Topic: Miracle Grow compost - what are the white bits?

[floraldi]

I was given a bale of compost by the manager of the local Morrison's store  as a gift (I didn't want a bunch of flowers). I was really pleased as it said it was water retentive etc.  It's about £5-6 for 40 litres.

It is absolutely chocka with vine weevil eggs. I emailed  Miracle Grow in the UK and they replied saying I have it wrong. It must be the food they have added.  Now, wouldn't you agree that any reasonably experienced gardener knows VW eggs from plant food. They make that horrible crack when bashed and the inside is wet mush - like an egg!!    It is unusable and I am really annoyed to have missed out on my gift.

[Tin Shed]

Yuk!! Why don't you send them some so they can check exactly what they are?

[springbok]

Take photos of it, and send it too them. 

I would, including the bashed ones.  They might send you vouchers etc.  You never know.

[betula]

We were potting up at college last year and found a large shard of glass in it.It was not miracle grow but it shows you that you must not take anything for granted.I prefer to empty out the bag into an old tin bath and loosen it up a bit and you can also see what is going on. :)

[cambourne7]

cant you sive out the eggs ?

I would definatly sent them a sample and complain!! They might need the barcode etc from the bag so if your going to bin the soil keep the bag.

When you call ask them to send you an prepaid envelope!!

[rosebud]

OH CRIKEY, i have repotted lots & lots of plants with thr same compost, & put all my lovely Fuschias in it about 3wks ago, bloody hell they will hear all about it if i loose any of my plants i promise you.
Now you have me really worried :o :o.

[caroline7758]

I've got a bag of Miraclegro compost too- don't think much of it- lots of big bits of woody stuff in it and what looked like a bit of glass, but luckily no sign of vine weevils!

[Rosa_Mundi]

Don't panic folks - they are NOT vine weevil eggs. They are slow release fertilizer used by most growers - yellow, slightly irregular spheres that have a soft white centre. It's a mistake that people often make, but these granules have been around for years. I have the same compost, and they're there too, and not a vine weevil in sight.

[Uncle Joshua]

Don't panic folks - they are NOT vine weevil eggs. They are slow release fertilizer used by most growers - yellow, slightly irregular spheres that have a soft white centre. It's a mistake that people often make, but these granules have been around for years. I have the same compost, and they're there too, and not a vine weevil in sight.

I was about to post the same thing.

[floraldi]

Don't panic folks - they are NOT vine weevil eggs. They are slow release fertilizer used by most growers - yellow, slightly irregular spheres that have a soft white centre. It's a mistake that people often make, but these granules have been around for years. I have the same compost, and they're there too, and not a vine weevil in sight.

Sorry but I am sure I am right. anyway, the man at MG has asked me to send him some.  I think it has angered me more because it was a gift as a result of a complaint I made about some of their veg. (Sounds like I am always moaning!).  I will post some to him tomorrow and I'll be astonished if he says it is fertiliser.  I am also going to ask the manager of a high quality garden centre close to here.  He is a proper gardener so he will know I'm sure.   I'll let you know.  Incidentally,  the centre is not "soft white", it is just wet goo,  and the spheres are not "slightly irregular", they are perfectly round.

[Rosa_Mundi]

You have over a dozen answers on the BBC telling you that they're fertilizer, too - some of them from growers who use the fertilizer.  ;D

[Baccy Man]

Vine weevil eggs are white when laid, approximately 0.8 mm in diameter and round. They rapidly turn brown as they mature. The eggs are often confused with slow release fertilizer pellets, such as ozmacote, which are found in common compost mixes. The ozmacote pellets are 2 mm in diameter, release liquid fertilizer when squashed and range in colour from yellow to dark brown.

[ACE]

He is a proper gardener so he will know I'm sure. 

So we're not then!  ;)

I have a huge bag of 'vine weevil' eggs that I scatter on all my growing plants in the nursery. As it gets older the eggs break down from the insides, but the shell must have been treated as it seems to stay to the end, which must be part of the slow release system.

You've made an easy mistake and I am pmsl, then I realised that I went to re-pot a plant once and thought wtf, before realising my mistake. So even some of us 'not so proper gardeners' make mistake sometimes.



Whoops! nearly forgot. Dan you really should take that header off before Miraclegrow take you to court.

[floraldi]

Yes, I too wondered if I should have put it like that on the header.
I did see all the posts on  BBC gardening telling me it is fertiliser but I am astonished that any manufacturer would make a fertiliser exactly like an egg. I could understand solid pieces of  coloured material but not an egg with a wet centre.  Love to know how they do it. Will let you know what the MG man says.

Must tell you something funny, in my computer I have got a resident vinegar fly and it just put in an appearance. How can it possibly live in there? Gone now! 

Just remembered, today I found a full large box of Vine Weevil killer that I got for £1 from a Focus sale a month or so ago. So, I could spray the compost with it I suppose, just to be on the safe side.

[rosebud]

Thank you all for reassuring me about the compost i was so worried about it.

[OllieC]

You could always bite one - if it tastes slightly unpleasant but eggy, it's an egg. If it's really bitter & makes your eyes water, it's fertiliser (which is what it is anyway!). I recommend not swallowing and rinsing out your mouth.

Or perhaps mix it with a bit of sugar & set fire to it. If it explodes, it's fertiliser.

...Or grind a few up, dissolve in water & try a Nitrate kit - fish tank or garden should do. When it goes off the scale, you'll see that it's fertiliser.

A few ideas, happy to help etc.!!!

Oh, and a link:
http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0304/fertiliser_eggs.asp

[delboy]

Be nice, now... It's Easter and we are all fretting over weather etc.. even vine weevils and losing stuff in the cold greenhouse...

[Gillysdad]

Don't panic folks - they are NOT vine weevil eggs. They are slow release fertilizer used by most growers - yellow, slightly irregular spheres that have a soft white centre. It's a mistake that people often make, but these granules have been around for years. I have the same compost, and they're there too, and not a vine weevil in sight.

Sorry but I am sure I am right. anyway, the man at MG has asked me to send him some.  I think it has angered me more because it was a gift as a result of a complaint I made about some of their veg. (Sounds like I am always moaning!).  I will post some to him tomorrow and I'll be astonished if he says it is fertiliser.  I am also going to ask the manager of a high quality garden centre close to here.  He is a proper gardener so he will know I'm sure.   I'll let you know.  Incidentally,  the centre is not "soft white", it is just wet goo,  and the spheres are not "slightly irregular", they are perfectly round.

"He is a proper gardener" .........Thanks for that..

[Jeannine]

Well forgetting the eggs!! is this stuff any good, it's advertising makes it look promising

XX Jeannine

[ACE]

Well forgetting the eggs!! is this stuff any good, it's advertising makes it look promising

XX Jeannine

Excellent stuff, If like me you have to forsake all your darling little plants to go away for a while.  The slow release works wonders. I only use the fertiliser, I would not waste my money on the compost as I have to 'cut' my compost with sharp sand / pellets/ extra loam, etc. Universal composts do not always work on some of our show plants.