[eeedowls]

Hi All

Can someone please tell me what is soil conditioning compost?  Is it useful to use as a growing medium?  I have seens large bags of it which are quite cheap compared to the general purpose stuff...

Please excuse my ignorance... 

[Salmo]

It is just organic matter with no fertilizer added.

[moose]

I have been advised that it is designed to be dug in not used to plant/sow directly into. I bought some last year and although it was a lovely dark mixture the bit that was not dug in set rock solid when it got some sun on it(even the little bit we had last year).

[eeedowls]

so it just hasn't got the goodies that other composts have?
 

[BostonInbred]

so it just hasn't got the goodies that other composts have?
 

Soil Conditioner  a material added to soil to improve plant growth and health. The type of conditioner added depends on the current soil composition, climate, and the type of plant. Some soils lack nutrients necessary for proper plant growth and others hold too much or too little water. A conditioner or a combination of conditioners corrects the soil's deficiencies. Lime is used to make soil less acidic, as is lime-containing crushed stone. Fertilizers, such as peat, manure, anaerobic digestate or compost add depleted plant nutrients. Materials such as diatomaceous earth, clay, vermiculite, hydrogel, and shredded bark will make soil hold more water. Gypsum releases nutrients and improves soil structure. Sometimes a soil inoculant is added for legumes.

Unless clay is incorporated into a healthy crumb structure, water may bond to it too strongly to be available to plant roots.

Raw Peat is sometimes added to soil , but it has very little nutrients.  You can also use your used last years compost as a soil improver.

[eeedowls]

Yep - I understand all that and appreciate what a conditioner is - but I was wondering about soild conditioning compost... (unless there is no difference, in which case I apologise...

[Trillium]

I've never heard of it either other than perhaps a new gimmick name to sell lower grade product. You can easily 'condition' your soil by collecting matter on your own. My favourite is fall leaves which I run through a shredder or sometimes just toss into my veg bed and run over it with the rotovator. Old chopped straw is also good, as is decaying bark chips, etc. Green manures are also an excellent source of soil conditioner and matter.

[BostonInbred]

I've never heard of it either other than perhaps a new gimmick name to sell lower grade product. You can easily 'condition' your soil by collecting matter on your own. My favourite is fall leaves which I run through a shredder or sometimes just toss into my veg bed and run over it with the rotovator. Old chopped straw is also good, as is decaying bark chips, etc. Green manures are also an excellent source of soil conditioner and matter.

As far as  i know, there no such product called Soil Conditioning Compost that is a distinct product from Soil Conditioner.

I suggest its some invented store product buzz word. Unless its soil conditioner mixed with compost, but I dont see the point of that.

[moose]

It's just a fancy name for green waste compost from the huge municipal compost schemes run by many local authority's which collect garden waste from those who don't or can't compost themselves. My local council collect it every two weeks and you can buy bags of the result from the local re-cycling centre where there is also a huge skip to dump you green waste in.

[hightide]

Aw moose! you've gone and done it now, you mentioned the 'buy' word. Now all the council bright sparks will start charging us for this

[moose]

Sorry, but I have to pay £2.50 for a 70 ltr bag.

[JayG]

Just goes to show that getting your own back isn't always such a good idea. 

[eeedowls]

Thanks Guys for all the input.

maybe I know the reason why I didn't get much success last year now...