Use for compost from local council

[peanut]

Sorry, not a great title!

I have been given free sacks of compost from the local council green recycling thingy.

It looks great, very crumbly, fine, dark etc.

The friend who gave it to me said he uses it as a mulch, but I would like to use it in pots and to top up my raised beds as the main planting material.

Do you think it would be good enough to use in these ways?

I have some general mpc which I could mix in if necessary.


Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[rustylady]

If it looks good then use it as MCP. Lucky you having a council that give it away.

[peanut]

Thanks RustyLady, just what I hoped.

Yes it's great, sadly it's not my local council, apparently where my friend lives they have a green waste recycling thingy in the village and the villagers are given a lorry load each year free....wish mine had one!

[bearded bloke]

Hmmmmmm might not be such a good idea to try it as MPC alternative,Recycled green waste direct from council is most generally sold/given as a soil improver due to the lack of added nutrients.
That said you could always add some Blood,Fish & bone plus something coarse to aid drainage

[peanut]

Hmmmmmm might not be such a good idea to try it as MPC alternative,Recycled green waste direct from council is most generally sold/given as a soil improver due to the lack of added nutrients.
That said you could always add some Blood,Fish & bone plus something coarse to aid drainage

Oh bugger!

This was the answer I didn't want but thought might be the case....

[Two_Sheds]

bagged (peat free) MPC is surely just the same stuff? Just add some feed to it, either BFB or whatever you would normally use.

It's just a growing medium ~ you can feed separately

[bearded bloke]

bagged (peat free) MPC is surely just the same stuff?

No,that has nutrients added by the manufacturer

Just add some feed to it, either BFB or whatever you would normally use.

Ermmmmmmm

That said you could always add some Blood,Fish & bone plus something coarse to aid drainage

[zazen999]

Hmmmmmm might not be such a good idea to try it as MPC alternative,Recycled green waste direct from council is most generally sold/given as a soil improver due to the lack of added nutrients.
That said you could always add some Blood,Fish & bone plus something coarse to aid drainage

We did some tests on the council compost that I got one of the schools and it had better nutrients than the John Innes they already had. It's been used with nothing added for mulching, sowing, potting and has been totes amazeballs - as they say. So it really depends on the council and the quality of the batch!

[peanut]

We did some tests on the council compost that I got one of the schools and it had better nutrients than the John Innes they already had. It's been used with nothing added for mulching, sowing, potting and has been totes amazeballs - as they say. So it really depends on the council and the quality of the batch!

Thanks Zazen, think i'll take a chance and try it in some pots for this season and see how they go. Then will use it in raised beds with other added bits.

It does look and feel really good, if anything you could say it's maybe a bit on the loose side, but hey.....it's free

[Farmer_Gyles]

i get loads of Croypost, the croydon council "compost" .... we can take up to 3 sacks every time we take stuff to the dump .... and it's still steaming when we shovel it into the sacks

i find it's still quite rough .... it hasn't finished composting .... i find it holds water quite well ... i tend to use a small amount in the bottom of tomato buckets with MPC on top .... i use some to top up the potato buckets / sacks .... the potato buckets will be emptied onto the root / potato bed when finished .... the tomato buckets and compost will be re-used for leeks and brassicas over the winter .... the rest gets chucked on to the veggie beds and dug in, normally 2 sacks to each 8x8 bed ....

i've never tried sowing seeds in it, but will do tomorrow, just as an experiment ....

[madpiano]

So the Croydon compost is ok? It's where I live and yes, I have seen the free compost offer and have some stuff to take to the dump next week.....
I am guessing Croydon Council is using it for their flower beds? If so, then I wouldn't want to touch it with a barge pole as last year's flower beds all stank of water treatment plant for about 3 weeks after they planted them!!

[mothhawk]

If you're going to use it in pots, it might be worth putting some in a pot and watering it, just to see if anything grows, before using it properly. I had some from my council and was pulling out groundsel seedlings all year

[madpiano]

If you're going to use it in pots, it might be worth putting some in a pot and watering it, just to see if anything grows, before using it properly. I had some from my council and was pulling out groundsel seedlings all year

That's one thing that worries me - council compost is made up of slop bins and garden rubbish - the only garden rubbish I throw in their bin (apart from hedge clippngs) is bindweed and other noxious weeds. The slop bins may contain fruit and beg that is diseased. Apparently their compost factories get extremely hot and should destroy disease and weed seeds, but I am not too sure, especially if it is still steaming when collecting?

[rustylady]

That's one thing that worries me - council compost is made up of slop bins and garden rubbish - the only garden rubbish I throw in their bin (apart from hedge clippngs) is bindweed and other noxious weeds. The slop bins may contain fruit and beg that is diseased. Apparently their compost factories get extremely hot and should destroy disease and weed seeds, but I am not too sure, especially if it is still steaming when collecting?

Not sure what you mean by "slop bins", but yes commercial composting produces far more heat than you could in your own back garden.

[madpiano]

Our council has lovingly provided us with Slop Bins - a caddy for the kitchen and a slightly larger one for outside for putting all of our compostable waste (not garden rubbish) from the kitchen, that includes meat and bones. They get emptied once a week....you can imagine the smell of them if it gets hot....
I decided I might as well give the stuff straight to the foxes (meaty bits) and I throw the rest on the compost heap. So I now use them as water collectors.