Smarter Growing

Now that Malvern and Chelsea are done and dusted my attention has turned to planting up my summer pots. However, the demise of the DIY chain Focus means I haven't been able to stock up on my usual brand of compost (aka growing medium if you hail from across the pond) beforehand, so I've been out seeking a good source from elsewhere.

There's been quite a bit of debate about peat in the press and in the blogosphere lately: I'm not going to add to it here, except to say I've yet to see the pro and anti peat lobbies set out their evidence side by side so that ordinary people like me can make an informed choice. And talking of informed choices, I was very pleased to see the above notice at my local garden centre last week (click to enlarge image if needed).

They've started a labelling system showing the peat content of the products they sell. Thus customers can clearly see exactly what they're buying: a tick in the green box means that the product is peat-free and one in the red means it has over 90%. The system will also serve to highlight a couple of common misconceptions:
  • John Innes compost isn't peat-free (it contains around 30% peat)
  • The term 'organic' when applied to commercially available compost doesn't necessarily mean it's peat-free either
I hope that this clear system, or something very similar will be adopted ASAP across the whole industry.

What informative labelling has your local garden centre adopted (not necessarily compost) which you like? What other information would you like to see to help you make informed choices about what you buy?

Comments

  1. Simon S6 June 2011 at 08:48

    Great post.

    Am totally bamboozled by the labelling on compost/growing medium. A bag I bought at the weekend, which is, I believe, derived from "green waste" is labelled "organic based" but I feel no better off knowing that; what does it mean ?

    The traffic light system is a great idea but indicates only peat content. I for one would feel a lot happier if I knew what else the compost contained i.e. chemical fertilisers' water retention chemicals etc.

    So peat free, although an obvious step in the right direction, doesn't necessarily mean I would be happy to use it unless I knew what else it was "free" of.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chris6 June 2011 at 08:56

    I never use anything except growbags - peatless when possible, whether sowing seeds or potting on. I often get it from the local council who make their own compost from garden refuse. I just sieve out the big stuff, bits of twigs and rubbish, add some fine grit and it seems to work a treat.

    I've started my own compost area now which is filling up nicely.

    Monty Don would be proud...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Liz6 June 2011 at 09:22

    Hi,

    It's interesting that they've decided to show peat content as red, and peat-free has green... That to me indicates that the garden centre is anti-peat.

    I always go for Peat-free, however my last batch I bought I was horrified to discover that it contains peat... Must say that the quality is much nicer, no large or sharp pieces of undecomposed matter in there like other peat-free organic mixes. Anyway I'm back to peat free again now, purely because my conscience won't allow otherwise.

    Although I do have my own compost bin, I just don't have enough garden waste to produce enough to sustain the garden.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Emma6 June 2011 at 12:14

    We certainly do need some standardization and a system which makes it easy for consumers to know exactly what they are buying. Just like with food, we should maybe see a breakdown of what is in the compost.

    As an aside, I think the RHS are pushing for us to call it "growing medium" as well, so that it can be distinguished from home-made compost. Home-made compost is full of nutrients, whereas the stuff you buy for potting at the garden centre isn't. We can't have the same name for two totally different things!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Susan Tomlinson6 June 2011 at 13:33

    Interesting. I confess that I haven't thought about the peat controversy, since the only things I add to the soil are composted chicken manure and/or my own compost.

    As far as I can tell, peat isn't controversial here. Is it because it isn't used as much in the states? Or have I just been walking around in my usual fog?

    ReplyDelete
  6. petoskystone6 June 2011 at 14:05

    peat isn't that controversial here in the connecticut valley, either. the local walmart & home depot haven't altered their labels at all (when they are labels). when i go to my nearest garden center, i just ask the clerks with any question as they also grow most of the plants they sell.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Juliet6 June 2011 at 14:49

    I blogged about this a few weeks ago, VP - my post's here. In fact, I think I came over here at the time and asked if you had any thoughts on the issue, but I think you must have missed my comment.

    I won't repeat all I posted here, but like you I find the labelling of compost generally unhelpful, especially when it comes to organic compost, which really ought to be peat-free, but as you say often isn't - and I'm having particular difficulty finding suitable compost for fruit & veg.

    If you or anyone can help with my dilemma, please pop over to my blog - thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Maggie Christie6 June 2011 at 20:46

    It is very confusing so some kind of industry-wide standardised labelling would be a good idea. As would using 'growing medium' instead of 'compost'. I think 'organic' is a misleading term too. In the meantime we'll just have to keep our wits about us!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Dobby6 June 2011 at 21:55

    I would love my local garden centre to label as per your example. I'm constantly having to turn the bags over to read the ingredients, and it doesn't do my back any good. They are always heavy, invariably wet and dirty. I seem to end up going home looking like I have rolled about in compost rather than buying bags of it!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Esther Montgomery9 June 2011 at 22:42

    It's all very odd.

    What does it mean to have 'John Innes with added sand'? (Except that it doesn't hold moisture and the soil washes away from the roots of the plants.)

    Is it fair to say things like - 'This compost has ORGANIC content'? (Hoping you will only notice the big letters and not wonder what compost would be like if there were no organic content.)

