[rogertb]

I’m guessing there were weed seeds in the compost … any ideas for removing, do I need to wait for them to grow a bit more then hoe ? Many thanks R

[mumofstig]

If you shuffle the surface about a bit, while they're tiny, most of them should die off - then you just need to sort out the few that survive, later

[Subversive_plot]

I suggest using a cultivator tool to loosen up the surface while the weeds are tiny, then allowing the soil to dry out.  That will kill most of the tiny weeds before they become big weeds. Repeat as often as necessary.

Is this a commercial  compost or home made? My thought is that the compost was not turned enough times for weed seeds to be killed during composting.  You can try putting this compost (any you haven't used) into heavy grade black plastic bags and leaving them in the sun until solar heating "cooks" any remaining seeds.

[Hampshire Hog]

One other thought is to bury the weedy compost by using in pots with non weedy compost on the top . That way you benefit from the weedy compost but the weed seeds are hopefully too deep to cause any issues. If in a bed then just the cultivator when the seedlings are small and it’s dry weather as mentioned above.

[rogertb]

Thanks chaps, I have a mini cultivator and give that a go. Shop bought stuff but I have. 3 bags from 3 places, not sure what caused the weeds ! give of you all.

[Goosegirl]

I've had a bit of a rant about my first trial with a peat-free compost, and believe it was responsible for most of my seeds damping-off despite my doing the usual weight test by lifting the pots up to see how heavy they felt so as to know if they needed watering. To me, weedy compost is not on nor is having to sieve rubbish out before you can use it. Recently I was told that Jack's Magic has been taken over by someone so didn't get any this year.  I now think I made a mistake because I don't know when the bags for sale were made. As an aside, I left the pots of sweetcorn and toms I sowed on 5th May outside ready to chuck out and, believe it or not, I now have two more sweetcorn and two different toms that decided to germinate all on their own. Basically we're not getting value for money.

[AlaninCarlisle]

I bought 12 sacks of Jack's Magic for all my tomato plants in the greenhouse and for some containers around the house. No weeds in it

[missmoneypenny]

I’ve had exactly the same in my Incredipeatfree. Weeds looked very similar to those in your pic. I waited for them to get bigger and pulled them out one by one. Quite enjoyable.

[AnneB]

I've had a bit of a rant about my first trial with a peat-free compost, and believe it was responsible for most of my seeds damping-off despite my doing the usual weight test by lifting the pots up to see how heavy they felt so as to know if they needed watering. To me, weedy compost is not on nor is having to sieve rubbish out before you can use it. Recently I was told that Jack's Magic has been taken over by someone so didn't get any this year.  I now think I made a mistake because I don't know when the bags for sale were made. As an aside, I left the pots of sweetcorn and toms I sowed on 5th May outside ready to chuck out and, believe it or not, I now have two more sweetcorn and two different toms that decided to germinate all on their own. Basically we're not getting value for money.

I have found that peat free compost retains water more than the ones I used to use  It is also a bit deceptive as it often looks dry on top but is wet underneath.