Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: New shoot on January 03, 2024, 08:01
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A thread to discuss and share experiences of different composts.
Link to last years thread:
https://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=137240.0
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in the February issue of Which gardening there is a article on the peat ban [page5] and it says the legislation needed to ban peat from sale wasn't included in the Kings speech in November 2023 there is speculation the ban will no longer be introduced but It goes on to say DEFRA intends to get the legislation through parliament through a private members bill and that there urging retailers to sell peat free and it goes on to say that manufacturers have said there still committed to switching to peat free as they have heavily heavily in new machinery to make this happen and that Westland have have already invested £70m so far
well well watch this space if Defra go for a private members bill it could take some time to get this through parliament depending what happens in the next 6 months :lol:
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I haven't bought any yet this year but I was at the RHS garden at Harlow Carr yesterday.
They have a multibuy offer on Sylvagrow peat free multipurpose 40l bags at 4 bags for the price of 3. If you buy 4 it works out at £7 a bag.
Worth looking at if you have an RHS garden near to you.
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Peat use by gardeners is a minuscule amount & really doesn't justify its banning.
A more sensible approach would have been to introduce a levy on each bag, with the funds going towards the restoration of peat bogs, most of which have been damaged by agriculture, NOT horticulture.
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Peat use by gardeners is a minuscule amount & really doesn't justify its banning.
Unfortunately the main issue with the argument is that this statement is false
"Currently, nearly three million cubic metres of peat are sold for horticultural use every year in the UK, one third of which comes from UK peatlands. The main users are amateur gardeners (66%), followed by industry (34%) and a small percentage by local authorities (<1%) (Defra 2010)."
That peat bogs take millions of years to establish become pretty minor from there.
The peat ban is intended to move to agriculture, fairly quickly, just the home gardener is the first, as the easier to shift.
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I noticed that the quote was from 2010, but the figures have remained pretty stable since then. For 2020 data, see here (https://consult.defra.gov.uk/soils-and-peatlands/endingtheretailsaleofpeatinhorticulture/supporting_documents/Consultation%20Impact%20Assessment%20%20Ending%20the%20Retail%20Sale%20of%20Peat%20in%20Horticulture%20in%20England%20and%20Wales.pdf) and here (https://deframedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/03/24/media-reporting-on-peat-ban-for-the-professional-horticulture-sector/).
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Still have four Irish power stations using peat to create the juice!
Bert down at the allotment doesn't actually figure out why he has to pay far too much of his pension to appease the anti-peat brigade...
He has more important issues to face.
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could agree more Groster
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I'm still using peat compost many of my gardening friends telling me I should be using peat free I told them I'm not giving up on my peat compost till I find a good peat free compost to match the peat compost I'm using anyway a fellow grower has said he used 50 % compost to 50 % dried horse manure for potting but he says it must be old horse manure but I have to say I'm a bit sceptical to try this but if push comes to shove I mute give it a try I'm going to have to buy a pair of good gardening gloves though :lol:
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I bought some 'Erin' compost yesterday from the garden centre 3x50l bags for £15. It's the only one that didnt say peat free. Has anyone used that brand before?
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I'm still using peat compost many of my gardening friends telling me I should be using peat free I told them I'm not giving up on my peat compost till I find a good peat free compost to match the peat compost I'm using anyway a fellow grower has said he used 50 % compost to 50 % dried horse manure for potting but he says it must be old horse manure but I have to say I'm a bit sceptical to try this but if push comes to shove I mute give it a try I'm going to have to buy a pair of good gardening gloves though :lol:
How will you know it is good peat free compost RW without trying it?
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I seem to remember using Erin it was ok for both potting on and seed sowing I think we bought a couple of bags of Erin when it was on offer but we only used it once the Erin peat free we bought was dodo full of sciarid flies and no good for growing
I was reading an article in Which Gardening that reads calls to safeguard Horticultural sector it goes on to say a new report by the House of lords Horticultural sector calls on the Government to give support to both amateur and professional growers to help them transition to environmentally friendly practices such as using peat free growing media this will include to provide the conditions for biodiversity
I think sometimes this countries going absolutely loopy and that house of lords well I can't say what i would do with that institution its not printable if they want gardeners to use peat free instead of peat start producing something that as good if not better than the peat based its a no brainer and for the house of lords to call on Government to get involved in this well I think they have more important things on there mind at present
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to answer your question snowdrops we have been doing some compost trials starting last year with both peat and peat free and as a result of using some brands of peat free V our peat compost the peat based turned out better results for our hanging baskets seeding and potting on but having said that we are going to continue this year with more peat free composts trials
following our guest speaker from Melcourt industries to our gardening club meeting we where given a free sample of Melcourt syvagrow M/P peat free compost that we are at present using together with peat based so following on from that it will hopefully give us an idea what composts are performing the best results I hope that answers you question snowdrops
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The bag of peat-free I got to try was only useable if it had a good few handfuls of vermiculite mixed in, which helped with the water retention problem that peat-free has.
