Produce > Under Glass
Potting Compost
Tee Gee:
--- Quote ---Would you be able to say a little more about the
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--- Quote ---physical properties,
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Essentially, the compost is like any peat based compost we have all used in the past, which is not surprising considering I save my spent compost in Dustbins & Dalek type containers. (see previous pictures)
The main difference is it is free of all the detritus that often came with multipurpose & potting composts due to me putting it through a riddle. I am expecting (hoping) that riddling will reduce in future, as I am only expecting to find remnants of roots from plants that grew in it prior to saving the spent compost.
--- Quote ---like drainage,
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In terms of drainage again, this is similar to previous compost I purchased, although I have added around 5% Perlite (by volume) as I am working to John Innes formulae. Having said that, the main reason for using Perlite is I prefer it to coarse sand (River sand) plus it has some moisture holding attributes, and is not as heavy to lug around.
--- Quote ---water retention & aeration
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In my first trials, I used sieved multipurpose compost to add humus/fibre to the mix but this year I have added well rotted HORSE manure (as opposed to other types e.g. Cow, Pig and compost from a compost heap)That is not to say those that I listed would not work its just that I can source plenty of free horse muck.
This year is my first year with this recipe, so I will keep a close eye on how it performs.
For starters, I am using a mix of 3 parts cleaned up spent compost to one part horse manure, and as mentioned 5% Perlite.
At this stage I bag up the finished product and refer to it as my "Base Mix" and for all intents and purpose contains no nutrients/fertilisers other than perhaps some residual stuff from the previous year and what might be in the horse manure.
This means that if I want a 'Seed compost' I just use the base mix as it is.
Perhaps if I think I want the mix to be of a finer texture, I might put it through a finer sieve/riddle, time will tell.
This year I put this mix into an old Microwave oven I have with a view to sterilising it. At this stage, I haven't decided if I will use this process next year, for the simple reason I had a bit of a problem this year with my seedlings after germination in so far as the root system did not develop as I would have liked.
Having said that, I am keeping an open mind on this, as it might not have been as a result of the microwaving. I have a gut feeling that the compost was too wet and the new root systems were drowned.
To check on this next time, I have invested in a moisture meter to check the seed compost before and during the germination period.I am also using the meter to establish the moisture content of my 'container' grown plants prior to watering.
As I see it, this process will keep me informed of the compost's moisture content over the whole season.
If needs be, I will adjust the spent compost/manure and Perlite content to suit my findings.
--- Quote ---Other recipes;
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All I will do here is add the required amount of John Innes base fertiliser to the required amount of Base mix as needed to produce John Innes 1/2/3
Having said that, I have made a slight change to the fertiliser content (for economic reasons)
I had a look at the NPK of the John Innes Base fertiliser and Blood, Fish & Bone fertiliser, and they had very similar NPKs.
Not that I am particularly an 'organic' person but in the past I always used Fish, Blood & Bone (organic) if I was growing 'edible' stuff and I tended to use Growmore (non-organic) on non-edible stuff so what I have done is part way through my potting on procedures I used 100% John Innes Base Fertiliser, whereas later in the season I have used a mixture of 50-50 John Innes Base Fertiliser and Fish, Blood & Bone to see if I can detect any differences with the fertiliser content.
So that is as far as have gone with my experiments, so only time will tell.
--- Quote ---pH
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All the way through the exercise, I regularly check the pH of the mixes to ensure I am reading around 6.5.
According to the experts, the optimum pH for most garden plants and vegetables is 6.5 (slightly acid).
So I am constantly checking the mixture with my pH meter at its various stages of production.
Occasionally I get a bit more scientific and test with litmus strips.
Subject to my findings, I add lime as necessary.
Finally, I hope this reply answers some of the thoughts you may have in your minds.
PS, I don't know if this will work, but I did a bit of a video at the beginning of last year. Things have moved on since then and are slightly different to what I have written in the text above. this is a link to it if it works
https://photos.onedrive.com/share/B213F524C3C600C0!307963?cid=B213F524C3C600C0&authkey=%21AkgWqHxVZHMqx44&ithint=video&e=4DSzfuc6AkG6Xi_frvqFzA&at=9
Tulipa:
Thanks Tee Gee, I am really finding this interesting and had saved all my potting compost from last year so I can start experimenting. I am very late to gardening this year after a chest infection followed by Covid but getting some energy now I hope!
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