Peat free.

[Potstubsdustbins]

I have always said I will not use peat free until the quality improves.

Well I have tried again this year. I bought a bag of B & Q peat free with the following result.

Many small twigs, 1 piece of plastic, 1 piece of still usable Blu-Tack and a ...........log.

Guess I have to wait and try again next year

[Two_Sheds]

Aldi's peat free is remarably fine this year, hardly any lumps. I pick them out, they aren't a bother

[Florence Fennel]

I was going to ask you if you wanted a partridge in December Potty. Must get to Specsavers, I thought it said Pear Tree.

I've never used peat free, but my daughter bought me a bag from B & Q for Mothering Sunday, she couldn't remember which I had, but I haven't opened it yet. We'll see.

[Potstubsdustbins]

If the manufacturers would only riddle it, it would make a vast difference.

I try to only use new compost for seed sowing, but I refuse to do their work for them.

And yes please Aunty Flo a brace would be very nice indeed.

Potty

[Florence Fennel]

I'll put the bow an arrers away and get me gun

[Two_Sheds]

If the manufacturers would only riddle it, it would make a vast difference.

yeah, but the price would go up, and PF is already dearer than peat-what-is-robbed-from-the-bogs

[bearded bloke]

peat-what-is-robbed-from-the-bogs

There is no pete in my bog,it is flushed after every use

[Two_Sheds]

you still use a flush toilet? how quaint

[alldigging]

I hope you've took it back!

[Alison]

I have always said I will not use peat free until the quality improves.

Well I have tried again this year. I bought a bag of B & Q peat free with the following result.

Many small twigs, 1 piece of plastic, 1 piece of still usable Blu-Tack and a ...........log.

Guess I have to wait and try again next year

The amount of twigs and non-organics you find in a bag of compost has nothing to do with if it is peat free or not, it's to do with what the manufacturer thinks they can get away with. In the days when I still bought peat I found some were really bad and it's the same with peat free ones. I've been buying New Horizon PF for years now (always get it when it's on special) and apart from a few small twigs which you can pick out by hand and use in larger pots then the multi purpose is find for even fine seeds. Have you contacted B&Q as the things you list really shouldn't be in there.

[Florence Fennel]

Opened the bag yesterday and it's not B&Q it's from Wickes and it's really coarse and lumpy - is that how it usually looks? Actually, thinking about it, it looks like the rubbish stuff I stopped buying last year, but without the peat. Reserving judgement at the moment.

[SarzWix]

The peat-free stuff we had for the school garden last year actively killed plants. Most of our brassicas failed to grow, went yellow and died, as did over half of our tomato plants and most of the peppers and chillis. That was from B&Q IIRC. The New Horizon stuff I had from B&M last month seems to be okay, although the nutrients seem to be running out in it already; the tomato plants in it are all a bit pale green/yellow-tinged like they're short of nitrogen or something. Seems like cheap peat-free is still pretty rubbish, but the more expensive stuff is just about right texture-wise but still not there on retaining nutrients.

[TKM]

Bettaland peat-free compost seems good

I started planting my seeds yesterday (bit late I know) and I used peat-free compost from Bettaland - it was much finer than other composts I've used in the past and had no rubbish in it at all. I will keep you posted as to my results - fingers crossed

[zazen999]

I had to get Bulrush Peat Free earlier this year. If anyone is thinking of it - don't. It's complete rubbish...I ended up putting it on one of the school beds. It's like puffed up bark chippings.

I usually go for New Horizon or Vital Earth depending on what I can get nearest each school. This year I am sowing all seeds into my own compost riddled out of last year's tomato pots. It's been fab so far.

For schools this year we've bought 20 bags of proper Soil Assn badged peat free Fertile Fibre from the gardeners at Ryton - its what they use. I am umming and aahing and having to mix it with my own tomato compost for seeds and the schools home made compost for plants.

We've been clearing the plot at one of my community gardens and in alot of the pots and containers, is unused peat - so I've been also riddling that and mixing it in for seeds sown there. I can't throw it away! And it's clean once you take off the wind blown weeds. It does help with water take up but I hate using it [just not more than wasting it]. It's a dilemma but I didn't buy it myself so it's going in.

It's a huge dilemma and just shows that actually - the industry are just buying council compost and selling it back to us for a bomb. Really winds me up - especially as ALL of Derbyshire's brown bins go into it and yet they don't supply anything to us [the suppliers] for a discount. And knowing what people put into their composts I'm going to continue trying to not buy any at all for myself for as long as I can

[Potstubsdustbins]

I haved given in and whilst at B&Q making my complaint bought a bag of Verve peat in.

I tipped the bag out onto a plastic sheet and could see the diference immediately. No large pieces of timber, no lumps of plastic. A much better product all round.

The rest of my compost this year will be old stuff that has been riddled and re-energised and what ever comes out of my compost bins.

Colin

Potty