Chris French and Helen Johnson wrote
in :

In message . 10,
Victoria Clare writes
Against my usual custom, I ended up buying a bag of peat free potting
compost from B&Q last week. And it is much, much better than the
horrid barely-composted bark chips that they used to sell. This stuff
looks like it might actually grow decent plants.

Has anyone else noticed that the quality of peat-free has improved, or
was I just lucky this time?

No I think you are right, the quality of the peat free composts has
certainly improved over the last few years.


I used to hover between buying good peat-free online at vast expense ( Danu
Organic, excellent stuff, but delivery costs!), buying peat-based and
feeling guilty, and buying peatfree from a shed or GC and desperately
trying to keep water and nutrients from draining out. hoping this stuff
performs as well as it looks.

B&Q still had a lot more peat-based than not though, and no indication on
any of it where it came from or how it was harvested. I am prepared to
believe that some peat-based stuff is at least as environmentally friendly
as non-peat, but if they don't tell you you have to assume the worst, I
think.

I wonder what happens to brewer's grain waste in the UK? Danu is made from
that, but in Ireland, and is the best I've tried yet.

Victoria
--
gardening on a north-facing hill
in South-East Cornwall
--