Multi Purpose Compost
 

Hi,
Can anyone recommend a good quality Multi Purpose Compost other than
J. Arthur Bowers. We've found this to be rather inferior & not as good
as it used to be.

Kind regards

mrcpea

Multi Purpose Compost
 

"mrcpea" wrote ...

Can anyone recommend a good quality Multi Purpose Compost other than
J. Arthur Bowers. We've found this to be rather inferior & not as good
as it used to be.


I think that is a problem we are all having, always used Levingtons but the
last lot of that I bought had mouldy bits in it, non-sterilised composted
waste I suspect.
Used a "John Innes" this year and it's worked better although I have mixed
it with other stuff depending on what I'm potting up.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

Multi Purpose Compost
 

On May 28, 8:07*am, "Bob Hobden" wrote:
"mrcpea" *wrote ...

Can anyone recommend a good quality Multi Purpose Compost other than
J. Arthur Bowers. We've found this to be rather inferior & not as good
as it used to be.

I think that is a problem we are all having, always used Levingtons but the
last lot of that I bought had mouldy bits in it, non-sterilised composted
waste I suspect.
Used a "John Innes" this year and it's worked better although I have mixed
it with other stuff depending on what I'm potting up.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

I find that B & Q Multi pourpous Compost, (with peat) is good

Multi Purpose Compost
 

Dave Hill wrote in
:

On May 28, 8:07*am, "Bob Hobden" wrote:
"mrcpea" *wrote ...

Can anyone recommend a good quality Multi Purpose Compost other
than J. Arthur Bowers. We've found this to be rather inferior & not
as good as it used to be.

I think that is a problem we are all having, always used Levingtons
but t
he
last lot of that I bought had mouldy bits in it, non-sterilised
composted waste I suspect.
Used a "John Innes" this year and it's worked better although I have
mixe
d
it with other stuff depending on what I'm potting up.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

I find that B & Q Multi pourpous Compost, (with peat) is good


A silly question maybe, but how does a person grade a compost? To be honest
I use what is available and fits my budget. Is it a flower and shrub thing
because I only grow vegetables and any old thing I buy is as good as the
rest.
Having said that, I have been asked to grow some chrysanthemum and would
like to make a go of it if I am going to do it. A new thread to start?

Baz

Multi Purpose Compost
 

A silly question maybe, but how does a person grade a compost?

They say a general purpose compost contains enough nutrients for x
number of weeks, but I grew a bumper crop of spuds in nothing but the
B&Q stuff, so that really doesn't add up. Presumably it breaks down like
any other vegetable matter, although perhaps more slowly.

Multi Purpose Compost
 

On Sat, 28 May 2011 01:25:10 -0700 (PDT), Dave Hill
wrote:

On May 28, 8:07*am, "Bob Hobden" wrote:
"mrcpea" *wrote ...

Can anyone recommend a good quality Multi Purpose Compost other than
J. Arthur Bowers. We've found this to be rather inferior & not as good
as it used to be.

I think that is a problem we are all having, always used Levingtons but the
last lot of that I bought had mouldy bits in it, non-sterilised composted
waste I suspect.
Used a "John Innes" this year and it's worked better although I have mixed
it with other stuff depending on what I'm potting up.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

I find that B & Q Multi pourpous Compost, (with peat) is good

If I remember right, Which? published a review in January 2010 which
said that B&Q multipurpose (with peat) was the best and also the
cheapest of those that it tested.

I don't use multipurpose any more but in the past my own experience
was that Westland was generally the best.

Cheers
Jake

Multi Purpose Compost
 

Jake wrote:

On Sat, 28 May 2011 01:25:10 -0700 (PDT), Dave Hill
wrote:

On May 28, 8:07*am, "Bob Hobden" wrote:
"mrcpea" *wrote ...

Can anyone recommend a good quality Multi Purpose Compost other
than J. Arthur Bowers. We've found this to be rather inferior &
not as good as it used to be.

I think that is a problem we are all having, always used
Levingtons but the last lot of that I bought had mouldy bits in
it, non-sterilised composted waste I suspect.
Used a "John Innes" this year and it's worked better although I
have mixed it with other stuff depending on what I'm potting up.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

I find that B & Q Multi pourpous Compost, (with peat) is good

If I remember right, Which? published a review in January 2010 which
said that B&Q multipurpose (with peat) was the best and also the
cheapest of those that it tested.

I don't use multipurpose any more but in the past my own experience
was that Westland was generally the best.

Cheers
Jake

You are dead right - I subscribe to Which? and they reported lots of
tests and founbd B&Q multipurpose best for all sorts.

