Just making a general comment that I would like your opinions on!
The query is:
Are you finding that present day compost gets VERY wet?I have noticed that the MP compost I have been buying lately; Namely Clover and/or Humax remains very, very wet to the point if left in that way, it affects the health of any plants planted in it.
I am finding that the plants appear to droop as if lacking moisture, yet I know I water them regularly but not too regularly as I am well aware that more plants die because of over watering, rather than under watering, so to that end I am very careful with my "Watering Regime"
Last year I lost lots of plants that were being grown in containers i.e. in potting compost, whereas similar plants grown out in the garden soil flourished.
The same thing happened to family and friends I make up potted plants for.
On seeing this I started doing a bit of investigation as to what was causing this problem i.e. was I doing something wrong or was it the materials I was using was the problem.
Last year I used Clover MP and I noticed something rather strange written on each bag and that was;
"Not Suitable for Commercial Use"Why I asked myself and my thoughts went to
"Double Standard Sales Practices"
I contacted Clover and explained about the wetness of the compost, and they replied; 'You must have put the water there' an understatement if ever there was one!
I mentioned the comment
"Not Suitable for Commercial Use" on the packaging, and they replied;
The recipe for Commercial use relative to'General Use' is differentOn challenging this they would not comment as to why this is.
I then commented on the other information on the bag where it mentions that the product contains an added
'Wetting Agent' and was it this that is causing the wetness in the compost?
Again they would not give an explanation!Now my knowledge of 'Wetting Agents' was due to complaints in the past where gardeners complained "Peat Based" composts were difficult to re-wet if they ever dried out.
So the producers started adding a wetting agent to alleviate this problem which it largely did!
So my next query was;
Now that we are using Reduced Peat or Peat free composts was there any need for a wetting agent?Again no comment!
This year I am mixing all of my compost myself based on the John Innes recipe which is;
7 parts sterilised loam
3 parts peat
2 parts sharp sand
Then add:
0.6gms per litre ground limestone (0.6 kg per cubic metre)
3gms per litre John Innes Base fertiliser (3kg per cubic metre)
I have altered this mix slightly see here;
I first mix up largish quantities of what I call my
'Base Mix' and I check the PH and adjust it with lime as required.
6 parts saved compost from previous year
3 parts Westlands MP
https://www.thepotplace.co.uk/product/westland-the-gardners-multi-purpose-compost/I was put on to this by my local garden centre manager who advised me that it had a high Peat content(60% he thought) so I bought a couple of bags of this and I like it!
In terms of the emphasis of reducing Peat usage, I could say that this could be described as; 'Reduced Peat JI multi-purpose compost.
2 Parts Perlite in place of sand.
In terms of adding fertiliser I add John Innes Base fertiliser in quantities specified to give me Ji1,Ji2,Ji3.
What I can say about my finished product is that is
'consistent' but it is still holding onto excess moisture!
What I am finding I have to do when watering is insert my hydrometer probe into the pot/s to determine if they need watering!
I am now getting more expert at this in so far as any plants that are drooping or looking in poor health does NOT need watering!
Due to this warm spell the surface of the compost is snuff dry yet about 3inches(7 cm) down it is registering midway between MOIST and WET on the poorly plants the needle swing rapidly off the scale.
So as you see I have not resolved the moisture content of my compost as such, however in the back of my mind I am thinking there could still be residual 'wetting agent' in my old & new compost content.
This is where I want you guys to come in to help me to produce a heath-robinson type survey on;
1) Do you find that your compost is saturated/moist/dryish than it was in previous years?
2) Does it mention on the packaging; peat free/reduced peat?
3) Does it mention on the packaging; any special characteristics e.g. added wetting agent, added something else?
3) Optional;Compost brand
Sorry for rabbiting on a bit about compost again but as mentioned in another recent thread that Peat will be banned all together in a few years time, and I think by finding out what is really happening now, will perhaps make us better informed to respond to the eventual 'Peat Replacement'
I look forward to your responses...Tg