Selfsufficientish.com

Hi
Just a wee "heads-up".

B&Q are selling a peat-free compost in a purple bag; do NOT buy!

It has close to zero capillary-action and rots in the bottom of the pot; it is either so dry it sound hollow when knocked, or, so wet that it stinks of rot.

The green coloured bag, however, got a "which" gardening award.

I've bought several brands of compost just like that! It seems it has been dehydrated so much that it becomes impossible to reyhdrate it - I didn't even know that was possible

I always buy the huge vacuum packed bags that B&Q do, so heavy I can't lift them. I've always found the compost in these to be fine and bring back three each time I visit the UK, as the compost here in Brittany is like dust, with no apparent nutrition at all.

I haven't come across the French 'dust' compost - just the stuff full of hard bits like bits of stick, and worst of all - so many weed seeds.

Green Aura wrote:I've bought several brands of compost just like that! It seems it has been dehydrated so much that it becomes impossible to reyhdrate it - I didn't even know that was possible

Maggie, if you squirt some washing up liquid in the rehydrating water (preferably Ecover or similar) it will help.
The soap solution destroys the surface tension of the water droplets and allows them to stay in contact with the compost grains instead of running straight off.

Millymollymandy wrote:so many weed seeds.

Bung a plastic bowlful in the microwave on high for a minute or so, that will kill all the weed seeds and compost gnat eggs too.
Can't help with the sticks and hard lumps though.

Hmmmm might be at it all day though - gardening in the kitchen. I've already got seeds in marge tubs all over the kitchen table.

Cheers Odsox re the tip on nuking the soil!

nyghtowl wrote:Hi
Just a wee "heads-up".B&Q are selling a peat-free compost in a purple bag; do NOT buy!
It has close to zero capillary-action and rots in the bottom of the pot; it is either so dry it sound hollow when knocked, or, so wet that it stinks of rot. The green coloured bag, however, got a "which" gardening award.

Arrggghghgh I have bought 2 big bags of the purple stuff thinking it was the same as the green only a bigger pack. Have just run outside in the dark to check and sure enough, the purple bag doesn't have the gardening award logo.

Stupid of me really but I was tired, they were next to each other and were labelled as if the purple was just the bigger size of the same product.

I wanted to use this compost to replenish the little bed of earth inside the greenhouse, shall I give up that idea straight away and only use it in pots where I can add the washing up liquid as I go? Advice please...

Take it back.....get a refund......let them know in a loud voice (preferably on a busy Saturday afternoon) just how many people you know that have reliably informed you that their product is a pile of S--t ( but less useful in a horticultural context !!). BW.

I am sorry to say but the Westland peat free compost is the same - horrible, and of the three hanging baskets I had last year, the one which was otherwise identical but used this stuff was DREADFUL - the plants were leggy and emaciated, it dried out twice as fast as the other stuff and the basket never filled out, I had to chuck it.

What is the answer? I am making my own this year from my turf stack and well rotted manure.

redglass wrote:

nyghtowl wrote:Hi
Just a wee "heads-up".B&Q are selling a peat-free compost in a purple bag; do NOT buy!
It has close to zero capillary-action and rots in the bottom of the pot; it is either so dry it sound hollow when knocked, or, so wet that it stinks of rot. The green coloured bag, however, got a "which" gardening award.

Arrggghghgh I have bought 2 big bags of the purple stuff thinking it was the same as the green only a bigger pack. Have just run outside in the dark to check and sure enough, the purple bag doesn't have the gardening award logo.

Stupid of me really but I was tired, they were next to each other and were labelled as if the purple was just the bigger size of the same product.

I wanted to use this compost to replenish the little bed of earth inside the greenhouse, shall I give up that idea straight away and only use it in pots where I can add the washing up liquid as I go? Advice please...

Personally, I would take unopened bags back and do a straight exchange. I wasted £10's on both this compost and the ruined seedlings.

I've double checked the Gardening Which article and the BnQ stuff with the award is either the multipurpose with peat (in purple) or the sowing and cutting compost. Tried to link to them but wouldn't work.
The peat free BnQ stuff is in a green bag, is it a BnQ made compost you are talking about or another manufacturer?

The peat free winners were New Horizon Organic and Peat free growbag and New Horizon Multipurpose Compost (http://www.william-sinclair.co.uk/garde ... anic_range)

I've been using the peat stuff for my seedlings and they seem to be doing well.

Ah! that explains the mystery, Fifi Folle. I just came back from B&Q where there are purple sacks that DO have the Which logo. However - I'm more likely to believe someone who says they've tried it and it's **** than I am to believe a logo. Could be that the purple stuff was good when Which? tested it and since then they've been cynically reducing the quality while keeping the logo on the sack - such things have happened (I could name a pub round here which has a sign outside reading 'the original award-winning food pub' when the truth is that it won the award about 20 years ago and the people who ran it then are long, long gone....)

I changed it for a different brand & the staff were nice as pie. I only pray that works 'cos I can't face going back again.

Further to my earlier posting, I have just checked the bags and they are 125 litre purple bags, but are not peat free ..... oops!

Fed up with my mag vert stuff as all my toms are yellowing even though I only just potted them on a week or so back. Need to feed them and this potting compost is expensive at about €8 for 70 litres and I go through loads at this time of year.

Actually I think I might just use home made stuff as it doesn't contain any less weed seeds than the bought stuff!