JIP

Multi Purpose Compost
 

On Sat, 28 May 2011 11:25:51 -0500, "JIP"
wrote:

Jake wrote:

On Sat, 28 May 2011 01:25:10 -0700 (PDT), Dave Hill
wrote:

On May 28, 8:07*am, "Bob Hobden" wrote:
"mrcpea" *wrote ...

Can anyone recommend a good quality Multi Purpose Compost other
than J. Arthur Bowers. We've found this to be rather inferior &
not as good as it used to be.

I think that is a problem we are all having, always used
Levingtons but the last lot of that I bought had mouldy bits in
it, non-sterilised composted waste I suspect.
Used a "John Innes" this year and it's worked better although I
have mixed it with other stuff depending on what I'm potting up.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

I find that B & Q Multi pourpous Compost, (with peat) is good

If I remember right, Which? published a review in January 2010 which
said that B&Q multipurpose (with peat) was the best and also the
cheapest of those that it tested.

I don't use multipurpose any more but in the past my own experience
was that Westland was generally the best.

Cheers
Jake

You are dead right - I subscribe to Which? and they reported lots of
tests and founbd B&Q multipurpose best for all sorts.

JIP

I've heard that Which? are running (or have run) another test on
compost this year, with twice as many brands/types as in the 2009/10
one. Is this true, do you know? Might be worth the £1 temp
subscription to the web site to get hold of a copy of the results.

Multi Purpose Compost
 

On Sat, 28 May 2011 17:32:36 +0100, Jake Nospam@invalid wrote:

On Sat, 28 May 2011 11:25:51 -0500, "JIP"
wrote:

Jake wrote:

On Sat, 28 May 2011 01:25:10 -0700 (PDT), Dave Hill
wrote:

On May 28, 8:07*am, "Bob Hobden" wrote:
"mrcpea" *wrote ...

Can anyone recommend a good quality Multi Purpose Compost other
than J. Arthur Bowers. We've found this to be rather inferior &
not as good as it used to be.

I think that is a problem we are all having, always used
Levingtons but the last lot of that I bought had mouldy bits in
it, non-sterilised composted waste I suspect.
Used a "John Innes" this year and it's worked better although I
have mixed it with other stuff depending on what I'm potting up.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

I find that B & Q Multi pourpous Compost, (with peat) is good

If I remember right, Which? published a review in January 2010 which
said that B&Q multipurpose (with peat) was the best and also the
cheapest of those that it tested.

I don't use multipurpose any more but in the past my own experience
was that Westland was generally the best.

Cheers
Jake

You are dead right - I subscribe to Which? and they reported lots of
tests and founbd B&Q multipurpose best for all sorts.

JIP

I've heard that Which? are running (or have run) another test on
compost this year, with twice as many brands/types as in the 2009/10
one. Is this true, do you know? Might be worth the £1 temp
subscription to the web site to get hold of a copy of the results.

The library will have Which? -- And they probably need as many bodies
through the doors as possible.

I bet the various brands vary quite a bit from year to year. For
specialists and connoisseurs the difference may matter, but I think
that for most of us the cheapest will do perfectly well.

Morrisons, last time I looked, were knocking out 40-litre bags of
multi-purpose at two for five pounds. That's six and a quarter pence
per litre, which is growbag price. It's very peaty, though: presumably
"30% peat free" is dishonest commercialese for "70% peat". In a moment
of inattention I bought four, and feel a bit guilty about it...my
tomatoes, however, don't.

--
Mike.

Multi Purpose Compost
 

"mrcpea" wrote in message
...
Hi,
Can anyone recommend a good quality Multi Purpose Compost other than
J. Arthur Bowers. We've found this to be rather inferior & not as good
as it used to be.

Kind regards

mrcpea

We are using Wicks peat free with some soil and slow release added this
year, happy with results so far.

--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk

Multi Purpose Compost
 

On Sat, 28 May 2011 19:10:12 +0100, "Charlie Pridham"
wrote:


"mrcpea" wrote in message
.. .
Hi,
Can anyone recommend a good quality Multi Purpose Compost other than
J. Arthur Bowers. We've found this to be rather inferior & not as good
as it used to be.

Kind regards

mrcpea

We are using Wicks peat free with some soil and slow release added this
year, happy with results so far.



Many thanks for all valued replies.

mrcpea

Multi Purpose Compost
 

Mike Lyle wrote:

On Sat, 28 May 2011 17:32:36 +0100, Jake Nospam@invalid wrote:

On Sat, 28 May 2011 11:25:51 -0500, "JIP"
wrote:

Jake wrote:

On Sat, 28 May 2011 01:25:10 -0700 (PDT), Dave Hill
wrote:

On May 28, 8:07*am, "Bob Hobden" wrote:
"mrcpea" *wrote ...

