Author: Tony Callaghan
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Carbon Gold — Biochar All Purpose Compost Review
Carbon Gold — Biochar All Purpose Compost is 100% peat‑free growing medium enriched with UK‑sourced biochar, mycorrhizal fungi, wormcasts, seaweed, and natural nutrients. Designed to boost root health, plant vigour, and soil fertility. See
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Westland John Innes No3 Plant Compost
Brand: Westland John Innes no 3 | Supplier: B&Q | Price: £0.17/litre Personal observations John Innes No. 3 is a formulation standard rather than a single product, and this is Westland’s interpretation — sand, loam and compost in the traditional proportions. The mineral content is immediately obvious: it feels dense and solid in the hand…
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Miracle Gro – all purpose compost
Brand: Miracle Gro PF, All purpose | Supplier: B&Q | Price: £0.17/litre Personal observations The All Purpose version is visibly different to the Moisture Control product sold alongside it. Lighter, more wood-fibre-led, and with noticeably more material retained above 10mm — nearly 10% of the sample, which is at the higher end of the test…
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Miracle-Gro – Moisture Control multipurpose compost
Brand: Miracle Gro PF, Moisture control | Supplier: B&Q | Price: £0.17/litre Personal observations The Moisture Control product is the premium line in Miracle-Gro’s peat-free range, and it stands out immediately. It is visibly wetter than any other product on opening — dark, heavy in the hand, and it forms a strong sticky ball. Water-holding…
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Durstons – traditional multipurpose compost review
Brand: Durstons MPC | Supplier: Amazon | Price: £0.34/litre Personal observations Durston’s presented as a genuinely well-processed compost. Very dark material, fine texture, with almost no visible woody fraction — suggesting it has been screened more tightly than many competitors. It was notably drier on opening than most products in the test, which is worth…
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PAS100 compost review
Personal observations Most of the reviews on this site are based on individual retail bags — the format most gardeners buy from a garden centre or online. PAS100 compost is different, and it needs a different approach. There are over 300 registered sites in the UK operating under the PAS100 certification scheme — the industry…
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RocketGro – traditional multipurpose compost review
Brand: Rocket Gro MPC | Supplier: Amazon | Price: £0.30/litre Personal observations RocketGro, like many others, have a dozen or so composts in its range. I’m not a fan of this approach – see the link! I have met the team at various trade shows over the years. I chose this item as it seemed…
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Ericaceous compost – acid‑loving plant compost (generic standard) review
I usually test individual bags of compost. There is a distinct difference between multi-purpose composts and seed composts. Hence, this review covers the broad ‘Ericaceous Composts’ to allow comparison to MPCs. The scorecard rating and notes below are based on published ingredient information and publicly available sustainability data supported by our in-house balanced scorecard method.…
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Seed compost – fine‑textured compost (generic standard) review
We usually test individual bags of compost. There is a distinct difference between multipurpose composts and seed composts. This review covers the broad ‘Seed Composts type’ to allow comparison to MPCs. The scorecard rating and notes below are based on published ingredient information and publicly available sustainability data supported by our in-house balanced scorecard method.…
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Westland – multipurpose compost with added John Innes
Brand: Westland PF MPC + JI | Supplier: B&Q | Price: £0.17/litre Personal observations This is Westland’s mainstream peat-free multipurpose product with a John Innes addition, sold through B&Q. The John Innes element is intended to add mineral ballast and improve structure for potting-on use. In practice, the dominant character is still the wood-fibre base…