Which compost is good this year?

sobie

A._Badger wrote: »

I saw some sacks of JAB the other day which had a Which? Best Buy flash printed on them! Not for the first time, I wondered what on earth Which? actually knows about anything.

Agreed about doctoring composts - I do it, too but you might as well start with something halfway decent. The trouble is that the stuff varies so much, from year to year - and even within years, in some cases.

Blimey that JAB is old at least 3 seasons. It's been reformulated for this season and contains more peat and less green waste. Packaging for this season is in black bags with red/ yellow primrose on it.
http://www.william-sinclair.co.uk/gardening/products/compost
Think its going to be on tv March/ April time... although it might be 'JAB Masterblend' thats being advertised. Can't remember which the rep said

Compost does 'go off' (especially John Innes types) so make sure the places you buy from have fresh batches.

peter_the_piper

Been using Humax for years, tried others but most have difficulties wetting later on

A._Badger

sobie wrote: »

Blimey that JAB is old at least 3 seasons. It's been reformulated for this season and contains more peat and less green waste. Packaging for this season is in black bags with red/ yellow primrose on it.
http://www.william-sinclair.co.uk/gardening/products/compost
Think its going to be on tv March/ April time... although it might be 'JAB Masterblend' thats being advertised. Can't remember which the rep said

Compost does 'go off' (especially John Innes types) so make sure the places you buy from have fresh batches.

I thought it might have been a case of old stock. Back in the 1980s (ISTR) I regularly used JAB but over the years the quality became so poor that I stopped. They would have a hard job convincing me to buy it again.

And yes, old potting compost - particularly old soil based types such as JI - do deteriorate with age. The fertilisers are unstable in prolonged storage.

As for Humax (re peter_the_piper) it's a shame they sold out. I think it's still better than most but not as good as it was before the new owners 'improved' it - by removing the sand - ie one of the reasons it was better than the rest!

peter_the_piper

Ditto about the sand but it does make it easier for an old duffer to fill the mixing machine.