Topic: Rant about the quality of potting compost.......

[Digeroo]

I used Westladn lst year and almost everything I sowed in it died.  Had to start again.

It had loads of woody material which grew roots, and started to produce green shoots.  Came to the conclusion it was full of willow, which seems to be able to sprout any time any place any where.

[flossy]

 

 Oh dear, sorry to hear that Digeroo, maybe the economic climate has made them

  cut corners !    Hope not, but what do we know about what they are up to !

   All a bit of a'' do and try '' excercise,    hope you find one that suits your needs,

    floss xxx

[grannyjanny]

I'd rate that as a success... now how about T+M... those Sweet potato slips were Sh1te... I've lost all ten of the T65, 2 of the Beauregard but another two will probably go down... and None of the Georgia Jet (so far) at £1 each that isn't funny...  >:(

Saddad have you phoned T&M. I have always found them to be very good when there is a problem. I rang them last W/E to say my begonia apricot shades weren't growing as they should & they immediately offered me a replacement. I asked for a refund so I could reorder online & get some frre plants as well. They were fine about it.
Janet

[flossy]

  Digerroo,  sorry - just had a senior moment !   ::)

  Are you sowing seeds in compost ?    What would be better is to sow in seed compost,

   which is very fine and sandy, and will give them the best start.  Pot on to compost

    when they have thier second pair of leaves    --   they should progress from there,

     floss xxx

[manicscousers]

my T&M sweet potato slips last year were cr@p as well, rang and e mailed them, told me to 'wait and see how they go, they might pick up'..trouble is, you lose a full season..sorry about that, saddad, hope the others are ok  :-\

[Eristic]

Oh dear, sorry to hear that Digeroo, maybe the economic climate has made them

  cut corners !    Hope not, but what do we know about what they are up to !

They are trying to stay in business. I defy any person or firm to make a top grade potting compost to retail profitably at the price you demand. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with composted green waste but it takes 12 months to compost it to potting grade even with the help of tractors. Time is money (or in this case time is the inverse of money). A good potting compost will have some mineral soil content but that is not only expensive as raw material but costs extra for transport.

I predict that next year bogoff compost will have bold disclaimers warning about contents containing rubbish. This will be followed by warnings that the product is for garden mulch only and not suitable for greenhouse use. This will be followed up by stores offering rubbish at 3 for £15 or the real stuff at £15 ea.
 ;)

[PurpleHeather]

I get mine at Sainsburys. It is not cheap compared to many but last year in September they were doing a buy one get one free and I got 10 bags of it to keep for January onwards to sow seeds.

Ran out a few days ago and got one more  because every where else it was woody and thankfully the standard is just the same. Sadly had to pay full price.

The packs are compressed hard like a sort of box shape, rather than as bags. However the contents has worked perfectly well for me once loosened and watered, it is nice and fine.

Hope they have the offer at the end of the season again. I shall certainly stock up and leave in the garage or greenhouse if they do.

I am also getting the bags from B&M which are a bit woody but they seem fine for potting on. I do my tomatoes in big individual pots, they have been in for three weeks now and are  fine. About 2ft tall now. The cost of the B&M compost is the cheapest I have found and I would not use it for seeds or potting seedlings. Even though the pack says it is suitable. It is grow-bag quality to my mind.

The odd thing with the Sainsburys compost is, although all the seedlings are on staging when I re-pot or plant out those which have been in the compost for some time I keep finding the odd nice healthy looking worm in the compost. Yet I do not see any when I first use it. May be it contains worm eggs. Is that important?

[Baccy Man]

I predict that next year bogoff compost will have bold disclaimers warning about contents containing rubbish. This will be followed by warnings that the product is for garden mulch only and not suitable for greenhouse use. This will be followed up by stores offering rubbish at 3 for £15 or the real stuff at £15 ea.

You may of underestimated the prices, some places are already selling rubbish for £59.00 per 50 litre sack.
Ridiculously overpriced compost.

[Eristic]

Ooo err.

That's got to be a mistake, or has the cost of fertiliser gone through the roof?

Anyway, You have all got to get used to not throwing it away each year.

[1066]

Received a letter from William Sinclair Horticulture Ltd today about the sample of glass/rubber/wood/compost I sent them.

They are also refunding me the cost of the bags, so fair enough I think.
Comments? 

I'd say you got a result - well done DebP

Anyway, You have all got to get used to not throwing it away each year. 

It never gets thrown away - just re-used in different ways  :D  ;)

[grannyjanny]

Deb. I hope you have had your money back from them. They must be getting things moving as I emailed them last week after you posted who had got in touch with you. I told them I had found glass, wood, stones 7 plastic. I had an email yesterday & a £10 voucher in the post today.
Janet

[Deb P]

No cheque as yet...that's what they said they would send me!

[Garden Manager]

Sorry to hear about your problems with compost.

it is an unfortunate fact that composts do vary widely from brand to brand and even between bags of the same brand. you would think that with fairly uniform manufacturing processes these days it would not be the case but you are dealing with raw material that due to their nature can vary, particularly those used in peat free and peat reduced mixes.

This is not to say i agree with this or support compost manufacturers in any way. i myself tend to stick with one make of compost (independent local garden center's own brand - peat based). I am generally happy with it although on occasion i have had a bag which has given me problems (low nutrients or drying out too quickly). On the whole though it has been better than other brands i have tried.

I recently decided to try peat free compost and was recomended 'New Horizon' peat free multipurpose. I did a trial with some bedding plants against my normal compost, and was pretty impressed. it seemed to grow nice healthy plants (though no better than my peat one) had a nice texture and does not seem to dry out too quickly (in this slightly better than the peat compost).

I hope this helps

[bazzysbarn]

After complaining to  sinclairs about the compost we got a £10 cheque a few days later. Yesterday we had a letter of an apology and another cheque! ;D We are now using Erin compost :)

[grannyjanny]

Deb have you heard anything yet?
Janet

[Deb P]

Recieved a cheque yesterday, it had been sent to the wrong house number and our neighbour brought it down to us bless them!

[grannyjanny]

Glad it's sorted for you Deb. Don't spend it all at once ;D ;D ;D. I think we'll get bark with ours. We won't risk compost again.
Janet.

[Deb P]

Me neither......perhaps there are some seeds I need to purchase........ ;D

[grannyjanny]

OH has made me a seed box. I think it might need an extension soon. ;D ;D ;D.
Janet

[Deb P]

That is why I have to have such a big shed......... ::) ;D ;D ;D