[DonnaM]

We have to buy in bags as there is not much soil here and the stuff I bought from Focus was absolute rubbish! I then got some multipurpose stuff in a lilac bag and it was much nicer stuff. Im very novice so dont know a lot about what plants need but Im sure that a bag of small twigs is not the best buy this year!

[mumofstig]

have alook at this link to see which compost other members have tried and which ones have been recommended this year 

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=69737.0

[sion01]

I bought a bag of organic john innes no2 last week and it was terrible stuff,its so coarse my seedlings wouldn't stand a chance.I tested it's ph and it was really acidy.I reckon it was conifer bark peelings just composted down a bit.I work in forestry so i'm pretty sure what it looks like.

Having kept the bag in the hut for a couple of weeks I decided about ten days ago to try it to germinate some foxglove seed as they sit on the surface anyway(although pricking them out might be a problem).I checked them this evening and couldn't see the seedlings for fungi.I'm not talking mould but proper mushrooms of some sort but not honey fungus thankgoodness.I'm binning the stuff with the household waste as that's all it's good for.

I won't even put it around the plants as a mulch just incase there is honey fungus in there

[SmithyCottages]

I too will keep soft annual weeds and prunings for my own compost and send the evil stuff to the council.

For example we ripped up a large area of spreading buttercups which we obviously did not want back so off it went.

Me understanding was all this stuff was mixed up with other organic waste (plant origin not necessarily chemical free) and was hot composted on an industrial scale. This would remove all the nasties and produce a good product

If the UK wishes to weaning gardeners from their peat addiction then the peat free stuff has to be of a better quality