Topic: Compost - What brand do you use?

[Tee Gee]

that the balance of nutrients is right in Sowing & Potting composts, how a multi-purpose brand can be satisfactory.

I agree with you Tim.

To take the MP issue;

If it can be used for seed sowing it should have very little (if any) fertiliser in it.

Conversely if this is the case; how can it have enough fertiliser in it to be a potting compost  ??? ???

The mind boggles ::)

In my case I never use MP (as purchased) as a potting compost, although I do add 'base fertiliser' to it and make my own potting compost.

Conversely I thin it down with silver sand and turn it into 'seed compost'

This way I like to think I have created true .............multipurpose compost!!

[growmore]

Our society got a bulk order of the new fangled peat free recycled compost last year ..Real fancy bags environmental friendly etc etc splashed all over them .
I bought some along with a few lads off our allotments .
There was what seemed to be loads of uncomposted bits in it. It wouldn't drain properly . Plants ran out of steam nearly straight away,  it dried out really quickly.  Concess of opinion amongst us was never again.
I think its the addage here that you get what you pay for. I will stick to the well known brands from now on .
You cant' buy back the  time you have wasted if you have to resow stuff because your first lot of compost turns out to be next to useless..

[silverbirch]

I use Bowers low peat version, £10 for 3 75l bags at Wyevale.  I find it can get a little bit claggy, so I always add extra sharp sand, generally about 4:1 of soil.  It's never let me down yet.

[Mr Smith]

This morning I have been to a local stables and the muck was last years and it was just like compost the real thing, I filled my trailer for £2 and I have just returned from the lotty after a good spreading and now I'm ready for a pint :)

[Paulines7]

I went to Scats yesterday and they had Westlands Multi-purpose with added John Innings compost for £4.99 a 60 litres bag, buy two and get the third bag free ie. £3.33 a bag.   ;D

Having written down some of your recommendations from this thread and armed with a copy of the Which Report chart that Tim kindly put on here, I decided to buy it. 

Thank you all again for helping me in my decision of what compost to buy this year.  Let us hope we all have a better growing season than last year.   :D

[flowerofshona2007]

I like Westlands and at a push Aurther J B but find it very lumpy !

[loopyloulou]

im all embarased now! :o i used the 99p shops growbags last yr for the toms and also the same stuff to set seeds in n sow, or the smaller bags of normal compost for seeds if theyd run out of the growbags, i could just carry one of the growbags home on the puschair, and lacking funds for anything different carried on none the wiser! most things grew ok (amazing given the weather!) they just got eaten, there were a few that didsnt even get going tho, so i guess mayby it was the compost? i didnt siev it or anything, lol, oops!  ::) dosy mare, so thanks to the op i shall now be hunting down some other brands, tho may still have 2 start the leeks off in whatever poundland has 2morrow, simply because it could be months b4 i get near a garden center, if at all! oh well, happy growing! lou x

[rdm51]

i use westlands advanced with perlite mixed at 2/3rds to 1/3rd. gives a nice open compost for my fuchsia's.

[Kea]

I use Westlands JI 1,2 and3 depending I what I need it for and the basket and container mixed with 2/3 No2 for hanging baskets and annual containers. Unfortunately my two nearest garden centres decided not to stock it the year before last and had Gem instead. Anything else is better than Gem!