A Simple Guide to Composting

If you Google the word garden compost, you will find a remarkable variety of composts are readily available. So how do you which garden compost to select, and what to use it for? Keep reading for a quick guide to compost types.

Peat-based and peat-free composts

Peat-free compost use has actually become a really huge concern for gardeners in recent years. Of course all of us want to be environmentally-friendly, but are peat-free garden composts as reliable? Fortunately is that now there are plenty of peat-free alternatives out there that are basically as trusted as peat-based garden composts. The alternatives are generally based upon loam, coconut shell, animal manure and straw or recycled waste. Recycled waste compost tends to be made by local authorities by composting all our food waste at really heats to damage any germs and viruses, so there is lots of it about.

Mushroom compost

Mushroom compost is a very good peat-free garden compost, suitable for growing veggies or as a soil improver. It typically includes composted agricultural straw and animal manure, and has been used for growing mushrooms, for this reason the name. Do not fret, it will have been sterilised to remove any spores! You can't get it all over, but it is available from specialist compost suppliers.

Mushroom and manure garden compost

This is mushroom garden compost combined with straw-based animal (livestock and poultry) manure, so it's really mushroom compost with a greater proportion of straw and manure Like mushroom garden compost, it's an exceptional soil improver, and can be used for a lot of non-ericaceous plants. Not only does it improve soil structure, but it adds plenty of nutrients to the soil. Again, it may not be commonly readily available from garden centres, but you can buy it from professional compost suppliers.

Farmyard manure.

Not precisely a garden compost as such, but an useful soil improver, as it includes raw material to the soil. This is especially excellent if you have really sandy or heavy clay soils, as it will improve the texture of the soil. You will need to ensure that the manure is well-rotted before use (you'll understand, due to the fact that well-rotted manure does not really smell at all).

Multipurpose compost

Usually offered in both peat-based and peat-free options, multi-purpose compost is the go-to option if you are not really sure what to buy. There is no typically agreed formula, so you can't be definitely specific what you are getting. Some types will not be excellent for growing seeds, as the particles are too big, but otherwise it will most likely work quite well for a lot of plants. You can buy multi-purpose compost at garden centres.

Soil-based composts

The very best known of the soil or loam-based composts are most likely the John Innes composts, No1, No2, and No3. These were established by the John Innes Institute, and provide all the nutrients that plants in different phases need to grow well. Some multi-purpose composts claim to have included John Innes. There is no concurred meaning of what this implies, although it promises that they contain some loam and possibly some added fertiliser or nutrients.

Ericaceous compost

A special blend of compost suitable for lime-hating plants, such as rhododendrons and azaleas, ericaceous compost is widely offered from garden centres and compost suppliers. Best not used for plants aside from ericaceous plants though.

Topsoil

Worth including in the round-up, as it's a sensible alternative to compost for the majority of functions, this is basically good quality fertile garden soil. Most plants really like it, and it comes in several solutions, for instance, for vegetables or for general use, and three qualities, economy, general function and premium. It's a reasonably economical growing medium, and can also be used to bulk out bought garden composts, or as a soil improver in its own right.

Ideally this brief guide has actually given you a better concept of what's available from garden compost providers, and given you the confidence to go out and buy garden compost with a much better understanding of what you are getting. Happy gardening.

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