On Sun, 29 May 2005 19:19:21 +0000, Mike Lyle wrote
(in message ):

spakker wrote:
I have got into gardening over the last two years. I am planning
some
re-building work and have put most of my plants into pots-upto
dustbin size. However I used B&Q type compost rather than garden
soil-some black soil but all based on heavy clay-to avoid weeds.One
or two years down the line many plants are suffering.I know
watering
is more required for pots , but I am begining to suspect that the
bought -in compost is not really upto the job. Any comments please.

The compost's probably exhausted: the nutrients they put in it don't
last long, and the compost itself won't have any food value. If you
start giving a regular liquid feed (Phostrogen or B&Q's own brand,
whatever's cheap), just follow the instructions on the packet and
your plants should perk up. As you say, plants in containers do need
regular watering.

snip

Any recommendations for the best compost type for garden plants when grown
(outdoors) in containers? Should they be potted in a peat-type compost, a
loam-type compost or in sterile topsoil? And is there any real difference
between the last two?

I still don't really understand the differences between the peat-type and the
loam-type. I've read that the latter holds water better/longer and so plants
don't need so much water, but I don't get the other differences, such as
which type holds nutrients longer, or what other advantages/disadvantages
they have.

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