Best price seed compost ?

macma

Despite the chilly weather I'm thinking of sowing chillies ,herbs etc.
Any suggestions for the best price on compost ?
Last year we bought from B & Q ,it was a good price but I don't think it was good compost.
We have Homebase,Wickes and several nurseries nearby

Linda32

Hi, I've just had a quick look on the Homebase website and they sell John Innes No. 1 at £5.49 for 25L I'm certain you can get it cheaper than that.

At my local nursery and very good value one, I grant you, but even so, they sell John Innes for half that price for a 20L bag.

That gives you a bench mark, try the independant nurseries if you can, then Wilkinsons if you have one of those near by.

Funny you should say about the B&Q one as one of theirs won a Which? best buy.

spadoosh

Linda32 wrote: »

Hi, I've just had a quick look on the Homebase website and they sell John Innes No. 1 at £5.49 for 25L I'm certain you can get it cheaper than that.

At my local nursery and very good value one, I grant you, but even so, they sell John Innes for half that price for a 20L bag.

That gives you a bench mark, try the independant nurseries if you can, then Wilkinsons if you have one of those near by.

Funny you should say about the B&Q one as one of theirs won a Which? best buy.

Yeah it is there multi puprose compost that won the award. Dont really know why, the compost is mega bitty and pretty light on nutrients, good value for money i suppose but not the best compost.

Linda32

spadoosh wrote: »

good value for money i suppose but not the best compost.

And these the rub, its worth going for a decent one. I think there really is something in using decent compost. The structure is important. Its no good having big fibrous pieces. :eek: That said, I'm not about to seive it either

Davesnave

The RHS have just confirmed that using compost straight out of the bag may work, but it doesn't work very well. This is even more the case now that peat is being replaced by other material; namely wood fibre, coir and composted green waste.
(February's 'The Garden')

They conclude that adding perlite or vermiculite and grit opens up composts, particularly for seed sowing & rooting cuttings. Some of the composts they used were so coarse, they sieved them before adding the above.

I've just bought some Westland 'Jack's Magic,' which although it isn't in the Harry Potter league, has added sand and a fine texture. I've added grit and vermiculite, so it now seems to be a good medium for seed sowing. First time I've seen/used it though.

Personally, I quite like some of the coarser peat-free composts for potting, but again, never 'as is' and always with a good smattering of 12/18 month Osmocote or chicken poo pellets, depending on edibility.

People have vastly different ideas about 'value for money.' Penny- pinching on compost seems daft to me, but then I'd happily do it in other areas, which is why my car's so old.

macma

Thanks ,I think we'll check out our local independant nursery,it's a nice little place and we always get our seed potatoes there.
Davesnave I think you're right about quality,I think we need to pay more attention to what we're buying.I appreciate your tips

WLM21

I usually use John Innes, but always sieve the compost which goes above the seeds, and sometimes put a layer too of sieved compost under the seeds, if they are fine and just scattered.

Good luck

spadoosh

Davesnave, ive heard that too about the perlite, thats what im thinking of doing this year with my raised beds should help with watering in the summer too.

Thought westland was one of the better brands for compost?!

I think most bagged composts are going to be lacking to some extent, most sit around for a few months before being sold and most nutrients get washed out. I think compost bags only carry about 6 weeks worth of nutrients before itll be completely depleted anyway so even if you buy the most expensive composts your still going to have to supplement it with feeds.

Top tip, get a composter now and you might not need to buy any next year, and itll be better than what you can buy! no help for this year though sorry.

mspa

Im still a beginner, only been growing for 2 years now. Used Wickes compost last year and it did fine, the reviews on the website were good too. Its only £4.07 and last year they did an offer of 4 bags for the price of 3.

suisidevw

Quick question, would mixing homemade compost with bought stuff be OK for growing seeds? I would have thought just using the homemade compost may well be 'too rich'?

Thoughts?

Davesnave

spadoosh wrote: »

Davesnave, ive heard that too about the perlite, thats what im thinking of doing this year with my raised beds should help with watering in the summer too.
I think that might be a bit expensive if you have a big area of raised beds. I was talking mainly about seed & cuttings compost, and stuff used for potting, so maybe only a bag or two for many people.

Thought westland was one of the better brands for compost?!
Yes, I think so too. It's just that tweaking it makes it better.

I think compost bags only carry about 6 weeks worth of nutrients before itll be completely depleted anyway so even if you buy the most expensive composts your still going to have to supplement it with feeds. Yes, but too much feed in a seed mix isn't good, so again, it's better to have different composts for sowing and growing-on.

Top tip, get a composter now and you might not need to buy any next year, and itll be better than what you can buy! no help for this year though sorry.

Home made compost is great for creating personal potting mixes, but I wouldn't use it for seeds because it might contain fungal spores etc. Those won't harm strong seedlings with good roots, but could make newly-emerging seedlings damp-off.