On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:49:05 +0100, K wrote:

David WE Roberts writes
I've been using HomeBase peat free GroBags this year - works out a lot
cheaper than buying bags labelled 'compost'

What volume are they? And how much do they cost?

33 litres in volume (so 3 to match 100 litre compost bags).

When I bought the majority they were £1.18 per bag, reduced to match the
peat GroBags.

I think they are a little more now, but still quite a lot cheaper than the
larger compost bags.

I think it was 'Which?' that recommended HomeBase GroBags as best value
for money - in general GroBags seem to be cheaper per litre than bagged
compost, presumably because they "stack them high sell them cheap".

In previous years I have made my own growing medium by mixing HomeBase
bags of peat compost, farmyard manure, and top soil/JI No. 3 (depending
which was cheapest at the time) because this seemed to give the best mix
of easy rooting, easy re-wetting, and built in food (I also added chicken
manure pellets and GrowMore).

This year I have mainly been using the peat free GroBags because they seem
to provide a good all round medium. I still add extra food to the bottom
of the pot to save feeding in the earlier stages of growth.

Cheers

Dave R