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  • #1

    Making your own potting/seed compost.

    Can't decide on the most suitable forum for this so I'm putting it here.

    Last autumn I filled a few bin bags with fallen leaves and a few weeks ago I was delighted to find them full of leaf mould (much sooner than I expected). I also have a wormery full of worm casts and quite a bit of normal compost too!

    So what can I use it for? (apart from enriching the soil in my raised beds) The RHS page seems to be suggesting you can use leaf mould for seed compost straight, does anyone do that? I'm particularly interested in making my own potting and seed compost, I'm finding it hard to find quality peat free here in SW France and it would be nice to close that loop, I seem to get through bags of it.

    Does anyone here make their own? Do you have a recipe or know of any good blogs about it? I did google for home made seed compost mixes but they tend to suggest adding perlite and vermiculite -which i will do if necessary but i'd rather like to be a bit more self sufficient than that.

    Thanks
    Caroline
    Tags: compost, leaf mould, potting compost, seed compost., worm casts
  • #2
    Think the biggest problem is knowing what's in the homemade stuff. Potting compost is a carefully selected amount of main and trace elements and is set to a required pH by the addition of lime....or elimination of it. Leave mould can be acidic which can cause deficiencies and even scorching of young seedlings if it's too strong.

    As an ex nurseryman, we always made our own John Innes composts using loam, peat, grit and fertilizers, all sterilized, shredded and carefully measured and weighed out.

    Hopefully, someone will come along and prove me wrong and say what a fab idea and their seedlings flourish in it. If it was me, i'd use it on the garden or mix in with standard potting composts for tubs and baskets.
    Please visit my facebook page for the garden i look after

    https://www.facebook.com/PrestonRockGarden

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    • #3
      It is always going to be a problem sterilizing a compost at home. I agree with andy j. Also seeds are so precious it is not worth risking damping off or the wrong amount of nutrient for your new seedlings.
      Whooops - now what are the dogs getting up to?

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      • #4
        I make my own compost for things like beans and sweet-peas that I sow into loo rolls using this recipe from Monty Don :-

        Monty Don's peat-free compost - Telegraph

        but for everything else I use store bought compost.
        Last edited by Bren In Pots; 17-12-2013, 03:39 PM.
        Location....East Midlands.

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        • #5
          thanks for your advice everyone, i might steer clear of making my own seedling compost then!

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          • #6
            I grow a lot in containers and have made my own potting compost for years but I draw the line at making my own seed compost for the reasons outlined above. It's just too variable to guarantee good results consistently.

            My potting compost always contains leaf mould and the beauty of making your own is that you can tailor it to suit the particular crop. Unless you have huge amounts of leaf mould I wouldn't use it as a mulch, it's far too valuable for that!

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            • #7
              I am making leaf mold and ordinary compost which i use ti improve my soil, but for my seeds I buy potting compost. I think that they are to important to risk to something home made. Having said that I haven't a clue how to make it.

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              • #8
                You can always sterilise compost at home in the microwave, never tried to before but read about it on forums and one of Alys Fowler books.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by carolineholding View Post
                  you can use leaf mould for seed compost ... does anyone do that?
                  Yes, I do, because I'm keen to reduce my potting compost bill (I get through £50+ each spring), and because nobody else cleans the leaf fall from our pavements & bike lanes. If I didn't do it, people would be cycling on 6" of mud.

                  Leafmould is going to be full of weed seeds though, so expect to get a flush of weedlings in it. They can just be pulled out, it's not a disaster.

                  What I do is fill the bottom half of my pot with leafmould, then top it up with shop bought potting compost: that reduces the weeds considerably
                  All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.

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