peat free compost

Community Community General Gardening Sowing and Growing peat free compost

This topic contains 2 replies, has 3 voices, and was last updated by  Stevie342000 13 years, 1 month ago.

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  • #21127

    ladbrokes
    Member

    can you recommend a good quality peat free multi purpose or seed compost

    #22417

    charles
    Moderator

     Gardening Which did an interesting trial, January issue, where most peat free comnposts scored poorly, some really poorly, with nearly all good growth coming from composts based on peat. Which explains why peat is still used. I use West Riding organic compost which is made from recycled peat, sieved out of Yorkshire reservoirs, a water industry waste – but the compost is expensive. You need to share a pallet load with lots of friends, to get a good price….

    Which’s best buy in non peat compost was New Horizon multi purpose; worst buy was Miracle-Gro organic peat free.

    #22418

    Stevie342000
    Member

    Which comes as no surprise, given that a lot of people are driven to growing their own vegetables for a number of reasons, not just the taste. Primarily, the reason for me was to save money. Have less impact upon the environment, minimize my carbon foot print and of course for my own health.

    The latter has more than one facet, after all most of us will grow organically, so our food contains less pesticides, residues but there is the improved fitness aspect as well, physical as well as mental health.

    But I digress, making your own compost ticks most of those boxes, depending on how you do it, it can be a time intensive, in the matter of turning but that only needs to be done on a few occasions, some just leave it to rot down.

    That is usually done with single constituent compost ingredients such as leaves or manure. But hot composting (by turning) is a little more labour intensive but the results are quicker, non-turning can take up to 2 years.

    Ordering lorry-loads of manure, compost, top-soil is not an option for those on a limited income. So making your own compost is the best option, as it additionally ticks most of the boxes for the reasons that you grow your own as well.

    Those that do not have access to transport other than public because they do not drive or do not own are car are unable to access other sources of organic matter, so again they have to make their own.

    Making your own is cheaper, more fun, better for the environment and do not forget to wee (it’s a compost activator) on your compost heaps from time to time for additional nitrogen. If it is good enough to have been mentioned in the past on GQT on Radio 4 then surely we can get over it. But beware of enraging public decency, use a bottle (in your shed or other facilities close by) and those of you that need to (you know who you are) use a funnel.

    Secondly making your own may mean it takes longer to get what you require to cover all areas in the first place but you will get better results in the long term.

    My allotment site is badly water-logged, that has started to improve, the worm population has increased dramatically and are already busying themselves with doing the digging on my plot. Another couple of years and the plots will be at a height where the water-logging will not be an issue. Growing crops itself will cure some of that as it will suck up a lot of water, which you take away with you when you harvest your crops.

    Make your own it’s simpler, cheaper and better for the environment and you.

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