Compost help needed

NoelleV

i'm growing all my veggies in big tubs, begs, troughs etc (as I'm moving house soon)a nd need to fill them with compost so I can start growing.

I went to my local hardwear store and was amazed at the choice of compost available and the price difference! So my big questions is, what should I look out for? Is it a case of what you pay = what you get? do I need to buy the stuff for grow yor own, or the seedling stuff??????

Where can I get decent compost at a sensible price??

Any help would be MUCH appreciated!

rhiwfield

Noelle,

If you are growing from established seedlings I'd use a nutrient enhanced compost, possibly with a moisture retaining additive (or use something like swellgel).

Our local council (Vale of Glamorgan) has arranged for compost made from the "green" and kitchen waste collections to be available free of charge from the industrial composter once a month. Thats what I'm using for my potato buckets, hanging baskets and tomato buckets

missprice

umm similar problem ish

DD and I are starting to grow veggies this week in fact
can we use proper compost from our neighbour (we put in our stuff every week and we can take out what we want)
or should,i go buy stuff to start off with?
its mostly all gonna be indoors cos if we leave anything out it'll go walkabouts
we not growing much and have some spare room but will the compost stink the house out

Mankysteve

In term of shop brought soil. I would go for a standard multi-purpose compost(preferable of the non peat variety) to begin with. Use a good quality organic fertiliser depending on what you want to grow.
Mixing in other stuff like manure to provide nutrients is another option

I would just start there you can move on to John Innes and specialist compost once you've got a bit more experience.


Miss price I would add some bog standard multi-purpose compost preferable of the non peat variety. My plants are on a front yard on a very busy though fair including lots of drunk students and soo far seem to be fine.

Lotus-eater

What are you growing? You'd be much better off getting a load of module trays and starting everything in there, so you haven't got huge troughs to lug about while moving.
But it depends when you are moving and what you are growing.

As Manky says, just get std multipurpose compost.

evie451

the compost bit at the local b&q extends to 2 aisles and its a bit confusing for a newbie, the first year i grew stuff i just used the multipurpose for everything and it worked fine........i now know a bit more and buy different things occasionally, but i agree with the others the preferably peat free multi purpose will do fine and there are deals on at the moment eg 3 for £10 at Dobies etc (180 litres) Watering can be a problem and Aldi were doing their own version of the swellgel crystals you can add in to the mix £3.99 for a decent size tub.........i find it useful for things like strawberries which are quite thirsty in tubs....

evie451

hi Carol, straws are the thing i have grown the most and for the longest but i can only say what i do! I grow some in pots some in a straw patch they both get a tidy up late winter and given a bit of new compost then later on i add some chicken pellets......some folk disagree with this and say the pellets promote a lot of leaf but i think that they need new leaves to start with, then give some sulphate of potash in May for flowers/fruit....i find them quite hungry plants they like some manure if in a bed and as i said before they are thirsty too and i add water retaining stuff to the compost mixture to try and cut down the watering....
This is just what i do in my thin soil and pots others disagree and dont give their strawberry plants anything
they arent really a plant that needs to be coddled too much and they are a bit of an afterthought in the garden they get stuff slung on them if i have a bit of manure left or compost etc not killed any yet!

balloo_2

Wickes are doing 5 bags of topsoil for £12 if you can mix it with some nutrients and compost