[Brassica Blaz]

do you get what you pay for when buying cheap compost? or is it adequate for starting off your seedlings.is it worth paying that bit extra for the better known brands? there's that many to choose from.alot of them say"peat free" on them is peat a no go for plants?

[compostqueen]

Peat free is good for the environment but some gardeners prefer peat based products but I don't know if that's down to proven results or that it's what they're used to

It can be trial and error really. I find that my allotment association composts are good as are their growbags.   I use multipurpose for most of my seed sowing but prefer soil based compost for my onions, but that's just personal choice

You don't need a rich compost for seed sowing so you could get away with a cheaper one.  I'd try a small bag first

[savbo]

I've had some very good cheap compost (Lidl last year) and some stuff that was like dust or very lumpy. I tend to buy ones I know now - and if I'm not happy with the quality I take it back.

Peat is pretty much the ideal medium for growing plants - but it entails digging up peat bogs to produce it. Pros and cons have been widely discussed in previous threads. FWIW I'm peat-free except for my blueberries...

M

[BostonInbred]

Cheap compost is ok if you accept it'll be variable and unpredictable consistency, and have almost no nutrients in. It all depends what you want it for.

[Ivor Backache]

It's a proven fact that to buy cheap you buy twice. The best 'cheap' compost is usually your own.
But in this age of recycling and saving the planet etc, there does not appear to be saveguards from spreading disease. Does every gardener burn his clubroot/whiterot or blight, or does it end up in the green bin? I think there is a big problem in the future. Gardeners cannot use sterilants and we may end up with another 'aminopyralid' situation.
I do buy compost but this year I have got it from B&Q because of the 'Which' report.

[Aidy]

for sowing etc I use the cheap stuff as they are not in it for very long, for potting on I will always use levington's. last year our garden centre was out of stock so I bought some bowers and it was the biggest mistake I made, after a couple of weeks they died, whatever was in it was bad.

[BostonInbred]

for sowing etc I use the cheap stuff as they are not in it for very long, for potting on I will always use levington's. last year our garden centre was out of stock so I bought some bowers and it was the biggest mistake I made, after a couple of weeks they died, whatever was in it was bad.

Hmm, you really dont know what they died of, unless you had the compost analysed. The other thing to remember , as Ive pointed out before, is that retail compost is different every year, because its reformulated according to raw materials cost to keep the price the same or lower, whereas professional compost is repriced to keep the formulation the same.

[Aidy]

At first I thought damping off, but then nothing was different to what I have done for so many years, the plant did not develope any root structure what so ever, when I got the Levington, no problem. One other person on the site also had the same problem, but theirs was B+Q!
I used Levingtons for years with no probs and will always continue too. The bower's was fresh stock not sat around from the previous year. I wll say it was not dumped, I used it for clamping my beetroot which have stored really well

[rowlandwells]

hi Aidy a very interesting subject i think we all have our preferences don't we i myself have used many brands over the years and also made my own i have always tended to use a peat based compost but this year i am trying a peat fee brand i just hope it works out OK a farmer friend offered me some well rotted farm manure that is like peat because it had stood in a heap  in the field  for some years i am toiling with the idea of using that
as a base for my seeds   i wonder if anyone has used well rotted farm manure for setting i should like to know how you got on with it or if there's any down sides

[BostonInbred]

Heres a useless tip from an australian freind:

Bamboo seeds, especially the Musa genus, germinate best in a pile of fresh kangaroo poo....

[Brassica Blaz]

whats damping off?

[Kristen]

whats damping off?

Fungal disease that effects young seedlings - and kills them off Chesnut Compound is the only remedy that I know - worth watering the seedlings with that, instead of plain water.

Water seedlings with tap water, not rain water - less chance of bugs in the water.

[Aidy]

hi Aidy a very interesting subject i think we all have our preferences don't we i myself have used many brands over the years and also made my own i have always tended to use a peat based compost but this year i am trying a peat fee brand i just hope it works out OK a farmer friend offered me some well rotted farm manure that is like peat because it had stood in a heap  in the field  for some years i am toiling with the idea of using that
as a base for my seeds   i wonder if anyone has used well rotted farm manure for setting i should like to know how you got on with it or if there's any down sides

If it is very well rotted, I cant see a problem other than if any fungal spores are in it, in theory bought compost is more sterile. Perhaps sow some sacrificial seeds and see what happens. The other thing to bear in mind is, it probably has not reached such a high temperature when rotting down as to kill off all the weed seeds contained in it, so you may find a small forest germinating. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

[solway cropper]

I wouldn't attempt to grow seeds in straight compost, no matter how well rotted as it's likely to be too 'strong'. Mix it with plenty of sharp sand to dilute it and you'll also improve its drainage properties.

[solway cropper]

when I said straight compost I meant straight manure.....senior moment...again