Oh no not again! - Compost that's past it's sell buy date

[Chris]

Hi

I bought a bag of compost last month - carefuly from a garden centre that keeps the bags under cover and which had just recieved a new supply of Bowers multipurpose (with added sand). It felt and smelt OK. BUT the early seedlings are drawn with searching roots - might as well have sown them in pure peat. This is not the first time.

The compost seems well past it's sell by date - but of course it can't be because the manufacturesr don't have to put any sell by date on the bags.

I can't blame the garden centre - they probably took a delivery of a huge pallet of bags that are years old. How could they know?

What can we do to campaign for compost to be labelled with a "sell by" date? What do you do when your get a bad of compost?

[peter]

I'd do what my Dad used to do and make it myself as and when I needed it.

But I'd need ;

A large concrete floored potting shed with a run of concrete bins/bunkers roofed over to make a bench down each side.
Some bushel measures.
John Innes powder.
Peat or substitute.
Good friable soil.
Sharp silver sand.
Dad's recipe.
A shovel.

I have the last item only, so I would use the crap bag as a soil conditioner and buy a new bag.

Lesson to learn? Buy as and when needed, do not bulk buy unless the batch has been tested by you already.

[Wellie]

I rented a site years ago within an existing conifer nursery, and started up a 'hanging baskets made to order' business, and the lovely guy that owned the nursery used to make up and mix all his own potting composts, and just as you describe it Peter.

Absolutely fascinating to watch, and a lot of hard graft involved, but that's what you do when it's your own business and you're looking after the pennies.....! The added advantage of course, is that you can 'tailor' your compost recipe to exactly the mix that you require for certain plants....

[PAULW]

CHRIS
How old do you reckon to old is? I am using compost at the moment that is at least three years old that was left outside in the open and when I got it was soaking wet and I am getting very good results from this so maybe it is something else that is causing your problems.

[oldherbaceous]

Very good question Paul, and what happens to the compost when it's old that should stop it being of a useable quality.

[tea-shot]

Have got a recipe for different types of compost. It was written on the bottom of some home-made wooden seed trays we acquired. The man who made them used to grow show crysanths so it should work. I'll have to go up to the lottie to get it though so if anyone's interested I'll post it for them.

[oldherbaceous]

That sounds interesting Tea-shot, yes please do post it when you get a spare moment.

[tea-shot]

Right here goes but you have to remember that this was written in 'gardener's shorthand'.

Basic 2 bushels
8 loam
3 peat
2 coarse sand
11/2 lime (ground chalk)

Special mix
7 1/2 loam
3 1/2 peat
2 coarse sand

I think the basic mix was what he used for most things and the special was for his crysanths.
Also, this was from before the big 'peat/no peat' argument, and the lime would depend on your soil and what you wanted to grow.

The recipe we have used for the last 20 years is similar:

7/2/1 1/2

and this is used for everything except seeds. I buy in for those.

[oldherbaceous]

Thanks for posting that Tea-shot, i wonder if he left out a secret ingredient from the special mix.