[Steveharford]

Already thinking ahead to next year, having been disappointed with nutrient levels in the multipurpose compost I bought, I am thinking of buying the cheap stuff from say b n q then adding extra nutrients in the form of some sort of slow release general fertiliser, and also vermiculite or sand etc. I would want to make a potting on mix (seedling stage) as well as a general one for baskets, tubs etc.
Does anyone have any experience of this? And what form of nutrients would you suggest?  Also would it make more sense to start the whole thing from scratch using Coir as a base for example?

[mumofstig]

This is an old thread, but it may be helpful
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=3541.msg39598#msg39598

The John Innes formulas are also easy to find online which advise on nutrients to add

[Steveharford]

Thanks Mum just what I'm looking for.

[Aunt Sally]

This is an old thread, but it may be helpful
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=3541.msg39598#msg39598

The John Innes formulas are also easy to find online which advise on nutrients to add

One example here:

http://www.poyntonallotmentgardeners.org/page52.html 

plus

http://www.poyntonallotmentgardeners.org/page41.html

[JayG]

I've recently mentioned (more than once, and about more than one brand of MP compost) that the "performance" has been below par right from the word go, which I can only assume is down to "economising" on the nutrient content, which is presumably the most costly ingredient of the product.

Lack of consistency seems to be another feature these days as the manufacturers keep looking for new ways to keep prices down in what is certainly a very competitive market.

I wouldn't buy any MP compost without having had a good look at the texture of it first (taking Edward Scissorhands with you to check out the bags could be handy, although there's usually at least one which has conveniently split open.  )

You can't actually see the nutrients, unfortunately, which means you would need to be very conservative about adding your own nutrients to avoid overdoing it, but nevertheless that is probably what I shall be doing next year.

If I grew stuff on an allotment rather than garden scale, or was very much into container growing, I'd certainly be seriously contemplating the John Innes formulations as in Mum's link.

[Steveharford]

Other than seed compost my own feeling, and it's just a guess, is that, as you say the nutrient content is definitely questionable in terms of amount put in due to the extra cost, so I reckon it would be fairly safe to assume there are no nutrients in it from the start. I believe that most of the DIY shop stuff is just sprayed anyway rather than mix a good quality granular or powdered food in. I did mix BFB into my stuff for the final tomato pots but it wasn't very scientific and they seem to have done ok.

[Goosegirl]

Having viewed this thread for a while, I think coir is more used nowadays in MP compost and can be more difficult to wet than a peat-based one. Whatever nutrients are supposed to be in it, keep a careful eye on how plants develop in their initial sowing or potting-on. A soil-based compost will help but it is the ratio of it that you mix together that will be important. I have found that soil-based ones on their own to be cold and not to be a good medium in themselves alone for seed growth in an un-heated g'house. It's trial and experiment but, whatever you get, I've found that last year's Been-n-queued compost was good and without the unnecessary additives such as chunks of bark, plastic and other stuff.

[A Reyt Tayty]

The compost I bought looked rubbish. Fairly coarse and not a big name product. I found it did not retain water very well. However results were very, very good; and that's what matters. Mind you, I did mix a little bit of FB&B in the tommy compost before the final planting out.

[AnnieB]

Just potted up some chilli's and peppers that I hope to overwinter. I used the B+Q stuff and mixed it with manure - GC bagged stuff.

I made the mix "lighter" then I do for potato's and estimate it was 5 parts compost to 1 part manure, maybe 4 to 1. Seems to have done fine as they all have settled into their new pots happily. Put the 2 components in a bucket and mixed throughly with a hand trowel.

As mentioned earlier, for potato's in large pots I tend to mix 2 parts compost to 1 part manure.

Will say that I think all compost is basically a medium and that the nutrients are added at the bagging/production site. So most likely everything bought will need additional nutrients at some time.

[Goosegirl]

I so agree with AnnieB's last comments. When you open a bag of compost, put your hands into it and smell it for the texture and that lovely scent of what we knew as proper compost, it is just a medium for us to use as it is or modify, but needs added nutrients as and when needed.