Allotments 4 All
Allotment Stuff => The Basics => Topic started by: Gordonmull on May 01, 2022, 10:21:15
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I realise I'm probably going to get as many answers as there are gardeners that reply, but I'm thinking about using the compost from my heap to make potting media for my tomatoes this year, because shop-bought stuff is getting pretty unreliable. I can't grow them in the ground as my GH is totally paved.
I've a big bag of peat lying around but any further water holding component would be coir. I believe sharp sand is a cheap and reliable way to add grit for structure but should I add soil as well? I'll likely use a John Innes nutrient mix to fertilise it - but I'm still caught in a whirlwind of confusion as to what to do for the best.
So I guess my question is what do I mix with my compost and in what ratios to get a good potting mix for tomatoes?
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I am making my own this year and this is the method I posted in March;https://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,83251.msg837368.html#msg837368 (https://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,83251.msg837368.html#msg837368)
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You'll be lucky if you get only as many answers as replies! Here are two for a start:
I used to grow tomatoes in large pots on the patio. I used a random mix of homemade compost, bought compost and soil, with added chicken manure fertiliser. I put a top layer of bought compost on to keep the weeds from the homemade compost down. It didn't seem to matter much exactly what I used.
Having redesigned the garden, the patio is no longer available. Instead I have an area by the fence. For three years I've used growbags here (three large ones for nine plants, costing £4 each). They have produced better plants, perhaps by having a better mix of nutrients but certainly because they do not dry out as readily as the pots. The next season the growbag contents go on my allotment beds and are definitely improving the soil and contributing some fertiliser still. It's a lot less hassle than mixing the compost, too!
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I've always been a bit wary of growbags because there doesn't seem to be much compost in them but £12 total for the nine plants I'm also coincidentally growing this year does seem a bargain. What brand are you using?
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The only problem with using ones own compost as a growing medium is that most home heaps do not get hot enough to kill all seed weeds and pathogens. For small quantities it is worth putting it in a microwave at full strength for 5 minutes.
We have grown our toms in big plant pots with home compost for many years though without too much trouble and just weed out the things that grow.
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Last year and this year it's been Bathgate Champions Blend growbags, 43 litres size, bought through the allotment association which makes it much cheaper, of course.
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Well, thanks for the input folks. After consultation with SWMBO we have decided to do a complete U-turn and give the growbags a whirl. Sounds like a lot less hassle and it's something new to try.
Best of luck for the season ahead. :sunny:
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I disclaim all responsibility!
Let us know how you get on.
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I am on my third year of no bought compost. The last time I bought any from the garden centre it was so rubbish that I decided I could do better.
When I was secretary I bought lovely compost for the shop but no-one else could be ****** to do the work.
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i filled 6 45L pots with home made allotment compost, 3 contain potatoes which have sprouted. i planted parsnips and radish seeds in 2 and carrots in another. the weeds in the compost have geminated along with the carrots but because i know what a carrot seedling looks like i can weed out the weeds. the parsnips are beginning to geminate and are quite distinctive the radish is there but im not confident that im not weeding out radish see
dlings. Rooky error i should have topped off these 3 pots with shop bought compost. Why make life easy??
Nora
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I use a combination of well rotted horse manure, soil and whatever is in the composter ready to use. I use large pots as our GH is on concrete too. In the polytunnel at the allotment whercI can plant into soil. I prepare the planting area a bit like the bean patch. Dig Trench, add contents of the shredder, then rotted horse manure, soil mixed with anything from the composter. I work in "layers" soil and composted is top planting layer.
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I know it's an old thread, but to wake it up...
Does anyone here scrape up molehills from the side of the road? They always look to be nice soft sandy loam and if we are going for looks alone, the dirt looks the part.
I'm no expert by a long stretch, but for first germination of seeds, are nutrients that important? (heresy? :)) I've sown seeds in coir compost that has no nutrients and tried hydroponics that was just water and a few drops of tomorite, and I've tried topsoil and I've tried proper bought compost. I had equal failure/success with most. What really didn't seem to work was gritty/lumpy stuff where the poor little seeds just couldn't break through.
I no longer buy growbags, because they just don't cost in.
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It is actually illegal to take the soil from a mole hill if it is on land which does not belong to you.
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I have not bought any compost for several years.
Yes I have taken the mole hill soil.
It is actually illegal to take the soil from a mole hill if it is on land which does not belong to you.
It was a few years ago now and hopefully I have escaped the long arm of the law so far, but thanks for the warning!
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It is actually illegal to take the soil from a mole hill if it is on land which does not belong to you.
True enough. Serious comment accepted with good humour.
