Compost

[Rosee]

Hi all,

I have a new garden, no soil, abit of concrete and death decking.

I'm looking to do all my growing in containers this year.

Obviously I'm going to need a lot of compost, after reading loads of tips on here I recon I can save it this year and reuse/add to it for next year, but there's going to be the initial outlay to get it for this year.

I'm not loaded so want to keep it as coat efficient as possible but don't want to buy total cr@p either.

Do you have any brand recommendations please?x

[AllInContainers]

I did the same last year, but am planning on reusing as much as possible this year. I just bought whatever multipurpose compost I could get my hands on at the right price The Range, B&M, B&Q and Wickes all had different deals at different times. I then tweaked the mix for eack pot with topsoil, grit, seed compost, or slow release granules etc based on whatever I was intending to plant.

Being new to the game, I'm not yet in a position to determine whether any failings are due to me, the weather, or the growing medium .... but on the whole I'm quite happy with what I achieved in my first year

[Potstubsdustbins]

The problem with MPC is that brands vary from year to year as companies try different formula's.

B&Q peat in was a reasonable all round compost last year, but not having bought any this year its hard to say.

I have bought a couple of bags of Westlands Jack Magic to try because of its high peat content and my initial thoughts are it looks very good.

If your growing in containers I would suggest a dalek style composter so you can start making your own this will save you a good amount of cash.

Potty

[johnjohn]

You could also use topsoil or mix topsoil with the mpc.

If you look on eb@y, freecycle, gummytree etc you can often find it advertised free for collection.

If there's nothing in your area you can buy a bulk builders bag (which is around about a ton) of topsoil from around £24 ish (eb@y again)

[WendyC]

If you are interested in peat free composts, I have always found the New Horizon multi-purpose composts perform well. I think if I were using it in semi-permanent containers I would buy in some bags of topsoil and mix it in, probably about 50:50. Also fewer bigger containers will be easier to keep well watered than more smaller ones. Depends what you have room for and what you already have of course. I think you will be surprised how much you can harvest. Good Luck!

[Rosee]

Thanks everyone! Potty our council used to give the daleks away (had one in an old house) called them the other day and they've stopped doing them, I keep checking round the recycling units as they get them in sometimes but they don't have any at the moment, I'll keep trying






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[Rosee]

Been looking for local top soil suppliers, should I get top soil or screened topsoil?x

[RaptorUK]

Hi all,

I have a new garden, no soil, abit of concrete and death decking.

I'm looking to do all my growing in containers this year.

Obviously I'm going to need a lot of compost, after reading loads of tips on here I recon I can save it this year and reuse/add to it for next year, but there's going to be the initial outlay to get it for this year.

I'm not loaded so want to keep it as coat efficient as possible but don't want to buy total cr@p either.

Do you have any brand recommendations please?x

It sounds like you are going to keep using this compost not renew it every 6/12 months, so you should use John Innes no. 3 . . . or good quality topsoil

[Rosee]

Hi raptor,

Yes I planned on reusing as much as I possibly can as I don't think I could afford to replace each year.

[johnjohn]

Been looking for local top soil suppliers, should I get top soil or screened topsoil?x

Screened topsoil is where the big lumps have been sieved out so in theory should be a finer soil. In reality there are still going to be bits in it, maybe as large as 5cm or so depending on the process but any larger stones etc will have been removed.

Topsoil is literally supposed to be the top surface of the soil- the top 5 or 6 cm where there are more nutrients, some soil advertised as topsoil will be just soil and could be really rough so if you are looking at the cheaper end of things like eb@y you might want to look carefully at what is being advertised.

You can still get decent topsoil cheaply or free but you can get a load of tosh stuff too!

[Rosee]

Thanks johnjihn, the stuff I've seen is advertised as 'screened top soil' and doesn't give much other detail

[Potstubsdustbins]

Rosee, I reuse my compost time after time, I have no idea how old some of it is. My only criteria is that it as not been infected with anything in the previous season.

Potty

[Rosee]

Yeah I've read a few of your posts and taken tips from them potty, which inspired me to try and reuse (I've never not had my own soil before so I've never had to think about it really) even if I was to save 50% it's 50% less cost on the year before

I was hoping to pick your brains closer to the time for 'improvement' tips for the reused stuff x

[Potstubsdustbins]

Just give me a nudge any time. I will see if I can find it, my brain that is.

Potty