B&Q Verve compost

[Dynamo]

I've been using Verve Peat Reduced compost from B&Q for a while now and although it looks and feels like great compost, I'm really not happy with its results. I have quite a few containers with plants growing in them using the said compost and they often look on the verge of collapse. I've heard that tell tale signs of compost not being up to scratch are things like mushrooms and toadstools growing in it but I've had no signs of them. It just seems lack lustre stuff.

I was wondering where they get the stuff that they use to make the recycle compost that they mix with it. Could it be that they get what the councils collect from home owners in their recycle bins. If so, I was wondering if maybe people had thrown grass cuttings into the bins which had been treated with weed and feed and that the poisons therein had stayed in the compost. Just a thought like.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Tried some earlier this year, found a log in it see pic. By the time I had riddled it I threw most of it away.

Thought about it for a while, threw the rest and went out and bought some peat in, much better stuff.

Potty

[dim]

you get what you pay for ....

I have stopped buying garden centre compost .... it's mainly lawn clippings or leylandii hedge half compsoted stuff

I now pay £12 for a large bag from my local hydroponic store .... imported, and it has bat shite, worm shite, perlite, different peats, etc etc and is worth every penny spent

[Kirk]

Bought 3 bags of it at B+Q one day. First bag had various bits in it, but it did the job, I picked the fiberous bits out, rest was reasonable. The second bag I opened was a lot better, cannot recall any fibre in it at all. Third bag is still waiting to be used.

Cannot really complain as it has done what I wanted it for, may not be the best but as said you get what you pay for and it didn't cost much and everything has grown.

Think you will find that compost is simply a sterile medium in which seeds root and use it for anchorage, the nutrients in it are added. Almost like hydroponics with compost instead of water

Where it comes from no idea but north of Huntingdon is a large compost place that has a steady stream of lorries going in and out, and all the lorries have different suppliers names on the side.

[dim]

most of the imported composts have the EC value, the percentages of ingredients and the ph value printed on the bag

somehow, uk don't have this? (and it's very important)

[Brom]

I bought some, mainly because I have heavy clay soil that needs to be broken down. I needed lots, so price came into it in a big way. It's not the best compost I've ever seen for certain, but as a bulking agent combined with some good old farmyard manure it has worked well conditioning my veggie patch. I've still got a long way to go, it will be a few years before the soil is of a good standard, but the verve has helped get the process started.

[out in the cold]

Our experience this year is similar to Kirk. Bought 3,one good, one not so good and the third is being used at the moment.

Think I will pay the extra 3 quid and go back to New Horizon next time

[sammy_roser]

I tried the same compost last year and it was mainly wood and nothing would grow well in it, ended up using it as a mulch on my beds, I did write an email to B&Q to complain and they sent me a gift card.

[JoeDaStudd]

I brought 5 growbags at the start of spring and was very disappointed with it.
Last year there were very few stones or large its of wood, this year I had a bucket load.
Morrisons is worth a try, its much better quality then the Verve and the compost I got from B&M (didn't note the brand) needed another year to compost it was very heavy on the wood.

[GarrettAce]

Verve is the absolute worst compost that I have ever wasted my money on. Full of fungus gnats which destroyed all my potted veg. But, bought some Miracle Gro , 2 for a tenner - brilliant stuff. Really does what it says and the difference in quality was immediately apparent.

[dim]

if you want somrting cheap that is ok, try find some Murphys compost (from Ireland) .... £4.99 for a 70 litre bag .... it looks pretty decent .... I used some a few days ago for a client who wanted some acers planted in large pots

[Veggielot]

I tend to use B&Q compost, mainly because they are convient to where I live and to be honest it is not as good as it used to be. I dont really grow in pots so dont need it to that great, just for something for my seedlings to spread there roots in.

To be fare I think that part of the problem is that there is less peat in it then there used to be. I did buy some 'good', cant remember the make now, compost for some flowers I was planting in pots and whilst better was still quite course. With the directive to remove peat from compost I think that we will have to get used to poorr quality compost then we have been use to.

[daviddevantnhisspiritwife]

B&Q Verve has been a mixed bag for me.

This year I have purchased 4 x 125L and 3 of them have been great. The one I purchased at the weekend though is rather lumpy and has quite a bit of shredded plastic through it.

I also have had 3 x 60L New Horizon Organic this year and was quite disappointed with it. Woody and surprisingly fungi type growths and weed seed of some type sprouting.

[BUFFS]

i buy the verve compost ,add a fistful of fertiliser to a barrowful,mix and use it to top up the tatties,as tatties are pulled,i put some ericacious fertiliser into the tub and i am transplanting my blueberries into these(we had our first good crop this year) and as they are half dustbins,they have plenty of room to grow for years,if you use it to pot on plants,this stuff is useless..

[Florence Fennel]

I changed from Wickes compost a couple of years ago to Verve and have had no problems. The only thing I have found this year is that there are a good deal of big woody bits in it, but the plants I have in containers are doing fine.