Levingtons Compost

I bought several bags of Levingtons Essential MP Compost (reduced in Sainsbury’s). It smells and looks like manure - had to leave my car doors open for a few hours .
Has anyone used this particular one? All the composts I’ve used before have had a fairly fine texture and no bad smell.

 

I've never used that particular one but I bought some bags of Levingtons multi purpose compost this year and it is rubbish ! It's full of hard lumps and lots of weeds come up in it, and it goes mossy. I should have remembered from last year, it was the same then. I'll never buy Levingtons again.

 

I used to buy Levingtons but not even seen it for sale for a couple of years.

 

I bought it in Tesco. I haven't seen it in any garden centres this year.

 

Leavington was always one of the best years ago.
Fisons Leavington.

 

That will have been a good few years ago Pete. The Scott's group purchased both Miracle Gro and Levingtons Horticulture in the late 90's. Levingtons growing media division is now owned by ICL

 

I knew Fisons disappeared a long time ago, wasn't there a company call Sinclair Horticulture at one stage.

 

Yes. they are now part of the Westland Brand

 

i always used Levington M2 Compost and thought it one of the best but could not get any this year as non in garden centres, I used to pay £7:99 each for 75 litre bags tried to get it online but they wanted £20:99 a bag plus postage.
I have never used essential MP so can not comment on that one.
the rubbish i used this year was full of wood chips and the plants were all being starved of nutrients, had to feed twice as much organic feed and spray weekly with cal/mag to contain yellowing and blackening leaves.
Just got back from two weeks holiday to find loads of yellowing and blackning leaves as they have only been getting water while i was away.
regds Sandy

 

Potting compost always seems to me to be a bit of a lottery, especially once I stopped using peat-based a few years ago. But this year I’ve had two different types of peat-free compost and have been really pleased with both of them. First one I got was Westland New Horizon but when I tried to get more it wasn’t available so I got Westland Bio3 with John Innes instead and I’d definitely get either of them again. I used the New Horizon for my greenhouse tomatoes and the Bio3 for pots of bedding plants (no particular reason why it was this way round, just what happened to be to hand) and I’m pleased to say everything has flourished.

 

I tried Westland New Horizon late last year and found it to be very similar, regarding growth of plant, with Jacks Magic.