Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Ema on January 08, 2020, 21:36
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2019 was a poor year for germination for me, pots inside and out. I think the compost I had was not great and also a bit of over watering was to blame. I lost a few packets of seeds.
I wondered what brand of seed compost works well for you?
I’ve struggled with coir and can never get the watering right for it, does it work for you?
Anyone tried the wool compost?
Anyone sieve their garden compost?
Thanks :)
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I usually use boring old John Innes seed compost for seedlings and homemade compost for top dressing when planting out.
2019 was a poor year for germination for me, pots inside and out. I think the compost I had was not great and also a bit of over watering was to blame. I lost a few packets of seeds.
I wondered what brand of seed compost works well for you?
I’ve struggled with coir and can never get the watering right for it, does it work for you?
Anyone tried the wool compost?
Anyone sieve their garden compost?
Thanks :)
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For all my seeds for a few decades now I have used B & Q Verve multi compost.
Never had any problems with any seed germination using it.
For those top dressed seeds like lettuce that need a fine sprinkling I do fine sieve a little of the Verve compost over.
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having tried many brands of compost but we ended up with clover compost have used it for a couple of years now and it seems to work for us its about the rite price and doesn't seem to dry out as some other composts do we do tend to add some sharp sand to the compost when potting on also we don't use peat free composts
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For the last couple of years I've used Jack's Magic and really like it. It looks good, smells good, feels good and things germinate and grow very well.
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Yes, I use Verve / B&Q multipurpose compost, which I buy in their large 120 litre compressed bales. Heavy to handle, and as a wobbly old geriatric I have to evolve a technique to get them into the car, and then to get them to where I want them on the allotments. But it seems generally good quality, and I use it for seedtrays, potting on, and planting out larger bulbs and plants into big tubs. And as the top layer in my large raised beds improvised from pallets set upright in the ground .
In my allotment greenhouses I've been using growbags for several years, rather than planting in the ground, but I've had disappointments over the last couple of years - variable growth rates, and during this last year, several growbags sprouting sedge-like plants that you see in poor quality fields. So for this year I'm considering planting my indoor tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, aubergines and melons in large pots or tubs filled with the B&Q compost.... (But at the moment I'm concentrating on NOT setting up my seedtrays in the conservatory at home for all those tender plants - I've long had a compulsion to start sowing much too early, followed by all the problems with leggy plants that want to go out to the allotment un-heated greenhouses while it's still too early. I'm provisionally setting 16 February for first sowings....)
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For the last couple of years I've used Jack's Magic and really like it. It looks good, smells good, feels good and things germinate and grow very well.
So did I, but last year nothing thrived - the rest of the delivery just got tipped out on a spare bit of my allotment - hoping that whatever is in there will dissipate before I need to plant anything in that spot.
This year I've had Wickes mpc delivered, which has "No green waste" in it . I know from previous years that it is a bit fibrous, so I will mix it with some sieved sterilised soil so there's some oomph to it, before use.
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That's interesting MOS. I too struggled with poor germination last year and was using Jacks Magic. I didn't even consider the compost might be to blame, and just it put down to bad luck or me doing something wrong! I would be interested to know if anyone else had issues with Jack's Magic last year as I know from previous posts that a few of us on here use it.
Thanks,
Mike.
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ILS
Farmers must have sprayed this noxious weedkiller onto a lot of grass last summer, and gardeners probably used a lot of lawn weedkiller. The horrible pyralids are in so much manure and so many brands of compost! I have seen or heard of (including photos) problems from Humix organic manure, Westalnd Jack’s Magic, ...
https://charlesdowding.co.uk/june-2019/
If you have time search "Jack's Magic compost problems" - there were quite a few complaints about it last year :(
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ILS
Farmers must have sprayed this noxious weedkiller onto a lot of grass last summer, and gardeners probably used a lot of lawn weedkiller. The horrible pyralids are in so much manure and so many brands of compost! I have seen or heard of (including photos) problems from Humix organic manure, Westalnd Jack’s Magic, ...
https://charlesdowding.co.uk/june-2019/
If you have time search "Jack's Magic compost problems" - there were quite a few complaints about it last year :(
I believe Charles Dowding did a youtube video about the Pyralids problem.
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I believe Charles Dowding did a youtube video about the Pyralids problem.
there is a link to the video on the page I've linked ;)
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Oh my! This all explains a lot. I have heard of this for manure put didn't put 2 and 2 together and realise it would be in compost too! I am getting that crinkle / crumple affect on my chillis, both now and last year (same bags of Jack's Magic). The trouble with some of my chillis is that they're very hot ones and take a lot of time and effort to germinate and grown on, until they go out to the GH! So much so, that I have a propagator full of them now! >:(
I'll be making my own seed compost this weekend, with home made compost, coir and vermiculite. I can see me having to re sow a lot of chillis. :mad:
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Thank you all for your input, what a mixed response which I wasn’t expecting to lead down so many avenues!
I’m trying not to use peat in the garden.
I will try making seed compost with my 2018 bin sieved if it’s ever dry enough and mixing this with some coir for this year. Hmm I wonder what the co2 in shipping coir is vs using peat.
I can’t imagine I’ll get anything like the volume I need for seeds and pots. I’ve got a lot of compost that will be ready later in the year maybe May if we have a warm spring (this years compost). So can use that for top dressing a few hungry plants.
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I would advise against using sieved compost for seeds, sorry - it isn't sterile and so you are posing a risk to your seeds and seedlings. It's fine once plants are a bit more established.
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I use John Innes for seeds if the seeds call for it, or what ever compost I have bought. I did use Jack’ magic last year but for digging into the garden or pots. No problems noted with it. I used to use Wyevales own but don’t have one anymore or B&Q.
I would not use my own garden compost for seeds, too weedy. I use my own compost in the bottom of pots or in the garden.
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Never had a problem using B&Q MPC as a seed compost that couldn't be attributed to having risked sowing out of date seed.
Not much faffing here - poke a hole in the compost with your finger of choice to the required depth, drop seed in, cover, making sure there are no lumps by crumbling by hand.
Wish it were peat-free, but it isn't, but for planting out in troughs and tubs I do try to ease my conscience by using a mixture of old and new bought compost, home made compost (at the bottom, to suppress possible weeds), and dried chicken manure as required.
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I sterilised my compost at the weekend in the oven, 80ºc for 40 mins. Didn't smell too bad and the Mrs didn't seem to mind :ohmy:
Perhaps I over reacted somewhat to the risk of contaminated compost, (I do love my chillis!) as you all seem to be using other brands without issues. I always used to use Vevre mpc, so will revert back to that for most of my sowing this year.