Best Supplier Of Compost 2020

Last year's thread here BEST SUPPLIER OF COMPOST 2019

 

We look forward to that.

Compost from suppliers tend to vary from year to year as we have found through our yearly threads. An interesting, and annoying, situation arose in 2018. If you're interested, pages 7 and 8 in here talk about the big mix up that was made by one supplier.

BEST SUPPLIER OF COMPOST 2018

 

We use ours for many purposes. When it's muddy ground and we need to keep walking across the patio we use them as cover, used to carry dug up plants when giving to other people, storing pots, putting noxious weeds, use as gro bags in etc.

I haven't checked whether the bags are recyclable but don't think they are.

 

I usually get the Wickes MPC which has varied in quality year on year. Being mostly peat it's cheap and cheerful, but not good for seeding. This year I notice that Wickes have reduced the bag size again to keep the same price. They originally sold them in 75 L bags, then dropped to 60L. This year it's 50L. Not bought any yet so don't know the quality but some years it's only been any good as a mulch or soil improver. Other years I've done the same as @pete and mixed in soil and sharp sand to get something reasonable.

I tried Jack's magic the last couple of years for sowing and potting on and had reasonable results. This year's batch has farm yard manure as one ingredient as a couple of mushrooms have popped up amongst my seeds. Pretty annoying and another let down given it is at the expensive end. I wondered what was going on, before the mushroom appeared I thought a mouse or big worm had got into the pot as the compost started to heave up. It's growing amongst my giant kelsae onion seedlings which this year won't be giants at this rate:

 

Sorry, John, just couldn't resist

 

I generally use around 2500litres of B&Q peat added General Purpose Compost bought in 125litre bales over the year. Maybe I'm easy to please, but I've had no real problems over the years with it. I think, about 6 years ago, I did have mushrooms growing among my Tomato seedlings but nothing since then. Most of my use of compost is for potting on and never use compost solely. I use one third Compost, one third sand, and one third potting grit and that works for me.

 

Do you dig a deep hole in your garden to get the sand?

 

As you well know, shiney, I garden on a depth of more than 350' of pure sand and an old disused Roman Sand Quarry 25 yards from my front door so, as you know, digging down past the around now 3' of more than 40 years worth of top soil, compost, stable and cow manure will give me plenty of sand!! I prefer now to buy sacks of sand from my local small, friendly, Plant Nursery......which is, I admit, like "taking coals to Newcastle"

 

Didn't know you lived so close to Newcastle!