What do you think to this compost delivery Ive just had?

Farway

Apart from your obvious disappointment and it not meeting your expectations it doesn't look too bad to me, and it may be "free from local stables" but not everybody has access or ability to use that method

OP AFAIK your "contact ombudsman" will not go far because there isn't one

The local council composted waste suggestion is good one, but round here it is more expensive than buying it from Lidl in 40l bags, such is the world today

Personally I'd put it down to experience, bung a review on Trustpilot & anywhere else and move on

Apodemus

Farway said:

Personally I'd put it down to experience, bung a review on Trustpilot & anywhere else and move on

Yes, probably a waste of time and angst to fight the case.  The time saved can be spent weeding the beds that you use it in, as the compost will probably be full of weed seeds from the horses! 

greenbee

I’ve had compost from a lot of different sources recently (online, DIY stores, garden centres) and much of it is looking like that. 

I suspect it is because demand has been so high since the start of the pandemic that it hasn’t rotted down as completely as if it had been left longer. 

Having said that, I haven’t had a significant weed problem with it, so hopefully it has been hot enough to kill anything nasty. 

Unlike my hotbin, which should be too hot for all the worms but isn’t as I can’t keep up with it in terms of regular volume of waste. Plenty of the seeds sprout and die in it, but I have noticed a few tough ones springing up where I emptied it a few weeks ago (and am now wondering whether they are anything interesting!).

Davesnave

Without a clearly defined agreement over exactly what you will get, there is little hope of securing any sort of refund or replacement. The world of gardening is like any other area of human activity, so it is best to tread warily in making distance selling deals.

-taff

greenbee said:

Unlike my hotbin, which should be too hot for all the worms but isn’t as I can’t keep up with it in terms of regular volume of waste. Plenty of the seeds sprout and die in it, but I have noticed a few tough ones springing up where I emptied it a few weeks ago (and am now wondering whether they are anything interesting!).

Can you scrounge cut grass from your neighbours?

I've just got myself one of those, i was very happy to see the temp above 40 today after yesterdays offerings, but I do have an advantage. I'm on a diet so more fruit and veg peekings,,,it's good for one thing!

Davesnave

I ought to add that last year, at the height of the panic, I bought some branded compost I'd used before which turned into a sticky morass in the pots and killed quite a number of plants. I still have at least 6 bags of the stuff that's really only fit for soil conditioning.  There is huge variability, even in branded, bagged products.

silverwhistle

Any more comments on hotbins: I was thinking of getting one myself for the garden? I already scrounge grass cuttings to add to my allotment heap, which is warm enough for the slow worms but doesn't get that hot.

Down the allotment yesterday my plot neighbour was spreading some rather nice bulk-bought compost on some new raised beds: maybe ask around locally for a reliable supplier?

25_Years_On

silverwhistle said:

Any more comments on hotbins:

You need a good supply of paper and coarse material like wood chippings. I think they sell bags of wood chippings but that seems to defeat the purpose. Cutting up twigs would do. One of clients has one which they were given but so far it's not been used. A supply of paper is one problem. No one seems to get newspapers anymore.

-taff

I haven't been putting paper in mine just cardboard from eggboxes or deliveries broken down to small pieces. Hasn't seemed to affect it so far. You could tey asking on freecycle or freegle for shredded paper

silverwhistle

I have sawdust and shavings from a woodworking neighbour plus I can retrieve newspaper from my mum's block of flats so if I were to get one think I'd be OK. Plenty of twigs and bark too as I have a wood burner. Given the situation over peat and the current shortages of compost it would be useful to have some decent compost without the seeds my current home made stuff seems to have. I'm a single person household but reckon I could feed a larger one. I'll have to do some more research.