This post is about commercial bagged compost, not the home brewed stuff. I do make my own - I am fortunate enough to have access to grass-fed cow manure that composts nicely. However I also use commercial bagged compost at times when I need sterile, weed-free media such as for seed sowing and greenhouse beds.
OK - Has commercial compost become rubbish?
I think it has.
I know what composted wood waste looks like because we buy a boot-full now and again for mulch from a local organic waste recycler. They are upfront about it taking a year to decompose and don't sell it as compost.
Careful separation of commercial compost on a saucer leads me to think it contains a lot of wood waste and sand. It doesn't behave like compost used to: water sits on top, it separates into fiber and sand, and stuff simply grows less well in it.
I realize that there are pressures to reduce peat use but compost makes really need to be more transparent about what they are selling and perhaps even put in some development to make the non-peat components of their product more peat like.
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