Topic: Which compost.....?

[DATA311]

I have recently been allocated an allotment plot. It requires a fair amount of work and feeding etc.
I have been advised to use a compost called Q4 Multipurpose Compost, they offer you a deal within the allot shop.
But is the compost that you can buy at budget price have any comparison...?

[Squash64]

How much does your allotment shop sell the Q4 compost for?

Are you planning on working it into the soil, or using it for seed sowing?

[sunloving]

Well compost is very dear in the shops at the moment. The slide into 60l bags is everywhere.
I oftern find that for general potting on purposes that the grow bags which are oftern on buy 3 for the price of 2 are the cheapest. But since the season hasnt got going in the big shops yet - well execpt for flogging half hardy annuals aready in flower bud for unsuspecting idiots- so its worth hunting around. Take a calaculator to give you the price per litre.

If you just need soil conditioner you can get "compost" from the councils green waste team - my last batch was £90 for 7 tonnes delivered. Its sticky and you wouldnt want to sow seed in in but it does the job on a new plot.

good luck with all the work ahead (7 tonnes was 76 barrow loads!)
x Sunloving

[goodlife]

Been looking for the Q4 brand of compost in net..we don't sell the actual same brand..but as multipurpose composts are..for putting it into ground can be bit expensive..it all depends what your 'deal' is.
Our cheapest brand of MP deal in our shop is 3x 75 litres for £11.50
Yes...I can buy MP cheaper from DIY places and some amount I do....but also spending that little bit extra will bring those well needed pennies to our society and for support I choose to buy compost from our shop too.
Like Squash said..what are you going to use it for?
If its only for putting into ground...cheapest will do for me..but for potting on I like my compost bit better quality and then you do have pay that little bit extra.
Cheapish stuff like Wickes compost has been quite good for the money.

[shirlton]

We have used several makes of compost and have over the last few years stayed with Erin.Our allotments shop sells it for 3 for £11 which is a good price but then they are not out to make a load of money out of it.
We use our old compost from last years tubs and baskets for our carrot drills and anywhere that the ground needs softening up.

[Unwashed]

Don't buy compost, that's what your soil's for.

If the soil's particularly short of organic matter then work in dung, but compost is much more than just a bit of organic matter and you pay a lot for those extras which your soil already has.

[Nigel B]

I'm about to go mooching around the lotty field with my shovel and wheelbarrow collecting the perfect soil those nice moles leave dotted around.
Beats buying the stuff. ;)

[Sinbad7]

Data maybe for future years you'd like to try this method for your own compost, it's really so easy.

A few years ago on A4A, I think it was Dave, said how he made his compost in a builders bag.  It sounded so easy and as I seemed to have loads of stuff to compost I gave it a go.  This must have been about 4 years.

I had two bags on my plot and they looked so messy as I am not the tidiest person in the world and I was sick to death of looking at them as I would just keep piling all the stuff on top of it. I decided today to go and start to bag it all up and take it to the dump, thought it would take me a good week to get this done.

Lo and behold look what I found http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z284/sunnyday_012/004-2.jpg.  I am so happy and excited about it, I have never been able to make compost ever like this.

Hope you can see the pic.

[Squash64]

That's fantastic Sinbad!  Did you keep the top covered?

[gwynleg]

Hi sinbad - is that compost after 4 years or less? It looks wonderful!

[DATA311]

Thanks for all the replies guys, generally I need to put it in to the soil along with some sand to help break the soil up a bit, preparing a couple of patches for carrot and onion. Like I said it is a new plot to me so any self made compost is limited this year. hope to change all that by next years growing season though.
The soil is pretty heavy at the mo and I thinks it may be to heavy for the carrots?
Will also require a good compost for seed also.......
I do have a small compost bin where I have been adding to for quite some time, but I don't think it is going to be anywhere near enough for what I need...?
There is horse manure freely available on the allotment, but it is new, straight from the stables, it also contains some sawdust, so it may be suitable for mulching but not for digging in. We have obtained a large quantity of the manure, but was thinking about letting it rot down some and keep it for next year.......?
Any tips or ideas will be most welcome........... ;)

[cleo]

DATA-I would never use bought commercial MP to improve the soil-it`s far far too expensive and frankly a silly idea-save it for seed sowing.

Horse muck,any muck, is much more sensible and save your back-no need to dig it in-spread it and let time and worms do it for you.

For carrots-if the soil is really heavy and you can be bothered,dig a narrow trench and put in sieved compost from the bottom of your bin.

And be patient-heavy soil is hard for 2-3 years but if you pile in the organic matter it becomes wonderful

[Sinbad7]

Hi Squash and Gwynleg

No it wasn't covered Squash, only in the sense of more garden rubbish put on top of it, which I moved and found practically a whole bag of compost under neath the stuff that hadn't rotted down.

I honestly don't know how long it took to rot down as I just kept adding to the bag, I am sure the original post was 2008 when one of the members said how he made compost.  When the first bag was so high and I couldn't pile anymore stuff on it I started a second bag, maybe that was in 2009. so I will have another bag of compost, just have to remove the top layer, to get to it, but thought I would save this second bag for my potatoes and beans.