Potting mix formula

[tumbling tom]

Ok, thanks to the wonderful help on this forum I am taking this composting thing full on now.

Started with a couple of rollmix bags, which are very good by the way, but am now getting some daleks from my council.

What I wanted to know was how to then incorporate this homemade for any container gardening.

Googling around a formula seems to be one third homemade, a third leaf mould and a third loam.

So I was wondering, should I not have any/enough leaf mould what can be used instead of.

Also, loam, where can I get this? Anything instead of?

[Capsid]

Trouble with home made compost is that it is full of weed seeds, so I prefer to dig mine in to the garden beds in the autumn.

I prefer to use commercial growing media for containers, because it does not have weed seeds and like you I don't have a ready supply of loam to make my own.

[zazen999]

I do use my own compost in containers; I use it mixed with peat free compost for the bottom of the pot, and them put the plant in and then half fill the sides with the same mix; and then just fill the top inch or two with peat free compost on it's won.

If I had loam, and enough leaf mould, I'd mix my own but I don't.

[Two_Sheds]

I don't use the dalek compost for potting up usually (only if I've been caught short of MPC), but when I have, I use it in the bottom half of the container, where the weed seeds won't get the light (to germinate).

Leaf mould: never enough. There are 30 odd sacks outside, plus a dozen at school and another dozen at the lotty

[tumbling tom]

So it is fine to put in the bottom of my Morrisons buckets "as is" so to speak and top the rest up with MPC.

There is nothing available that is economically viable to replace loam and mould?

Out of curiosity how much volume do you eventually get from a bin bag of rotted down leaves?

[Two_Sheds]

There is nothing available that is economically viable to replace loam and mould?

Seeing as leafmould is free, no. You're going to have to buy something until you can produce your own LM

how much volume do you eventually get from a bin bag of rotted down leaves?

About half, or less (depends on how compact you make the leaves, of course). It's top quality stuff though


plus you're keeping dead leaves out of drains


and out of landfill



and saving all the petrol-miles to drive them to landfill