Which? compost

[veggiechicken]

The latest Which report covers sowing and potting on compost - they tested 27 composts - and found " Disappointingly for the 3rd year running that the only composts worthy oif "Best Buy" status were peat-based though some had less peat than others".
Best Buys were JAB & 3 Verve composts. Best peat free was Miracle-Gro Expand 'n Gro.
This isn't intended to start a discussion about whether or not to use peat just for information!!

[sammy_roser]

Which was the best value or own brand compost?

[veggiechicken]

Verve is a B&Q own label. the best value was the Verve GYO Growing bag @7p a litre scoring 91% in tests and with athe lowest peat content of 55%.

[sammy_roser]

Cheers.

To be fair I didn't buy the version with Peat in but the verve I got last year was 80% chunks of wood.

[veggiechicken]

It does say that there were "some largish pieces of wood" that needed picking out before sowing seeds in it! Its half the price of the Multipurpose compost. It also says "Steer clear of the peat free growing bag".

[Potstubsdustbins]

I used Verve MPC last year and was very pleased. It would seem that everyone changes their compost every year for the last few years I used Wickes last year it was b***dy awful, so I changed to Verve.

This year I shall buy one bag only and have a good look before deciding which way to go.

Potty

[mothhawk]

i use JI for seeds and potting on, as I always seem to get springtails and such in MPC, and I have very few plants in containers outside in the back garden, mainly because my kitchen (and taps) are at the front of the house, so when the water butts are empty it means carrying watering cans all the way through the house to water containers, or else trailing a hose through.

[SarzWix]

The B&Q peat-free MP that we bought for school last year actually killed the plants We'd been given some 'ordinary' MP and the exact same plants, in the exact same conditions thrived in that compared to the ones in the peat-free which just stopped growing and then slowly keeled over. Once we realised what was happening and repotted the few survivors, they thrived again

Our B&M has a garden centre bit and they have New Horizon peat-free at a reasonable price, so I've got a bag of that to try, and if it's okay we'll get that for school too. Pretty difficult to push the peat-free sustainable angle to the kids if it just kills the plants

[WendyC]

I've used the New Horizon multi purpose in school for last few years with reasonable results. Only trouble is it does make for very dirty hands! I'd be interested to see what Which thought of it this year, as has already been said they do vary year on year.

[veggiechicken]

NH Multipurpose compost (13p a litre) came in at 60%, Seed raising *** and Growing on ****
The Best Buy Peat free was Miracle-Gro Expand 'n' Gro concentrated Enriched compost (22p) scored 73% with seed raising *** and growing on *****.

[Matt94]

I always have used B&Q's multipurpose, and it's always looked good and I always get good germination rates - however I have used their peat free on a couple of occasions and have been fairly impressed, but it was still too course to use for seedlings, so I just chucked it in with the tomato buckets - I think I got it on offer at 2 quid 60/80 ltr bag!

[Florence Fennel]

I used Verve MPC last year and was very pleased. It would seem that everyone changes their compost every year for the last few years I used Wickes last year it was b***dy awful, so I changed to Verve.

This year I shall buy one bag only and have a good look before deciding which way to go.

Potty

Exactly the same for me, I too switched last year because of the state of the Wickes stuff and I was very satisfied with the quality of B & Q.

[VirginVegGrower]

I've used the Verve for years, prior to last year it being the B and Q, which was even better IMO. It seems this year's consistency is better than last year's. I did complain about last year's woodiness but it's foolish to think they'd listen, isn't it?

[sammy_roser]

To be fair to B&Q when I complained they sent me a gift card. So I used it on top of my beds as mulch.

Edit: I used the compost as a mulch, not the gift card. Cause that would be slightly weird even for me...

[r.a.i.n.b.o.w]

I've never had much luck with peat-free compost. Just goes mouldy and the plants don't thrive
(I'm a 99% indoor gardener)