Today’s Garden Ideas

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If you are new to gardening, then you probably at least know the basics. So you understand that having effective composting is critical to your garden’s life. But once you take a walk through your local garden center, you may find yourself quickly confused as to what kind of compost you need, and why there are so many varieties. Here is a quick explanation on what is involved with the various forms of composts.

Peat based compost – The compost sold in garden centres doesn’t come from compost heaps, most of it comes from peat bogs. Peat is formed over many years from the remains of plants and provides an important habitat for a whole range of birds, insects and plants. This natural habitat is seriously under threat from peat extraction, the equivalent of 60 million bags of peat-based products are sold to UK gardeners every year ! Although you can rely on peat-based compost to perform consistently it’s not a good source of nutrients and contains very little biological activity, So compost manufacturers add nutrients to boost its chemical fertility. A more sustainable way to meet the demand for plant growing media and soil conditioners would be to use locally produced home compost.

Soil based compost - soil based composts are made from a mixture of loam (this is made from stacking good quality pastureland turves, allowing them to decompose until the correct texture is obtained) peat and sand with added fertilizers and nutrients, these additions are known as “base fertilisers”

Soil less – as the name implies, these are composts that are based on material that is not classed as soil, with peat being the most common ingredient used. Although peat is dug from the ground it is compose of decayed vegetation and animal remains. Nutrients and fine sand are added. These soil-less compost’s are also available in different strengths, cutting and sowing, again relating to the amount of fertilizer.

Peat free – You now have available to you peat free compost and growing mediums from possibly the widest range of raw materials in the industry, both for commercial growers, retailers, and the home gardener.

Soil less – soil less compost is any compost that does not contain soil component in it’s makeup. It can be peat based, coir based, bark based etc. These materials are generally deficient in nutrients so they have to be added to fertilisers. When you buy soil less compost from the garden centre or DIY shop it already has the nutrients added and is ready for use. Garden centre soil less composts dont usually have any grit or sand in the formula.