killer.

@Compostconundrum , yours is an excellent user name for the situation! I have always referred to rotted organic matter as compost. Am I wrong here?

No matter what compost is made of , horse or cow manure, food waste, seaweed or plant matter, if it is not well rotted it can be fatal to young plants and seedlings. This seems to have been the problem with your product ( thus the odour), or maybe it had been doctored up with excessive inorganic fertilizer.

Assuming I’ve been looking at the right product, the Supagrow website describes it as soil improver, for boosting soil fertility, and not suitable for seed sowing.

The label says “great for planting out” which is what we have used it for. All compost is a soil improver.

Yes indeed, but some composts are better suited to certain uses than others.