Artificial coals

[Mike Vogel]

Does anyone have open fires with a fitted coal-effect gas fire? Well, you will occasionally have to replace the "coals" and I would like to suggest not threowing the old ones away but breaking them up and using them as grit in seed compost or potting on.

I had to have ours replaced altogether and discovered on enquiry that the "coals" are made from a sort of pumice. I have therefore added fragments of the old coals to my compost and the plants do look very healthy indeed. Maybe I'm just doing one or two other things right this year, but at least i can say that the grit hasn't done any harm!

mike