I think this will probably be the way forward, for going peat-free. It does make it all more expensive than we are used to, though :(
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I take your point Mum but why would I want to keep adding something I haven't done with my peat based I want to use either a peat free or peat based straight from the bag no additives to make it grow my seed or plants or make water retention
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Brand: Miracle Grow Peat Free Multipurpose.
Price: £4.99 per 50ltr @ Homebargains.
Score: 6/10
My first time using PF compost and I'm quite disappointed with this brand, texture wise, it's very, bitty and not totally composted with twigs, stones and bits of plastic in it. Most of my sowings have grown but I've found this dries out very quickly and can form a 'crust' if not watered regular as clockwork!
Would I buy it again..... No!
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I’ve invested in some Westland seed sowing compost. It was on a deal at my local Tesco a while back, so got 4. You will have to shop around to get the best current deal as I think it is back up to £4.99 a bag.
So far just peppers, chillies, toms and a couple of floral bits sown in it, but I think a worthwhile investment for expensive or picky seeds.
For everyday I have come to the conclusion that all the peat frees are pretty awful unless you pay a premium, so have found my own mix. I know not everyone wants to pre-mix, but it’s affordable for me and so far working well. I got a couple of B&Q own brand 100l bags, which look’s exactly the same as Andy’s Miracle Grow, some cheap small coir blocks from EBay, some John Innes no 2 and just basic Growmore. 50/50 peat-free and re-hydrated coir, a few good handfuls of JI no 2 until it feels like it has a bit of body but not too heavy and a handful of fertiliser if I am potting on and want to get plants growing well.
First toms sown were a mini variety designed to grow indoors if need be. They are now in larger pots in my mix and I have a couple of fruits forming :D If they are any good to eat they are on my list to save for the seed circle :)
Piccies also of seed sowing compost and texture.
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we have been growing seeds and potting on side by side using peat free and peat based we found although the peat free was growing alongside the peat based basically the same we noticed the pest free was drying out quicker than the peat based and the pants potted on in the peat compost where more stronger
we bought our peat compost that had been standing in the garden centre all winter so it was a bit of a hit and miss if the compost would be any good but its proven to make no effect on growing whatsoever and it was half the price of the peat free we have used around 10 bags of this brand Clover M/P for spring sowings and potting on with no problems and no added nutrients
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I’ve invested in some Westland seed sowing compost. It was on a deal at my local Tesco a while back, so got 4. You will have to shop around to get the best current deal as I think it is back up to £4.99 a bag.
For everyday I have come to the conclusion that all the peat frees are pretty awful unless you pay a premium, so have found my own mix. I know not everyone wants to pre-mix, but it’s affordable for me and so far working well. I got a couple of B&Q own brand 100l bags, which look’s exactly the same as Andy’s Miracle Grow, some cheap small coir blocks from EBay, some John Innes no 2 and just basic Growmore. 50/50 peat-free and re-hydrated coir, a few good handfuls of JI no 2 until it feels like it has a bit of body but not too heavy and a handful of fertiliser if I am potting on and want to get plants growing well.
I have taken note of this for next year-v helpful. I'm using Jack's magic peat compost for sowing which I bought at the end of last year (I love it!) and very sad to see the end of it as I know it.
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This year I have used the John Innis seed compost for sowing and that has worked well for me.
Local GC was around £3 a bag.
I also bought some New Horizon and I can hand on heart say this is the worst compost I have used, the seedlings went yellow within a couple of days.
I have gone back to one I have used before with good results...
Jack's Magic which is a reduced peat compost. Plants healthy an d strong.
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Bought red bag Levington and it's rubbish. Far too course for any seed starting
I got new horizon last year from morrisons when they sold them off cheap at £2.50 a bag and it was really good but I've used it all
I think the consistency even in the same brand is still terrible. I suspect a lot of brands are just contracted out in lots, so no one knows what you actually get
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After buying Miracle Grow a few weeks ago, I vowed never to buy it again so I've been looking for an alternative. A friend suggested I try Clover Irish peat mpc instead, so after a bit of googling I found a local allotment society near me and picked up half a dozen bags at the princely sum of a fiver a bag (60l)!
Wow!! what a difference!! it's so fine with no 'bits' in it and I could quite easily use it for seed sowing without even sieving it. As peat free compost is being banned by the end of the year, I'm now looking for a company that can supply & deliver me a pallet load that I can store for future use!
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Just picked up four 75L bags of Clover peat based compost for £28. Not repeating my mistake of using the Lidl peat free this year which was awful stuff, full of rubbish, dirty and many plants just didn’t grow in it and had to be repotted. Everything is more than happy with this stuff. Might have to stockpile some for future years until the peat free stuff becomes reliable.
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obviously you've got yourself a good brand there Nobbie we've been using clover peat based for a number of years now you cant beat it you can keep all your peat free tosh its clover for me