Compost/soil for containers

Broomstick

As we are decluttering the house, we are also freeing up lots of plastic crates which were used for storage. We are hoping to put holes in for drainage and use them as containers this year for a new patio veg garden. Our garden was turned over patio by our landlord at the end of last year and we no longer have any visible soil that we can raid for filling containers. We don't have a compost bin but we plan to start a wormery in the spring.

Is there a cheapish solution to filling all these containers? I have a feeling that buying compost for them will cost a fortune. If that's the main solution is there a cheap supplier - as organic as possible (but I realise this may up the price too)?

Many thanks.

Larumbelle

Anything labelled as organic compost will cost a fair bit, and there's probably no benefit from buying it. Be aware that any compost can be labelled as 'organic' because it comes from organic (i.e living) matter. As opposed to being labelled as 'Organic' (I'll use a capital letter in this sense), like milk and veg and meat is, which is a legally restricted term and must be certified. There's no legal restrictions or labelling scheme with regards compost, it will probably be the same stuff as in common-or-garden compost. Sorry if I sound cynical, but last year 'Organic' compost was found to contain aminopyralid, which is not licensed for Organic use, and I have also heard of people finding lumps of chipboard in theirs too.

I would try calling your local council and seeing how much they sell their municipal compost for, this is often very cheap. For large quantities of better stuff, try a hydroponics centre, most don't just sell hydro stuff, they sell all kinds of growing media for 'naughty' plants and it's really good stuff for the price! You can also get large quantities of vermiculite there for a very reasonable price, adding this will help with water and nutrient retention, very important as container plants often struggle with nutrients.

Out of environmental consideration you may wish to steer clear of any prepared media that contains peat.

Broomstick

Thanks for so many good ideas and useful info about Organic stuff. I'll phone the council on Monday and look into hydroponics suppliers too.

Captain_Bluebear

also you could try your local garden centre. i work in one and we always have split bags going cheap. just so long as they haven't been sitting about for ages. you can usually tell by how faded the colours look on the bag.

i know it's not an ideal option as they tend to get a bit soggy but it's always done me well for my veggies!

good luck!

lbt_2

You could also try freecycle