Best Supplier Of Compost 2021

Discussion in 'Compost, Fertilisers & Recycling' started by shiney, Jan 11, 2021.

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  1. Sheal

    Sheal Total Gardener

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    Thanks everyone for your help. :blue thumb: Looking at Wickes online, this years compost has had good reviews/ratings, but are they genuine?
     
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    • shiney

      shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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      If you're looking at those on the companies website I would never believe it (with any company) as I think they pick what they want to be near the top.

      Also, other sites tend to pay/bribe people to write good reports. What? Me cynical? :scratch: Never! :whistle:
       
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      • Sheal

        Sheal Total Gardener

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        Cynical Shiney, no never! :biggrin: I'm always wary of reviews particularly when it's only good ones that are displayed.
         
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        • shiney

          shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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          They also purposely put in the occasional bad review to make it look more genuine. :th scifD36:
           
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          • Scrungee

            Scrungee Well known for it

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            Or they make a very small variation to the recipe and delete all the previous bad reviews.

            It's far too early in the season to take much notice of recent good reviews (other than of it's appearance) as nothing much could have been grown in it yet.

            I opened a 120L bag of Wickes MPC bought last month and although there's s few lumps and pieces of shredded plant material/wood?, it's an improvement on the rubbish of previous years, but I wouldn't sow small seeds in it (too loose and fluffy), or use in small cells (risk of drying out), but looks as if it could be OK for container grown tomatoes and spuds.

            I'll take another pic showing side by side with Jack's Magic and JAB MPC, plus put some in a pot in my growbox indoors in a heated propagator and check how it dries out compared to other composts, but comparing plant growth would take some months.

            IMG_20210206_091422831.jpg

            LH side as bagged, RH side pressed down, lumps in top RH corner.
             
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              Last edited: Feb 6, 2021
            • Sheal

              Sheal Total Gardener

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              Thanks for the information and picture @Scrungee - it has made up my mind for me. :thumbsup: I won't be buying Wickes mpc. I need to start off 3000 seeds this Spring so I'll use Verve again, which I know. I've tried Jack's Magic in the past and wasn't impressed with that either.

              B&Q have raised the price of their 125 litre mpc again since I posted here last Wednesday. It's now up to £10 from £9.95. The problem I have now is getting hold of it. They won't deliver unless I buy bulk and I'm not sure whether they are open here to shop on foot, or click and collect. Their web site is confusing so I'll use the good old fashioned telephone and ring them.
               
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              • CanadianLori

                CanadianLori Total Gardener

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                I got caught last year because of the gardening craze spiked by the lockdowns. I usually get my compost/potting soil in the fall when they've marked it down at least 50% but this year, there was none left locally. I saved and baked as much soil as possible from my pots and was lucky to score 8 x 25L bags from a landscaper several miles away which were very affordable. About 60% of the price of my regular purchase. Turns out it was much nicer than the expensive stuff. Really nice for seedling soil blocks :)

                So I wrote their company last month and they have assured me if I place my order in March, they will have stock for me. :)

                It will be well worth the drive as I fret about not having enough to get ready for the next year's annual pots. :)
                 
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                • Sheal

                  Sheal Total Gardener

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                  It sounds like you've found a gold mine @CanadianLori. :thumbsup:

                  The problem we have here at the moment is we're confined to home because of the lockdown and only allowed to shop for essentials like food and medicine, visit Doctors surgeries etc. and take local exercise which doesn't extend to a drive first. I passed B&Q a diy store and suppliers of Verve when I shopped on Thursday and it looked like it was open but shouldn't be. So I'll ring and find out what is going on. If it's open then I will pick up the mpc when I shop next week before it all disappears.
                   
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                  • shiney

                    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                    @Sheal From the B&Q website:- note the last sentence :blue thumb:

                    As an essential retailer, we want to reassure you that our stores remain open and customer and colleague safety is our priority.

                    Whether shopping in store or online, we urge you to follow the Government’s social distancing guidelines and to shop responsibly only for what is necessary. Please remember you can always shop online at diy.com and place orders for click and collect as well as home delivery.

                    For customer and colleague safety, we have a number of social distancing measures at our stores. All stores have a designated queuing area outside (when required) and these have markers every two metres to help remind everyone to respect each other’s personal space.  There are also two metre floor markers throughout stores as well as customer notices and marshalls to help you navigate around our stores safely. At the checkout we continue to have perspex screens and ask that payments are made by card or contactless.

                    Where local restrictions apply, some areas of our stores will not be available to shop or to browse.
                     
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                    • Sheal

                      Sheal Total Gardener

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                      I had seen that on the site @shiney but things are functioning a bit differently here to England. Nothing should be open except essential shops, but a few are still flouting the regulations and opening. When I passed B&Q on Thursday, lights were on, doors open and a good number of vehicles in the car park. So if it's not opening for perusal inside then perhaps they are just running click and collect.

                      I'll ring them tomorrow and let you know what I find out.
                       
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                      • shiney

                        shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                        According to the government DIY stores come under 'essential' :noidea:
                         
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                        • ARMANDII

                          ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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                          Yes, but as Sheal says, the Scottish Devolved Government can decide it's own COVID restrictions independent of the English Government.
                           
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                          • Sheal

                            Sheal Total Gardener

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                            Taken from my post #23 Shiney.

                            Scottish lockdown is stricter than England's. Our nurseries and garden centres are closed too but I'm not sure if that applies to England.
                             
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                            • Sheal

                              Sheal Total Gardener

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                              B&Q is fully open here with the usual restrictions of course. Mr S and I called in there to buy three 125 litre bags of Verve multi-purpose. After a cold night at -17C/1F we not only had to clear the bags of snow but they were solid bricks, totally frozen and difficult to handle.
                               
                            • ARMANDII

                              ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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                              And each weighs in at 97lbs:hate-shocked:
                               
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