    I'm not sure 'Growing Medium' sounds very attractive but I do get in tangles when writing posts, trying to distinguish between potting compost and compost that comes out of a compost bin without getting too pedantic and long winded - so a snappy distinction would be good.

    Esther

    ReplyDelete
  11. VP24 June 2011 at 10:14

    Simon - good point. It means 'peat free' isn't necessarily 'organic' either.

    Chris - good luck with your composting :)

    Liz - I'm not sure whether it means anti-peat, or is more in keeping with the government's target to reduce peat consumption and is more of a 'take care and consider what you're doing' warning. That's the conclusion I've drawn after pondering what the colours might mean.

    Emma - I'm not sure if home made compost is full of nutrients. It depends on what you've composted. Also a lot of growing media at garden centres has had fertiliser added to boost growth for 6 weeks or so. As Simon says, we need to know what else has been added so we can make an informed choice, especially if anyone is trying to be an organic grower.

    Susan - I don't know much about the situation in the States. Must find out when I'm over there.

    Petoskystone - good point that the local growers know exactly what goes into what they're selling, so can answer any questions.

    Juliet - I did see your comment, but only answered it here. I've been away so haven't had time to do my usual follow-up over at yours. As you can see I'm rather tardy with catching up here!

    Presele Mags - welcome :) Just like food we need to read the small print and labels most carefully!

    Dobby - I try to buy my growing media when it's been dry or freshly delivered. It's much easier to lug about! However, that might be more tricky in Wales ;)

    Esther - it's quite confusing isn't it? I noticed last year that John Innes composts were looking quite different and didn't seem to have as much loam as they used to. I'm trying to see if their formulation has changed.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love hearing from you and welcome thoughtful conversations :)

Comments aiming to link back and give credence to commercial websites will be composted!

Your essential reads

That blue flower: A spring spotter's guide

Image
Spring is a prime time for blue flowers and my daily walks currently have several from the same plant family* lining the local footpaths. As I walked past the Donkey Field the other day, I overheard some children ask their parents** what the pictured blue flower was. It reminded me it's often mistaken for those other familial blues and this time was no different, as they said it was forget-me-not, instead of the green alkanet it actually is. As well as similar flowers, most of these plants are hairy in their nature, flower around the same time, and favour damp, shady places. Many of them are great for pollinators too, especially bees and this week's warm weather has certainly drawn them to these flowers. This makes it even more likely for these plants to be mistaken for each other and it's a great opportunity for me to put together a spotter's guide in case you find the same flowers on your outings. Staying with green alkanet, the key features which set it
Read more

Jack Go To Bed At Noon

Image
Last year this rather exotic looking flower appeared on mine and several other allotments for the first time. Having been stumped (again) by Mr Allotment Warden as to its identity, I rushed home to find out what it was. It's salsify, aka the marvellous Jack Go To Bed At Noon - named as such because its flowers always close by midday. Here you can see both open and closed flowers - making it seem even more exotic and alien than in the first picture. I think this must be the cultivated version because the flower in my Francis Rose Wild Flower Key looks exactly the same in form, but is bright yellow in colour and called meadow salsify . Its other common name is Goatsbeard, which must be a nod to the fantastic dandelion-like clock which forms the seed head. With 'parachutes' like those shown above, who knows how far our plotted plants came from. I rather like the photographic dissection of the seedhead found in this link . Salsify is edible: its lateral shoots and fl
Read more

Red Nose Day - Gardening Jokes Anyone?

Image
The nation goes ever so slightly bonkers on Red Nose Day - hurrah! Previously, it's been very easy to join in - usually via a dress down day at work plus lots of people up to mad things at the station and in the office. Everyone smiling for once - it's a real feel good day and all in a good cause. This year's different - every day's a dress down day for me now - my friend L suggested yesterday that perhaps I could have a dress up day instead and whilst that's a good idea, I confess that ballgowns and tiaras don't really feature in my wardrobe: scruffy student's always been my favourite look. So my Red Nose Day contribution for this year is to compile a list of gardening related jokes. For each one (clean ones only please) you leave in the comments below, I'll make a donation of 50p to the cause. Here's a few for starters just to get you warmed up: Q Why do potatoes make good detectives? A Because they keep their eyes peeled. Q What did the grape
Read more

Salad Days: Mastering Lettuce

Image
I've decided one of my salad challenges for this year is to grow as many lettuce varieties as I can, ready for the publication of my planned Factsheet* later on. The idea is to grow as many of the Tried and Trusted lettuce varieties last year's Salad Challengers helped compile, then provide a visual guide and as many lettuce facts as I can muster. So far I've found around half of those listed**. Then naturally whilst I was out searching - because such is the way with seeds - a number of other varieties found their way home too ;) A couple of weeks ago I sowed 22 varieties***. Just the simple act of sowing them has me intrigued. Why are some lettuce seeds black and others white****? They split into about half white to half black in my sample and as far as I can tell it's nothing to do with whether they're a type of cos, iceberg, or whatever. I sowed them indoors and popped them into a propagator on the windowsill. The soil's too cold outside for sowing
Read more

