[Snowboar]

My vote would be asda compost sorry I mean the dehydrated grass called compost 😀

[Plot 1 Problems]

Sorry to hear it. All nine bags that I've had from Asda have been top quality this year.

[Snowboar]

Got mine early in year

[Snowboar]

Also had some bad Aldi compost with weed seed in it it’s been good in the past year before some of the best I’ve had as far as texture goes

[Bm1]

Morrisons Richmoor compost is the worst I have ever used!
I bought some to fill several large planters and nothing grew well in it and then in the attempt to save them I pulled half of it back out and topped it up with good stuff, sadly I can’t do that with a large asparagus planter now as I’m not disturbing that lot, very disappointed 😕.
I’m glad I haven’t seen it for sale recently

[Snowboar]

It’s painful my tomatoes suffered so bad it still hasn’t broke down in the pots just matted up I think I’ll be spending on expensive stuff next season as it’s a vital time for you plants I might upcycle the asda compost and is it as a door Matt of a thatched roof

[rowlandwells]

I think I've said before that we have been using Clover MP peat based and had no probs however it's inevitable that peat-based compost is going to be withdrawn and no longer available for the home gardeners and commercial growers, so it looks like the only compost's will be peat free, so we really need to know what peat free composts are worth buying that is beneficial for all our growing needs and I add at a realistic price  it would be very interesting to know if our fellow gardeners have been using  peat free how they rate it and if poss. the brand of compost 

[Snowboar]

Is coir any good cos it might be worth adding are own additives to it to Make homemade sterile compost never used it before so I might be talking gibberish lol

[mumofstig]

Coir is, IMO, one of the problems with many of the peat-free composts, because it doesn't readily hold on to moisture unlike peat. When you water pots or seed trays, it seems to run straight though. Perhaps adding Vermiculite or Perlite would solve that problem, as they both hold on to moisture?
The usual fertilisers would also have to be added to it, of course.

I think it is probably time for me, to try mixing my own, as shop bought bags have just been so unreliable over the last few years. (Those made from garden waste often seem to be full of fungus gnats as well  )

[mumofstig]

The recipes for mixing your own John Innes composts are given here
https://www.rhs.org.uk/soil-composts-mulches/john-innes-compost

[Snowboar]

I bought a bag of singletons today at the allotment shop They had run out of clover people say
It’s good stuff when is the ban hopefully if this stuffs any good I’m gonna buy about 20 bags before

[rowlandwells]

that's interesting that I'm not the only one who thinks this peat free compost is not up to the standard of peat based and I'm afraid this peat free compost's is not going to meet my expectations if I've got to start adding other nutrients to make it compatible for my growing needs although singletons could be worth a try to see if that's any good 

maybe the compost manufacturers Mit get their act together if there having to supply the commercial growers when peat based is completely withdrawn from sale to all

and snowboar we buy clover peat based at present is there a difference in price from clover to singletons given that you buy from your allotment shop I except there could be a slight price increase if from buying from a G/C or possibly may be one could buy it direct from singletons as I haven't seen that brand round here 

[Snowboar]

Yeah it’s slightly more about a quid gonna have to more info why is it you never get anything that works better everything I use at work is a joke nowadays nothing sets  make no wonder I’m a traditionalist  I hate the nanny state

[rowlandwells]

couldn't agree with you more snowboar because I sometimes think I'm talking to a brick wall when I try to explain the difference between what works for me using good quality compost and what is tosh compost and although I'm growing for pleasure in most cases, but I do expect to get results when I take the time to grow something from scratch to produce good veg crops  I'm not here to please the nannies far from it  

[Nobbie]

The quality of peat free is largely down to luck if it is made from local authority green bin collections. There must be a huge variation between areas and time of year in what goes in the green bin. At the moment it will be tons of leaves, early summer it will be lots of soft green stuff. Must be a nightmare trying to maintain a consistent product. I suspect making your own is the way ahead using leaf mould to replace peat in a John Innes style mix.