Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => General Gardening => Topic started by: sospan on June 09, 2019, 18:44

Title: Compost quality description
Post by: sospan on June 09, 2019, 18:44
If you saw "Free from green waste" on the label of a bag of compost. What would that mean to you ?

The reason for asking is that I purchased  over 2,000 L of compost and to me the what we have found isn't "Free from green waste"
Title: Re: Compost quality description
Post by: Yorkie on June 09, 2019, 18:46
I would think that 'green waste' is the stuff you put in your council green waste bin, which can have any number of perennial weeds or chemicals on.

Anything free from it wouldn't have that in it.
Title: Re: Compost quality description
Post by: snowdrops on June 09, 2019, 19:25
What is it about the compost you have purchased that makes you think it has green waste in it?
Title: Re: Compost quality description
Post by: sospan on June 09, 2019, 21:02
The compost has lots of twigs and pieces of wood in it.  The compost has a peat component which could have bits of small twig that hasn't decomposed in them. The ones we are finding look like bits of recycled waste and some strange fiberous material that feels like decomposing hardboard.

There are strange flakes in the mix that either look like old pine cone needles or the bits of ground membrane that flake off.

The explanation from the manufacturer is

"Our technical team has informed us that we don't use green waste, the most likely explanation is that this product is a blend of peat and west+. The peat itself will contain a certain amount of woody material, which are the remains of plants that once grew in the bog. Small pieces of this woody material along with some hard nuggets of peat will remain it the peat after it has been screened. The West+ can also contain some small pieces of wood that hasn't been completely fiberized during the production process which will be visible in the compost."

My Archaeologist wife is the owner of the hand in the picture, she can can go one about peat and bogs for hours and wasn't impressed by the response as most of the timber and twigs clearly haven't been immersed in peat at all.
Title: Re: Compost quality description
Post by: mumofstig on June 10, 2019, 08:47
My Wickes compost looks like that, it grows good plants is all I can say ;)
The woody fibrous waste (which you don't like the look of) is to replace the green waste collected from gardens, which can also include all sorts of stuff, including selective weed killers applied to lawns.
You definitely don't want that in your compost.
Title: Re: Compost quality description
Post by: rowlandwells on June 10, 2019, 09:02
having tried several brand I only us two brands now that have proven to give us fair results although there not without some waste sieved that we put on the garden so there's not really any loss because its used one way or another


 i will not buy or use peat free composts and absolutely not buy compost's from local councils I'me sticking to the brands i know do the job and i have had good results from buying second hand PYO  grow bags hat has also proven a good growing medea for my veg plants
Title: Re: Compost quality description
Post by: sospan on June 11, 2019, 21:34
My Wickes compost looks like that, it grows good plants is all I can say ;)
The woody fibrous waste (which you don't like the look of) is to replace the green waste collected from gardens, which can also include all sorts of stuff, including selective weed killers applied to lawns.
You definitely don't want that in your compost.

It is indeed the Wickes compost and does work.

The main issue is one of labelling - it says "Free from green waste" . Whether, I have some "tailings" from the end of a batch but we have a lot of small black fibres that look like part composted fir tree trimmings and then a whole lot of these twigs in the image.  I can understand some being residual items from the peat but a lot of these are too "green" to be from that. 

Even if they added "woody fiberous waste"  wouldn't that be classed as "green waste" ?
 

Title: Re: Compost quality description
Post by: mumofstig on June 11, 2019, 23:27
No, the term 'green waste' only applies to materials collected from garden waste bins.
My understanding is that the wood and fibres have been sourced and processed specifically to add to the compost. They maybe a by-product sourced from somewhere like a saw-mill or furniture maker but they are not 'green waste'