Peat Free Compost Review EP1. Homebase Peat Free Multi-Purpose Compost. - Garden Plastic Pollution

[@clivefenn5931]

Are here going to be another 5 videos as you work your way through the pile. I was looking forward to Westland review as I've got 4 bags waiting to be opened and I was hoping to find out what was in it. We've added a load of organic matter to some stuff we bought last year as it could not hold the water. Planning to use it in our potato buckets this year and see if it is any better.

[@GrowYourOwnLife]

Yer. Next one is today. Then tomorrow. Then ill be making more next week. Just takes time. 👍

[@briansgardenandpolytunnel8172]

i had a crap year last year using " peat free " compost. the bags were full of what i call rags. these are the remains of riddled compost. the lumps. as you said, the bags also contained plastic and lumps of metal. none of the bags stated where the compost came from or what it contained. watering was a nightmare. water flowed straight through pots and hanging baskets , needing to reepeat about 3 times, and still drying out to quickley. i won't go as far as saying it's unusable, but we need to think more of working towards a new recipe. in other words, creating our own compost to suit our needs. coco coir is now going to feature stongly in my new mixes. this now shows how valuable peat was in our mixes..................brian

[@GrowYourOwnLife]

All excellent points. I've had rags in compost too. Always a bad sign.

[@philhopkinson6557]

Compost is so full of crap these days. I've started using that coir and making my own for seed sowing and just use the cheap crap for potting on and large tubs etc. 10 litre for £1.75 at Wilko atm. I add 7-7-7 to it when mixing.

[@Paul-nq5tn]

I will be making my own brand compost soon i will send you some to try out when i have the final mix finished if you are interested

[@GrowYourOwnLife]

Hiya, yes, that sounds really intrested. Good luck with your endeavour. I can't wait to try it. 👍

[@hamshackleton]

I was hoping for a brief resume of the various brands you had there, to give us a bit of guidance on what was rubbish, what was real rubbish, and what was total garbage. - I bought some 'peat-free' from a well-known DIY chain, two years ago. It didn't look very good, so I just used it as a mulch - that proved to be riddled with weed seeds that I'm still trying to get rid of, ranging from convolvulus to himalayan balsam, via 'sticky-weed' and some sort of rampant hardy geranium with tiny pink flowers, that I have named 'stink-weed' because it smells really foul when you disturb it. It spreads from a central crown, but layers everywhere - weeds I've never had before! I think the best thing to do with it is to add it to your own compost bins, and let it stew for a couple of years, before it gets anywhere near the cultivated ground.

[@GrowYourOwnLife]

More to follow. This is only EP1.

[@LauraMichelGreenRaven]

I can get free compost from my land fill. The problem though, is as you found, it is not what I would call compost. It is a finer grade of mulch than what they have as mulch. I still get some if I am up that way but I use it in the bottom of containers so it can break down farther. I find something better for the top half of the containers.

[@GrowYourOwnLife]

The geranium is Herb Robert. Or "Death come quickly" is its another name. It spreads like crazy. Pull it as soon as you see it. Don't let it go to seeds. 👍

[@hamshackleton]

@@GrowYourOwnLife Sorry Ross - found pt 2 today Friday. Looked up 'robert' on the rhs site that's the stinky devil! - www.rhs.org.uk/weeds/herb-robert

[@welsh_vegan_allotment_holder]

The really cheap compost from the likes of Aldi and Lidl are even worse. The wickes peat free is fairly good. Although I have found stones and junk in there. The thing with this garden waste compost is you don't know if someone has used weedkiller and pesticides on their garden. I'd never use peat compost again but there does need to be better alternatives.

[@TuftyMcTavish]

Dude! This is a great idea for a series. Can I contribute to the project costs? DM me on the twitters - would love to join in if it would help!!!

[@GrowYourOwnLife]

Cheers bud. 👍

[@michaelsplot]

👍👍👍

[@Ourshoot]

Wont waste my money on peat free, one big scam

[@GrowYourOwnLife]

Peat Free isn't a scam. Big corporations are taking a good thing and spoiling it.

[@jez-bird]

You're not going to have a choice soon, so best learn how to use it. The simple answer is, let it sit for a few months before using it. I've used peat free for 6 years now, no issues, just gotta get used to it.