So far so good on the peat-free trial

A few weeks back, I set out to test for myself some of the peat-free composts on the market.

This, I quickly explain, is no scientifically rigorous test. I don't have the time, experience or facilities to do that.

But what I do feel is important is that we 'normal gardeners' share our experiences of peat-free so that we build up a shared knowledge of how to use them and which work best for us, just as was the case with peat several decades ago before people understood the conservation damage that would be caused by its use.

Here then is the first report on how I've been getting on.

My key focus was on growing plants from seed. I'm pretty happy that peat-free composts are fine for potting on well-established plants, but how well would they fare where germination is concerned?

This first stage was trying out B&Q Peat-free compost versus New Horizon Peat-free Organic Growbag compost.

Both composts had to be sieved to start with, with the B&Q in particular containing some finger-sized shards of half-rotted bark or wood.

I then mixed the sieved material with some vermiculite in a ratio of about 2 to 1. The photo shows a range of the seeds I have been trying.

Interestingly, germination was better for all seeds in the New Horizon than in the B&Q. This of course is not due to the nutrients in the compost, but presumably the contact that the seeds made with the compost.

However, after germination, the B&Q compost tended to show faster growth. In the tray to the left in particular, the larger plants are Ageratum, with those central in the tray grown in B&Q, and those bottom left in New Horizon.

The paler green plants in the right-hand tray are Cerinthe (Honeywort). The smaller seedlings with feathery growth are Cosmos which have struggled, the seedings with four new leaves are Sage which are barely a couple of weeks old and doing great, and the pots with tiny seedlings are Knautia which have been very hit and miss.

The B&Q compost has proved to be very free draining, drying out quickly, while the New Horizon has, a little alarmingly, had a tendency to throw up short-lived tiny toadstools.

Overall, I sense that larger seeds do much better than smaller in these composts, with a tray of Dianthus totally failing. But I'm getting close to the point where I'm happy that both composts, with a bit of willpower, can grow a whole range of plants successfully from seed.

I'm currently testing some more seeds with the two composts above and with Westlands Earth Matter Peat-free Growbag compost, whose consistency I thought was excellent and a step above the other two. I'll let you know how I get on!