Topic: Peat compost

[cdchater]

My husband works at a local garden nursery, and they use peat compost for potting up the plants. The compost is delivered in big bags, like the ones that Travis Perkins use for delivering ballast or sand.

Anyway, these bags have an expiry date and two of the bags have an expiry date which has passed, and so the nursery are thinking of throwing them away. I'm therefore thinking about using the compost on my lottie - anyone know of a reason why I shouldn't? I know the compost does have something in it to give cuttings/plants a good start, so I'm a bit wary of using it...but at the same time I don't want to see the bags being thrown away. Also, what's with the expiry date? Surely compost can't have an expiry date?

Any help/advise gratefully received. I don't want to go throwing loads on the lottie, if it's going to ruin the crops.

[Chloe]

Hi cdchater,

Yes, they do have an expiry date and they tend to be a bit knackered if you use them.  Must be something to do with the nutrients, not too sure.  

But, do grab them for your lottie as they will do no harm and will add bulk, if nothing else, to your soil.  I'm a great believer in bulk :)

No way would it spoil your crops or soil.

Lots of people don't look at the sell by date but even growbags have an expiry date.  Always best to look for that when you see places selling these things off cheap.  It's usually the reason why.

[Palustris]

Chloe is right. The nutrients in the compost breaks down and becomes unavailable to any plants. All that you would be adding to your soil would be a physical component. Make sure that it is properly wet before using, as dry peat compost is very difficult to re-moisturise. Just a point, when the first John Innes compost were formjulated, it was recommended that they were used immediately as the nutrient value went almost overnight! Also keep an eye open for any vine weevil grubs as they love peat based material. AND finally if the compost has had Suscon Green added to it in manufacture then you must NOT use it on food crops. O.K?
Eric