BEST SUPPLIER OF COMPOST - 2017

Discussion in 'Compost, Fertilisers & Recycling' started by ARMANDII, Jan 9, 2017.

  1. ARMANDII

    ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jan 12, 2019
    Messages:
    48,096
    Gender:
    Male
    Ratings:
    +100,834
    upload_2017-1-9_20-52-49.jpeg

    The new thread for 2017:snorky:
     
    • Like Like x 2
    • Linz

      Linz Total Gardener

      Joined:
      Oct 7, 2015
      Messages:
      2,511
      Gender:
      Female
      Occupation:
      Prosperous Peasant
      Location:
      S.Wales
      Ratings:
      +6,224
      Had a heads up.. @fat controller compost is £2.42 for 60l in homebase (£2.80 odd for 40l :scratch: and 6£ odd for 120l) so had a trek to Brecon and picked up 7 bags, didn't want to over load my little car and just in case its pants. Anyone tried it?
       
      • Like Like x 4
      • Sheal

        Sheal Total Gardener

        Joined:
        Feb 2, 2011
        Messages:
        35,546
        Gender:
        Female
        Location:
        Beauly, Inverness-shire. Zone 9a
        Ratings:
        +52,318
        Not having a Homebase near me until now I've not tried their compost so any comments on it would be good to hear. I have a feeling it will be a similar make-up to B&Q's Verve.
         
        • Agree Agree x 2
        • Like Like x 1
        • Linz

          Linz Total Gardener

          Joined:
          Oct 7, 2015
          Messages:
          2,511
          Gender:
          Female
          Occupation:
          Prosperous Peasant
          Location:
          S.Wales
          Ratings:
          +6,224
          I think it might be similar too, Verve wasn't too bad for me before but the reviews say different. Homebase's website is now saying 1.92 for 40L
           
          • Like Like x 2
          • ARMANDII

            ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

            Joined:
            Jan 12, 2019
            Messages:
            48,096
            Gender:
            Male
            Ratings:
            +100,834

            I've never had any trouble with B&Q's General Purpose Compost, before it was rebranded with the new name of Verve......new name, same brown crumbly stuff which has always given me strong plants. However, their Peat free Compost was, for me, a disaster as it was an awful mixture and failed to give good results with plants.:dunno::snork:
             
            • Like Like x 2
            • Informative Informative x 2
            • HarryS

              HarryS Eternally Optimistic Gardener

              Joined:
              Aug 28, 2010
              Messages:
              8,906
              Gender:
              Male
              Occupation:
              Retired
              Location:
              Wigan
              Ratings:
              +16,246
              B n Q's Verve has always been a very good quality MPC :blue thumb:
               
              • Agree Agree x 3
              • Like Like x 1
              • martin-f

                martin-f Plant Hardiness Zone 8b

                Joined:
                Mar 15, 2015
                Messages:
                3,372
                Gender:
                Male
                Location:
                Sheffield
                Ratings:
                +10,302
                I need enough to fill three 45 gallon drums shortly, I am not concerned about quality, £2.42 for 60ltr sounds ok, will have a trip HB :)
                 
                • Like Like x 2
                • Agree Agree x 1
                • Informative Informative x 1
                • HarryS

                  HarryS Eternally Optimistic Gardener

                  Joined:
                  Aug 28, 2010
                  Messages:
                  8,906
                  Gender:
                  Male
                  Occupation:
                  Retired
                  Location:
                  Wigan
                  Ratings:
                  +16,246
                  @martin-f , B n Q do a 125 litre bag which may be economical . Now , just checked , about 4 months ago there were a lot of 1 star reviews for Verve MPC - quality poor and would not wet . May have just been a poor quality run of batches ? Wickes had the same problem with batch quality a few years ago. This was well documented in posts on here , approaching 1000 I think :snorky:
                  So buyer beware , may be worth buying one test bag first.
                   
