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tahir
Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 45389 Location: Essex
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Nicky cigreen
Joined: 25 Jun 2007 Posts: 9702 Location: Devon, uk
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robkb
Joined: 29 May 2009 Posts: 4205 Location: SE London
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OtleyLad
Joined: 13 Jan 2007 Posts: 2737 Location: Otley, West Yorkshire
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Pilsbury
Joined: 13 Dec 2004 Posts: 5645 Location: East london/Essex
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Nicky cigreen
Joined: 25 Jun 2007 Posts: 9702 Location: Devon, uk
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sowitgrows
Joined: 13 Jan 2013 Posts: 32
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marigold
Joined: 02 Sep 2005 Posts: 12458 Location: West Sussex
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oldish chris
Joined: 14 Jun 2006 Posts: 4148 Location: Comfortably Wet Southport
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Posted: Fri May 24, 13 12:20 pm Post subject: |
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marigold wrote: |
NorthernMonkeyGirl wrote: |
I've had good results from Arthur Bower (pink bag - seed and cutting compost??).
No idea what's in it, but it looks and feels disgusting. Cold, claggy, clay with gravel and grit. It forms a crust on the top of the pot, and grows a fine crop of fungi. But the seeds seem to like it (as they pointed out when I emailed, the mycelia are good for plants. They didn't adress the rest though).
I wish there were some way to see what you're getting! |
I got some Bowers general purpose compost with pink flowers on the bag. Mine is mostly shredded wood with a rank chemical smell. I couldn't face using it for edible crops, so I bought some John Innes seed and cutting compost which is lovely stuff - runner beans and courgettes are growing like the clappers.
I used the Bowers for houseplants and it grew fairy toadstools. The plants seem OK. |
I have noticed considerable variation in the consistency of the compost, most noticeably with Arthur Bowers composts.
Marigold -don't know what the smell was, but it wasn't the chemicals. The fact that toadstools appeared suggest that the organic component was alive and well. My theory is that the smell was the fungal mycelia digesting the compost.
John Innes contains chemical fertilisers, such as Calcium Hydrogen Phosphate and Potassium Sulphate, much the same as Arthur's stuff. |
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marigold
Joined: 02 Sep 2005 Posts: 12458 Location: West Sussex
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sowitgrows
Joined: 13 Jan 2013 Posts: 32
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Dreamcatcher
Joined: 04 Apr 2013 Posts: 82 Location: Brechfa Forest
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oldish chris
Joined: 14 Jun 2006 Posts: 4148 Location: Comfortably Wet Southport
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ros
Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 2469 Location: Beds
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gray_b
Joined: 24 Jun 2011 Posts: 251 Location: Leafy Shires of the Midlands
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