VPs VIPs: Derry Watkins of Special Plants

Image
Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Derry Watkins at her home, garden and nursery - the acclaimed Special Plants - just a few miles along the road from me. I first met Derry at one of her open garden days last year and was keen to find out more about her wonderful garden and running an independent nursery. She specialises in tender perennials and regularly goes on plant hunting trips to find new treasures, particularly in South Africa. As well as running Special Plants and opening her garden under the NGS scheme , Derry holds day courses at her nursery, hosts Special Tuesdays from April until September, lectures and has written a couple of books. How did you find your way from Connecticut to the UK? I'd started a biodynamic vegetable garden in Connecticut and we used to have people come along at weekends to help out. A particular young man turned up: he returned many times and at the end of the summer I married him. So it was all down to love? Isn't that the
Read more

#mygardenrightnow: heading into summer with the Chelsea Fringe

Image
Ahhhhhh, that's better! I love walking through dewy grass in bare feet, not that there's much in the way of grass on my back lawn this weekend. My wild and woolly lawn has morphed into meadow of sorts this month, which even NAH admits looks attractive*. It's also proved a great source for my Flowers for mum project so far, yielding self-sown perennial cornflowers, lamb's ears, and lemon balm in addition to the blooms you can see. These originated from elsewhere in the garden, the ox-eye daisies must have blown in from the A350 nearby. * = he got very stroppy about the weeds aka self-sown foxgloves in the lawn one year, so he's come along a bit since then. Skimble's demanding to say hello to you too. He does enjoy the patio when it warms up. If the embedded video doesn't work try this link instead. The Nectaroscordum are a revelation. I planted the bulbs around 2 years ago, but it's only this year they've bloomed properly. The bee
Read more

The Resilient Garden

Image
  Part of Tom Massey's Resilient Garden at RHS Hampton Court I've been pondering VP Gardens a lot lately. Last year's drought conditions set me off initially, then our harsher than usual winter combined with this summer's flip and flop weather means the thinking continues. It's a huge topic which I freely admit I'm struggling to get my head around. Tom Massey's Resilient Garden  at Hampton Court recently  tackled this topic brilliantly and was a timely interlude which gave me much food for thought. There he encapsulated the detailed research he'd found which informed both his show garden and book of the same name. I think it's one of the most important show gardens I've ever seen. It's clear the way I garden needs to change so that I have my own resilient garden. I haven't worked out the exact details yet, but Tom's book plus a couple of others (see below), alongside the rainwater management handout from the show garden's  sponso
Read more

Testing Times: Tomatoes

Image
  I've run a couple of tomato trials this year. The first is a revisit of the biochar trial with Oxford University I attempted some years ago (with a different organisation this time), and the second is a trial of a water gadget called Plantsurge which I was given to try at Malvern Spring Show earlier this year. Most of you have probably heard of biochar already and the claim that this inert, carbon-rich material can help soil fertility and plant health. The RHS information in the above link says results can be mixed, with reduced effects found in alkaline soils. This may help to explain the lack of difference I found in my previous trial as VP Gardens is on a lime-rich soil. Plantsurge is a different beast altogether. It's a strong magnet which is attached to a hosepipe as shown in the photo above. It's claimed that it softens water, with the result more like watering with rainwater. The higher nitrogen found in rainwater is thought to be beneficial to plants. Gardener
Read more

Chelsea Fringe 2014: Shows of Hands - Episode I

Image
The gloves NAH used to build the raised bed . The effects are L to R, top to bottom:  Original photo, Warhol, HDR, Green tint, B&W, Posterize, Boost, Cross process and Sepia Welcome to Shows of Hands - my Chelsea Fringe project for 2014! As you can see I've been having a bit of a play around in Pic Monkey for my first contribution. You're welcome to join in between now and 8th June 2014. The idea behind this year's project is to highlight the tool most precious to a gardener: their hands. How do I take part? It's simple. All you need to do is take a photo of hand(s) in a gardening context and then share it via your blog or other social media (such as Twitter or Facebook), then make sure I know you've done so. I've set up Mr Linky below for your blog contributions. The Chelsea Fringe photo on the right sidebar links to this post, so you can easily find it again when you're ready to add your contribution. If you share your photo on Twitter,
Read more

Make Use of Mildew

Image
On my garden patrol this morning I spotted some powdery mildew on a couple of my new Verbena bonariensis plants. I suppose it was almost inevitable as I prefer to grow my plants hard - this means no water for them unless they look absolutely desperate. This approach means plants root themselves more deeply and have a better chance of survival during spells of dry weather like we've had lately. However, it also means I run the risk of problems like today's, especially with any garden newbies planted late in the season. We've had a good drop of rain overnight, so this should help my plants survive. I'll mulch them later today to help lock in the moisture as it's water stress which encourages the mildew to take hold. I've also removed the infected leaves and sprayed the rest with a milky drink.* I'm also pleased to find there's a use for my infected leaves. Oliver Ellingham at Reading University has started a PhD - sponsored by the RHS - researchi
Read more