Compost types? With or without peat?

[ItsEssexRob]

I ran out of compost to transplant my tomato plants in yesterday and went to tescos and picked up a £1.62 20 litre bag of multi purpose compost. It says it contains peat but is 'reduced peat'. Is peat a bad thing for plants? more expensive brands seem to focus on 'no peat' so im guessing it is. I found this compost clumpy and lumpy compared to a more expensive brand I bought at my local wyevale for germination.

Should I go with a better brand or are all brands going to grow my vegetables pretty much ok? Also do you need composts specifically for vegetables?

Thanks

Rob

[Newton]

Rob. Peat bogs are endangered and take years to re establish themselves.....000's of years!

Using it for compost is not really necessary. But it's your choice.......

[ItsEssexRob]

I have no idea, I just need to know whats best overall :-). I didnt realise that was why it says no peat I assumed it was of lesser quality for the plants.

[SarzWix]

Peat-free is more for benefit to the environment than benefit to your plants I think. Very few composts seem to escape the very lumpy texture these days, except the most expensive ones (in my experience). If you can afford it, I'd go for the expensive peat-free for starting seeds off, because they need a finer texture. But then when you're potting on into bigger pots, you can go for a cheaper peat-free because the bigger plants can cope with it a bit lumpier. New Horizon tends to be a good quality peat-free.

[chris]

I buy New Horizon too. I've also used Vital Earth's peat free range which is fine too.

[zazen999]

I find I lose more seeds to the cheaper peat frees - so I get a New Horizon or Vital Earth [although I had a blip with one bag of theirs last year where they had put excess fertiliser in and it killed all the plants - I didn't open it, they did when I wasn't at school so just thought it was 'whiffy']. My favourite though is from a place down in Oxford - £6 a bag but made from worm composted manure - it's absolutely brilliant. And the Vital Earth Peat Free John Innes No 1 seed sowing compost [last year's mix] was superb but for some reason they have now changed the mix.

I buy alot of peat free compost in my job so I do get to use a variety and get to work out the best ones. For general use - the New Horizon is more than fine though. Most of the peat free grow bags are excellent for growing toms and peppers in, I take the soil out and use it in Morrison's buckets and it works well.

[Tomato Head]

I use New Horizon peat free. I bought it on a whim without knowing whether it was any good or not, and then noticed it has won a Which best buy award (or similar) not just for peat free compost but for mpc overall. everything I planted in it has thrived. I bought some cheap peat free mpc from Aldi at the weekend and I don't like that at all so think I'll go back to using the New Horizon even if it is a bit more expensive. I can't bring myself to use compost containing peat for environmental reasons.

[Matt94]

i personally always stick with B&Q's multi-purpose - simply due to the fact that ive never had any problems with it - also peat -free has had alot of bad reviews over the years, so i never know what im gonna get. But if the resonably priced peat free comp improves, then i will have no problem in using it.

[Two_Sheds]

very lumpy texture ... except the most expensive ones

You can save yourself the extra money and just riddle (sieve) it yourself ~ it's what I'm doing with the extremely-lumpy NH peat-free this year

I use New Horizon peat free ...even if it is a bit more expensive.

I was lucky enough to get a whole year's worth in the B&Q sale last autumn: cheap as chips (3 for 2 anyway, and then with an extra 50% off, I think it was).

It hasn't "gone off", everything is growing superbly. In fact, I'll be planting out my butterbeans and some Frenchies today, and the sweetcorn is 10" tall and now hardening off)

[Potstubsdustbins]

I always use compost with peat in find it holds the water far better than peat free. And in my humble opinion its better for the enviroment.

Here we go again.

Colin

[SarzWix]

...Here we go again.

Colin

Lets not, eh? I'm trying to write an essay...

[Thelma Sanders]

I like 'reclaimed' peat compost for seed sowing

http://www.organiccatalogue.com/Soil...duct_info.html

But buy whatever is cheapest for potting on

[planetologist]

Just read this on the Energy Bulletin:

'If we want to stop Nature being destroyed in the economic process we need to take so called “Natural Capital” out of the market, not put it in it.' Brian Davey

That is, the solution is to stop selling peat, but while we're waiting for that we can at least not buy this wholesale destruction.

[Potstubsdustbins]

So its OK to destroy mountains and other virgin countryside but not peat bogs. Theres good and bad in both and your choice depends on your point of view.

Colin

[Two_Sheds]

Colin, could you include links or something to explain your statement ^ "destroy mountains" etc