Peat free newbie

[Containergardener]

Yes I saw that too Andraste . I found the same. Also have had trouble germinating seeds in it.

[Florence Fennel]

Oh dear, it looks like I might have to go back to peat!

[peanut]

It's interesting that you noticed the top layer drying but the soil being wet underneath when sowing seed peanut - the guy on Beechgrove made the same observation a few weeks ago about peat-free & he also noted that when potting on last year he found the reverse was happening (the top looking wet but the soil underneath being dry).

I didn't notice it so much when sowing seed, I tend to do those inside. I noticed the tops of my pots once potted on or planted out tend to look dry on top, but it has been very warm and sunny for the last week or so where I am. Something to keep an eye on for sure.

[Andraste]

Don't give up on peat-free Florence Fennel - in a few years there won't be any compost sold that has peat in it so we won't have the choice.

I totally understand the urge to use a peat compost but it's worth persevering now as, like with changes to the weather, we'll all need to change & adapt the way we've always done things to match the situation going forward - frustrating as it certainly is when what's worked for years suddenly doesn't work anymore. "That bl**dy snow we had on 12 April 23" is like a mantra in our house when I'm trying to decide whether it's too early to sow anything

[Florence Fennel]

I know you're right Andraste and I will try another brand. Pity I've been discouraged by this poor example.

[hamesy]

I've always found Verve compost to be really poor quality. Very woody and never held on to moisture very well.

[rary]

Flo if you can acquire some soil you could mix that with your compost, this would help hold moisture, or ofcours you could take a trip up to Scotland where you can still buy peat based composts, or if you wanted a bag of peat

[Andraste]

I was catching up on some episodes of GW & Beechgrove at the weekend & one of the guest presenters (can't remember which show or episode now) mentioned that the coir content in peat free mixes makes it much more amenable to re-wetting. It was one of those 'saw this & thought of you' moments - I hope it works for you too Florence Fennel x

[Florence Fennel]

Thanks Andraste I saw that too, but I'm still waiting to see if anything germinates from this stuff before I open another bag. Actually, thinking about that, I might start some seeds in it to see what happens. Cornflowers are quickly up aren't they? Now where did I put that half packet?

[Mark Rand]

All the plants that are in the Wickes 'compost' that I got this year seem to be suffering from chlorosis. I'll do a soil test on some of it tomorrow to see it it's nitrogen or nitrogen and potassium deficient. They've definitely lost a customer...

[Mark Rand]

Got around to doing the soil test on the compost this afternoon. No Nitrogen. Lots of phosphorus. No potassium. Very alkaline (pH 9 according to my pH meter). No Wonder the plants are all looking yellow.

They'll get a foliar feed with potassium nitrate this evening and I'll water some into the compost. I'll water in some sulfate of ammonia when it arrives, to try to bring the pH down a bit.

[smallblueplanet]

All the plants that are in the Wickes 'compost' that I got this year seem to be suffering from chlorosis. I'll do a soil test on some of it tomorrow to see it it's nitrogen or nitrogen and potassium deficient. They've definitely lost a customer...

Interesting. Do you fancy testing some other composts? We bought some peat-free multipurpose from Lidl a few weeks ago, it look pretty good. But looks can be deceiving...

[Mark Rand]

I've got some Aldi stuff, and some home made stuff that I can have a go at, 'twould be interesting to see what the comparison between them is.

[Jungle Jane]

I bought some Lidl peat free compost a few weeks ago,it looks fine,feels a bit dry,it felt different so I didn’t want to risk using it on my tomato seedlings or seed sowing,I used some in one of the potato bags to test it,the potatoes are doing well. I used some in my lettuce trug it seems a good compost,I took a photo of it too

[smallblueplanet]

I bought some Lidl peat free compost a few weeks ago,it looks fine,feels a bit dry,it felt different so I didn’t want to risk using it on my tomato seedlings or seed sowing,I used some in one of the potato bags to test it,the potatoes are doing well. I used some in my lettuce trug it seems a good compost,I took a photo of it too

Your Lidl compost looks 'lumpier' than ours. Ours was the 40l bag of multipurpose. Well and we got some of their peat free growbags too and they look good.