General purpose Potting compost August 2025

twopenny

Hi. Looking for opinions and experiences please.

I need some potting compost and knowing how rubbish a lot has been reported to be I need an update.

I have a choice at the moment, on offer, of
 Leavingtons multi purpose,
Miracle Gro multi purpose 
Miracle grow moisture control - which is really for hanging baskets.

I need to pot geraniums.
Salad crops in a large pot 
Also use for seedlings next year and maybe replacing in a potted Hebe.

Any other suggestions welcome but there's limited stuff here in small town and time of year.

I put the date because there is always hope that next year there will be something even better!

Baldytyke88

I did like the seed and cuttings compost, Verve from B+Q

twopenny

Thanks Baldy.
For me that's a 60mile round trip 🙂 but may be useful for others.

-taff

I was using Levingtons in a red bag at the beginning of the year, total rubbish.. Maybe, if you have allotments near, it might be worth joining for their compost which will probably be cheaper, there's usually a shop involved somewhere...Thats what I'm using at the moment, at 3.50 a bag, I think it's called Oaktree...

Farway

Guessing by your list, the source could be Morries, seen same in my one

I opted for Levington, but that was habit, know the name etc, and fromTaff's report, could be a mistake I've just made 

So, I asked ChatGPT to sort it, and here's the summary

MG seems to be the best of the bunch, there are better but none that are easily available to you

[Growmoor or Jamieson's]

Miracle-Gro Multi-Purpose remains a reliable go-to—and its peat-free versions are now highly rated for both performance and eco-friendliness.

Moisture Control is useful for low-maintenance care, but may be too retentive for inexperienced gardeners or indoor use.

Levington brings a traditional, loam-like texture favored by seasoned growers, with intentional drainage aids—but quality may vary.

PS Miracle Gro premium came out high on list, but not sure if that is the one available to you

twopenny

Thanks both.
It's Tesco's got the offers and I have to fight my way down there among the tourists to get bread before BH as they'd run out yesterday so I thought I'd do this as well.
Don't think I can face Morrisons too.

I'll pick a bag and see how it goes. I may see if there's some offers, anything left, after BH and stock up on another. Start a bit of a trial.

I remember someone saying a lesser known name which is Poundland but when I tried it was the worst of the lot - but it could have changed. Nothing seems to stay the same at the moment. Maybe they are packaging from different suppliers under the same name because of the ever changing cost of production ATM.

forgotmyname

Sometimes the looks/feel/workability does not relate to the performance.

Some years back I planted several different varieties of pea's in verious different composts. Been a while but
I remember the ASDA home brand one appeared to be cottonwool like but almost all of the seeds some 60 of
them germinated fine. The Sainsbury's home brand seemed better quality but I think only 2 spindly shoots came up
and they died soon after.

The B&Q Home brand may have been before Verve all did really well with 100% germination and they grew well.

Several other brands with mixed results. All planted in toilet roll tubes on the same trays that I would flood with water
for a couple of minutes and then drain them. Swapped positions to rule out as many variables as possible so I
think it was a fair test. I may have to repeat it again next year.

YoungBlueEyes

I found Erin low peat compost in my local garden center and that did better than my usual B+Q stuff. My toms were growing lovely 'til the blight blew in and I lost them all. Is Erin available online anywhere?

My system - more by accident than design - is just buy whatever you can cos it's nearly all equally carp, and keep it a year before using it. Give it chance to mature and break down at least some of the fence posts and bits of branches and other "intentional drainage aids".