Can anyone recommend a good quality Multi Purpose Compost
other than J. Arthur Bowers. We've found this to be rather
inferior & not as good as it used to be.

I think that is a problem we are all having, always used
Levingtons but the last lot of that I bought had mouldy bits in
it, non-sterilised composted waste I suspect.
Used a "John Innes" this year and it's worked better although I
have mixed it with other stuff depending on what I'm potting
up.
--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

I find that B & Q Multi pourpous Compost, (with peat) is good

If I remember right, Which? published a review in January 2010
which said that B&Q multipurpose (with peat) was the best and
also the cheapest of those that it tested.

I don't use multipurpose any more but in the past my own
experience was that Westland was generally the best.

Cheers
Jake

You are dead right - I subscribe to Which? and they reported lots
of tests and founbd B&Q multipurpose best for all sorts.

JIP

I've heard that Which? are running (or have run) another test on
compost this year, with twice as many brands/types as in the 2009/10
one. Is this true, do you know? Might be worth the £1 temp
subscription to the web site to get hold of a copy of the results.

The library will have Which? -- And they probably need as many bodies
through the doors as possible.

I bet the various brands vary quite a bit from year to year. For
specialists and connoisseurs the difference may matter, but I think
that for most of us the cheapest will do perfectly well.

Morrisons, last time I looked, were knocking out 40-litre bags of
multi-purpose at two for five pounds. That's six and a quarter pence
per litre, which is growbag price. It's very peaty, though: presumably
"30% peat free" is dishonest commercialese for "70% peat". In a moment
of inattention I bought four, and feel a bit guilty about it...my
tomatoes, however, don't.

I don't use enough of it to be able to do my own comaprisons, but in
the Which trials there were some that they advised AGAINST buying -
virtually half the germination rate of the best buy. One example was
the B&Q peat free multipurpose, whereas their other general purpose one
was best buy for planting seeds and for growing on.

I don't know if they are doing further tests - they only announce what
they are going to report on about a month in advance.

Multi Purpose Compost
 

On May 28, 7:07*am, mrcpea wrote:
Hi,
Can anyone recommend a good quality Multi Purpose Compost other than
J. Arthur Bowers. We've found this to be rather inferior & not as good
as it used to be.

Kind regards

mrcpea

This compost business is all crap, Get down to your local recycle
centre and see if they sell it there. Our's sells it for £2/ big bag.

It's rough stuff full of little bits of wood etc. However, I riddle
it and add sand as neccessary. Works out at a fraction of the cost.
I get a ton bag of sand from the builders merchant, lasts for years.

If you want to get really technical:
http://gardener.wikia.com/wiki/John_Innes_compost

Multi Purpose Compost
 

"harry" wrote in message
...
On May 28, 7:07 am, mrcpea wrote:
Hi,
Can anyone recommend a good quality Multi Purpose Compost other than
J. Arthur Bowers. We've found this to be rather inferior & not as good
as it used to be.

Kind regards

mrcpea

This compost business is all crap, Get down to your local recycle
centre and see if they sell it there. Our's sells it for £2/ big bag.

It's rough stuff full of little bits of wood etc. However, I riddle
it and add sand as neccessary. Works out at a fraction of the cost.
I get a ton bag of sand from the builders merchant, lasts for years.

If you want to get really technical:
http://gardener.wikia.com/wiki/John_Innes_compost
.................................................. ..................................

That's interesting. How big is your Big Bag for £2.00? Our local council do
a 1 ton builder's bag for £35.00 delivered

Mike
(I think it may have gone up recently not sure)

--

....................................
Remember, a statue has never been erected to a critic.
....................................

Multi Purpose Compost
 

Sacha wrote:

That's not compost though. *That's soil improver, if that.

And highly variable too :-| I've seen some that is OK, but I've also
seen other stuff that is truly 'crap' and not fit for anything. As
for growing on plants in containers, if you aren't particular about
the quality of what you're growing then go for the cheapest potting
compost you can find. If you want to grow a really good plant that
performs well and makes the effort of growing it worthwhile, then you
need to either make a well-balanced compost or buy a decent one. The
latter is the least expensive and easiest option.

All multi-purpose composts 'run out of steam' after 6-8 weeks, so they
need to be supplemented after that, but reluctantly I have to admit
that the best all rounder is the B&Q multi-purpose. It has beat the
others in trials by Garden Which? for 2 years running and I like its
open, airy, root-promoting texture. I use it as a base, adding
perlite and slow release for certain plants and use it 'neat' for
others. I've never had anything other than very good results.