Originally Posted by David in Normandy[_8_]

Judith in France wrote:
On Jun 1, 4:05 pm, David in Normandy
wrote:
Bill P. wrote:
Cheep? Maybe Cheap.
I thought it maybe had bird seed in it? ;-)

I've been caught out like that too buying cheap compost, laden with
seeds of specific weeds/plants.

--
David in Normandy.
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David, the last lot I bought had a load of hay, straw and sawdust, it
doesn't retain water, I am not too happy with any of the French
composts. Some have bits of felt type stuff in them and I am yet to
find a good one, any suggestions?

Judith

I agree. Unless you spend lots of money on an expensive brand most of
the compost seems to be very poor quality.

Personally I buy two types of French compost. One cheap and the other
even cheaper!

For seeds and seedlings I just use the cheapest multipurpose compost
from L'eclerc ~ 6 euros per 40 litre sack, but also mix in some yellow
builders sand. Usually I don't get any weeds with it and it works
reasonably well.

The very cheap one I use is from the Aldi stores at around 3 euros per
40 litre sack, but it usually has weed seeds in it. It is very fibrous
and I mix this with mole hill soil (more soil than compost) and use it
for potting on plants, tomatoes etc; however it does need weeding for a
while. It works well when used like this as the soil is a bit heavy and
the fibres help to break it up a bit.

The garden centres here in France have some compost much much more
expensive, but I'd rather keep my money for more plants and just use the
cheapest nastiest compost available - when mixed with sand / soil etc
they are adequate. I'm not bothered about those that contain fertiliser
- I'd sooner add my own anyway so I know how much feed the plants are
getting.

--
David in Normandy.
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