On 14/11/2020 15:43, Bob Hobden wrote:
On 14 Nov 2020 15:26, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Sat, 14 Nov 2020 14:39:57 +0000, Bob Hobden
wrote:

I see Monty Don is getting a lot of flack on Social Media today from
some quarters of the trade about going completely Peat Free. The
"Trade" said they would be by about now but they aren't. Garden
Centres
still stock lots of different peat based composts and few peat free.
Indeed if they do stock one it tends to be the cheap "New Horizons"
rather than Sylvagrow etc. and you certainly get what you pay for.

Thoughts?

I grow many ericaceous plants that require an acid compost. Most
peat-free composts are not naturally acid. The composts that I go for
are peat-based, such as Humax ericaceous and Vitax ericaceous. I don't
know what bulk coir looks like, but if it's anything like the fibrous
stuff on the outside of a coconut, I don't see how it can hold
moisture in the same way that peat does. The RHS has an article on
this: https://tinyurl.com/y4vfpfzc

Yes that is a problem. I have a number of Citrus trees and they prefer
ericaceous compost although it's not essential for them. Sylvagrow do
an ericaceous compost.

There are quite a few suppliers of Sylvagrow in Cornwall if Chris can't
get his usual Vitax/Humax:
https://www.melcourt.co.uk/where-to-buy/

--

Jeff