                  • Like Like x 2
                  • Informative Informative x 1
                  • Bilbo675

                    Bilbo675 Total Gardener

                    Joined:
                    Mar 15, 2011
                    Messages:
                    4,495
                    Gender:
                    Male
                    Occupation:
                    Gardener & Plant Sales
                    Location:
                    South Derbyshire
                    Ratings:
                    +6,654
                    I used this MPC from Growise last year and I was very impressed with it, fine and crumbly and great for baskets, seed sowing and cuttings :)

                    611273.jpg
                     
                    • Like Like x 2
                    • Informative Informative x 1
                    • shiney

                      shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

                      Joined:
                      Jul 3, 2006
                      Messages:
                      61,004
                      Gender:
                      Male
                      Occupation:
                      Retired - Last Century!!!
                      Location:
                      Herts/Essex border. Zone 8b
                      Ratings:
                      +117,317
                      I've just looked up the Homebase multi purpose compost and it's 50% wood fibre. I'd beware of buying a lot before seeing how they have coped with it.

                      The problem with Wickes compost the other year (mentioned by @HarryS above) was because of the wood fibre content. They had a very high returns problem and extremely bad social media reports. I was one of the people who returned my bags of it. It took them 18 months to get it right. Since then it has been good but I'm going to check this year's batch personally. Won't be for some time yet as I still have some stock.

                      I've tried checking on line for the composition of Wickes compost but they don't show it. So I've just spoken to their head office about it. They don't know but they will contact their supplier tomorrow and email me with the info. :dbgrtmb:

                      A tip:-
                      if you're going to one of the large retailers. Ask them if they have a split bag (there's usually one at least) so that you can actually look at what's inside it. If you like it, ask them how much they'll sell the split bag(s) for. :)
                       
                      • Like Like x 3
                      • Informative Informative x 1
                      • Linz

                        Linz Total Gardener

                        Joined:
                        Oct 7, 2015
                        Messages:
                        2,511
                        Gender:
                        Female
                        Occupation:
                        Prosperous Peasant
                        Location:
                        S.Wales
                        Ratings:
                        +6,224
                        Well I've taken my chances and at that price I can't sniff at it.. even if it is only good for chucking about as bit of a mulch or used at the bottom half of pots.

                        Edit: it looks and feels good.. time will tell 20170115_143627.jpg
                         
                        • Like Like x 3
                        • Agree Agree x 3
                          Last edited: Jan 15, 2017
                        • Sheal

                          Sheal Total Gardener

                          Joined:
                          Feb 2, 2011
                          Messages:
                          35,546
                          Gender:
                          Female
                          Location:
                          Beauly, Inverness-shire. Zone 9a
                          Ratings:
                          +52,318
                          I've used Verve for many years but the quality hasn't been the same over the last few. It does dry out very quickly and if I was to use it in large planters or drums like yourself @martin-f I'd be inclined to mix it with some good topsoil. I also think the amount of fertiliser in it has been reduced too. My seedlings and young plants haven't grown so well for the last couple of years.

                          I noticed moss peat was back on the market last year, something that we used many years back for starting seeds and cuttings until the rumpus over the desecration of peat bogs blew up. I may well go back to this if I can't find a reasonable compost.
                           
                          • Like Like x 3
                          • ARMANDII

                            ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

                            Joined:
                            Jan 12, 2019
                            Messages:
                            48,096
                            Gender:
                            Male
                            Ratings:
                            +100,834
                            A 45 gallon drum will need 208 lires to fill it, martin, so three will need 624 litres!!! So that should cost you around £30. 125 litres of Verve Compost costs £6.93p, [call it £7], so that would cost you at least £42..........not a bad saving if you can manage to get all you need and the quality is good:coffee::snorky:
                             
                            • Like Like x 3
                            • ARMANDII

                              ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

                              Joined:
                              Jan 12, 2019
                              Messages:
                              48,096
                              Gender:
                              Male
                              Ratings:
                              +100,834
                              Not a bad idea:ideaIPB::thumbsup::snorky:, so long as martin doesn't put too much top soil in as it can set like concrete in a container:hate-shocked:........I would probably only use 10% of topsoil...if that.
                               
                              • Agree Agree x 2
                              • Like Like x 1
                              • Redwing

                                Redwing Wild Gardener

                                Joined:
                                Mar 22, 2009
                                Messages:
                                1,589
                                Gender:
                                Female
                                Location:
                                Sussex
                                Ratings:
                                +2,830
                                I will only buy peat free compost; it is wrong to do otherwise as peat extraction destroys our natural peat bogs, a valuable natural habitat, for what is after all a luxury market.
                                 
                                • Like Like x 3
                                • Friendly Friendly x 1
                                Loading...

                                Share This Page

                                1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
                                  By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
                                  Dismiss Notice