Better make sure your car is roadworthy, MOT'd, Insured and not loaded with illegal stuff... and be sober. Even better, fit false number plates and take them in the dead of night while a look-out stands by with a shotgun :tongue3:
"The man, seen acting suspiciously with a torch, a trug and a shovel was later found to be armed with a multitool and carrying several wraps of unidentified seeds. His vehicle was seized and was later found to have a defective tail light. . . . When questioned, he had replied, "I heard there was some 'good 5hit' there for the taking. . . A police spokesman denied having a mole, deep within the criminal enterprise. . . Sentencing adjourned."
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People have been banned from Social media after mentioning the "liitle gentleman in black" who kiilled a king.
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People have been banned from Social media after mentioning the "liitle gentleman in black" who kiilled a king.
I'm aware of the Mole-hill that killed Prince William.
https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/moles-culloden-are-celebrated-historians-1582831
But 'People banned from Social Media for mentioning it???
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ME! Many many years ago, it was the old BBC website which got very upset about it!
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ME! Many many years ago, it was the old BBC website which got very upset about it!
Considering what goes on on Social media it does seem a bit small fry.
But what a claim to fame!
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A few years ago a certain Global Moderator removed a post of mine from here: someone had grumbled that their rabbit kept eating the newly planted herbs in the garden, so I suggested they should regard it as flavouring ahead of the pot. Apparently it was in bad taste, but surely that depends on the herbs?
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A few years ago a certain Global Moderator removed a post of mine from here: someone had grumbled that their rabbit kept eating the newly planted herbs in the garden, so I suggested they should regard it as flavouring ahead of the pot. Apparently it was in bad taste, but surely that depends on the herbs?
LOL. How controversial can an allotments forum get?
Do we get taken out and shot for mentioning weed killer or slug pellets or a dislike of some creature or other? What about cultivating the wrong variety of food, or dare I mention, having a shed door on your allotment shelter ( which is banned on my site). I already got a post removed on a certain Social Media site for mentioning Round-Up :)
Is this going to be one of the list of places where I get booted from? :)
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Probably, one day.
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I think it was the word 'black' which upset the moderators. The old BBC site had some very amusing fallings out over what could be considered to be trivial things. The children and hedgehogs saga even led to a Solicitor's letter being posted. So long ago and a more innocent time.
I also remember a posting of mine being removed because it infringed copyright. That was very odd as the piece of poetry which I posted was authored by................me. So any copyright would have been mine.
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A few years ago a certain Global Moderator removed a post of mine from here: someone had grumbled that their rabbit kept eating the newly planted herbs in the garden, so I suggested they should regard it as flavouring ahead of the pot. Apparently it was in bad taste, but surely that depends on the herbs?
LOL Paulh
I guess this refers to me. Point taken. It was one of those decisions that could have gone either way. As a rabbit lover myself I try to make a joke when people talk about eating my pets. But on this occasion, I was asked to remove this by one member who was concerned about how this would affect another member. Neither of these are regular posters any more but it does seem to have rankled with you so thanks for bringing the subject back up again.
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It didn't rankle, it still amuses me. I use it as an example of how difficult it is to moderate any forum!
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Back to the D.I.Y compost. I have just received a large amount of grass cuttings courtesy of my greenskeeper neighbour. Mixed them with leaves and vegetable waste. Given a decent damp warm summer it should turn into goof friable stuff for nest year. Will need sieving as ther are lots of beech nut shells mixed in with the leaves.
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Had a very satisfying morning making my own John innes no 3.I made up 160litres of it from proprietary used potting compost I saved.
To this I added lime to obtain a pH of around 6.5 to 7.0 and Perlite to improve the texture. ( and it feels boooootiful) then I added the required amount of John Innes base fertiliser as per the Ji recipe.
I did a rough reckoning up as to the cost of this exercise ( no labour charges) and it came out at around 5 p / litre.
When I finished I made a few searches on line and the cheapest I saw was 45p/ litre although most were asking around 50-60 p litre. Meaning an 80 litre bag was costing £40-£50 a bag.
I reckon my 80 litre bag cost me around £5 and I will use it again next season and the season after that.
Put another way I made 160 litres yesterday morning and 160 litres this morning for around ££15-20 This would have cost me well over £150 on line.
I remember the days when we grew to subsidise the household budget I don’t think that would apply to day. Makes you wonder if growing your own is worth while.
Takes me back to when I took up gardening when I asked an old fella “ what is the best green manure”? His answer…….pound notes.
Makes you think doesn’t it.
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Thought I would throw in a few pictures of my morning's work
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Hi All,
I have been advised to use a mixture of leaf mould, soil and compost. It work for the person who told me so i'm considering using it. Any more advice like adding lime etc would be benifcial. thanks
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These two links might help you;
https://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Content/C/Compost/Compost.htm (https://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Content/C/Compost/Compost.htm)
https://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Content/L/Lime%20and%20its%20uses/Lime%20and%20its%20Uses.htm (https://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Content/L/Lime%20and%20its%20uses/Lime%20and%20its%20Uses.htm)