A Quick Guide to Composting
If you Google the word garden compost, you will find an incredible variety of garden composts are readily available. So how do you which compost to choose, and what to use it for? Read on for a fast guide to garden compost types.
Peat-based and peat-free garden composts
Peat-free compost use has actually ended up being a really huge concern for garden enthusiasts in the last few years. Of course we all wish to be environmentally-friendly, but are peat-free garden composts as effective? The good news is that now there are lots of peat-free alternatives out there that are basically as reliable as peat-based composts. The options are usually based on loam, coconut shell, animal manure and straw or recycled waste. Recycled waste garden compost tends to be made by local authorities by composting all our food waste at extremely heats to damage any germs and viruses, so there is lots of it about.
Mushroom compost
Mushroom garden compost is a great peat-free compost, perfect for growing vegetables or as a soil improver. It typically consists of composted farming straw and animal manure, and has been used for growing mushrooms, for this reason the name. Do not worry, it will have been sterilised to get rid of any spores! You can't get it all over, but it is offered from professional garden compost suppliers.
Mushroom and manure compost
This is mushroom compost mixed with straw-based animal (cattle and poultry) manure, so it's really mushroom garden compost with a greater percentage of straw and manure Like mushroom compost, it's an excellent soil improver, and can be used for a lot of non-ericaceous plants. Not only does it improve soil structure, but it includes plenty of nutrients to the soil. Again, it may not be extensively available from garden centres, but you can buy it from expert garden compost suppliers.
Farmyard manure.
Not precisely a compost as such, but a beneficial soil improver, as it includes raw material to the soil. This is particularly great if you have really sandy or heavy clay soils, as it will improve the texture of the soil. You will need to make sure that the manure is well-rotted before use (you'll understand, since well-rotted manure does not really smell at all).
Multipurpose compost
Usually readily available in both peat-based and peat-free options, multi-purpose compost is the go-to alternative if you are not really sure what to buy. There is no generally agreed formula, so you can't be absolutely certain what you are getting. Some types won't be very good for growing seeds, as the particles are too big, but otherwise it will probably work quite well for the majority of plants. You can buy multi-purpose compost at garden centres.
Soil-based garden composts
The very best understood of the soil or loam-based garden composts are probably the John Innes composts, No1, No2, and No3. These were developed by the John Innes Institute, and supply all the nutrients that plants in different phases need to grow well. Some multi-purpose garden composts claim to have included John Innes. There is no agreed meaning of what this indicates, although it promises that they contain some loam and maybe some included fertiliser or nutrients.
Ericaceous compost
An unique blend of garden compost suitable for lime-hating plants, such as rhododendrons and azaleas, ericaceous garden compost is extensively readily available from garden centres and compost providers. Best not used for plants other than ericaceous plants though.
Topsoil
Worth consisting of in the round-up, as it's an affordable alternative to compost for many functions, this is essentially good quality fertile garden soil. Most plants really like it, and it comes in several formulas, for example, for veggies or for general use, and three qualities, economy, general purpose 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 quick guide has offered you a much better idea of what's offered from compost providers, and provided you the self-confidence to head out and buy compost with a much better understanding of what you are getting. Pleased gardening.
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