bought multi-purpose compost

[Protea]

I used to use seed compost, but it gets really pricey when you sow lots of crops, so i now use multipurpose and add some grit sand myself to improve drainage. One bag of sand has lasted me all spring and its not finished yet, plus the multipurpose compost i buy on offers (like 3 for 2) from my local nursery because he sells big 75Lbags and it works out more economical.
I've had excellent germ on nearly everything with this mix.

[Weavie]

Yes, LJ I think you've got a point. Another thought is that the same manufacters sell seed compost as well. They ensure the multi purpose has lumps so we, the consumer, think the seed compost is infinitly better!

[Tyto Alba]

When I was a kid, or even a young man, you would see the odd gardening programme on TV and the presenter would be potting something or sowing. He'd be saying how he used John Innes number something mixted with 1/5 sand and 1/8 peat etc.

I would see this and think......Jeez it must be hard to get plants to grow. Where would I buy all that stuff, and how would I know what recipe to use for what plant etc? No, it's not for me.

Now I know that many of these old TV gardeners remain heros to many member, but I don't think they were very helpful.

Plants want to grow for goodness sake! It is rarely critical what compost you use.

[shirlthegirl43]

I use multi purpose compost for all my growing in pots. For sowing seeds, I seive the compost and mix the result with perlite and vermiculite - makes a really light, easy to keep damp compost which the seeds seem to grow well in. The lumpy bits go in the spud buckets for earthing up.

[Flummery]

When you consider that most things will grow in garden soil - and that in 'the wild' plants seed themselves into soil that's already full of competing plants, I really think we coddle them! However, we do want a decent plant because we are going to eat it.

[shirlthegirl43]

I would use garden soil if I had enough of it dug! Or at least a share of that in with my usual mix

[Alison]

Main problem with using garden soil is that there can be weed seeds in there too and then it can be difficult to know which are weeds and which is your potential plant!

[Madasafish]

I can recommend Lidl Multipurpose compost. £2 for 40 litres.

Made my own but even sieved, the clay comes through and the slug eggs so ended up hatching slugs to eat seedlings:-(

Never again.

[faysieuk]

multipurpose compost

i bought 3 60L sacks of multipurpose for £10 from South Downs Nursery. DISASTER! I bought 3 of 75L sacks of multipurpose from Wicks, £10 - perfect! I am going to try and get photos to show the different results. The stuff from South Downs is disgusting, full of lumps of wood - not bits of bark but lumps of wood. It has mostly grown mushrooms, and some occasional tiny seedlings (weeds presumably). I set my squash seeds in and have had less than ten percent success with it. When i realised what a disaster it was i replanted crops in the Wicks compost and have had exceptionally good results. Nearer 90 per cent germination or better. I thought the compost seemed dreadful when i looked at it, and with all my experience, I should have listened to that inner voice.... The Wicks compost feels lovely by comparison, and i knew immediately that my troubles would not be repeated as soon as i planted in it. I always screen the top layer for small seeds but dont bother for squash seeds as they are so huge.... will try to show photos when i figure out how to do it. Have to take a load any way for my claim against the nursery for all the lost goodies - though losing a month of the growing season is something that just can't be replaced!

[NOG]

They did a test at which magazine and there was not only a diferance between makes but between batches of the same make.

In some cases nothing grew.....you and I would think it was the seeds but it was the comost having nothing in it.