Small compost trial.

[oldtimer1]

Ok now the Product Evaluation grow is done and the room cleared, its time to try some new composts. The reason? Well, for the same reason Pro_Liberate reported about the problems with both the new formula Westlands MP and the HB and container +JI. I had a bag and it sets like a brick, rooting out is very slow. The fact cannabis survives in it, is not the point, it does not thrive in it, a good compost given all other parameters are spot on, ie good lighting air etc, should provide the right root environment for the plant so the plant can grow as fast as its genetics allow for. The new Westlands does not do this, so the search for a replacement for our old favourite compost is on.

So I’m testing:-

John Arthur Bowers multipurpose compost + JI [JAB for short].

It is the cheapest in this trial a, 150 litres for a tenner or 6.67p a litre.

Genie multipurpose compost, a new peat free compost made from municipal waste. At twelve quid for a hundred litres or 12p a litre.

And finally Carrs organic multipurpose compost at twelve quid for eighty litres or 15p a litre.

All were riddled through a half inch sieve.

The JAB has a nice fluffy texture, a little lighter than the old good Westlands formula. Only found a couple of stones bigger than the sieve mesh, this seems to be very good as far as looks go.

JAB:-

The Genie is very heavy to lift the 50 litre bag weighs much much more than the 75 litre JAB, not nice for my old bones to lump about.

It looks a little like the old B&Q organic compost, which was piss poor. Also after sieving there were bits of uncomposted wood left in the sieve, some smaller bits must have gone through, this worries me a lot, it says the composting was not completed properly when making this compost otherwise there would not be bits of lignified wood still in the mix.

A bad start, but as its a trial I’m still going to test it despite my doubts.

Genie:-

Carrs is unlike any compost I have ever used, its texture is very fine and fluffy, it feels silky running it through your hands. Again it worries me, but for a different reason, in that it would be really easy for this mix to get compressed with to little air as the texture lacks crumb structure.

Carrs:-

Taking the first step of potting up, the plants are rooted out in maxi plugs [95cc] in the old type Westlands MP and I'm putting them into 1.1 litre square pots. 11 into genie 11 into Carrs and 14 into JAB. If any of the compost types cause the plants not to develop as they should, I will drop the offending compost at the next potting on stage and pot on into the compost or composts that are performing well.

Finally how the compost looks in the pots, sorry about the colour but thats hps for you.

How the compost looks in the pots

[SkullDuggery]

I'll be watching with interest. That Genie does look a bit ropey though.

[Topo]

Good luck with the trials OT1.

Will be keeping one eye on this one see how they go…liking them half inch sieve gets the medium nice and fluffy…

It is the cheapest in this trial a, 150 litres for a tenner or 6.67p a litre.

Feck me that’s some price hick… I’ve got to be reading that wrong

[Black tooth grin]

Hi Ot1,i'll be keeping an eye on this one as am using the jab multipurpose on my current grow,will be interesting to see how it stand's up against the other's,all the best with the trial

[908]

Very good of someone to do a TEST as it saves a lot of people going down the wrong path,especially someone so knowledgeable.Is it the case as im starting to think myself that westlands with j.i when it first arrived was pretty much the ideal for canna but it has now become inconsistant or varied in its quality? 908

[Greeny]

You know, if all references to Cannabis were removed or changed in some way, your work could quite easily sit on a Gardeners World program or summat.

Secretly, I'm hoping that the JAB performs best at just over half the cost of the nearest other. Good luck oldtimer1.

[Arnold Layne]

Great stuff OT! I am in the middle of testing some of the JAB myself. So far it is performing well.

[oldtimer1]

Small update, its 6 days since potting on the cutting into 1.1 litre pots, all are doing well, no difference can be seen between the composts, the plants have tripled in height, all are showing roots at the drain holes, so much for transplant shock.

6days

I will be potting on into 6 litre final pots in the morning.

[Guest isis414]

Great thread! Just subscribed.

[Guest Blabblabberbab]

Hi OT - Not much help now you've already started.... but I'm another sufferer of bad Westlands experiences.

I've tried just about every compost from the local garden centres over the last few years, - This year I decided to try Gem MP with added JI for my garden herbs and house plants.... I've never seen such happy campers. With this in mind I'm using the same compost for my little bonsai canna plant's next flower cycle - it's absolutely loving it texture and smell of the compost is very good Spinachboy is also reporting similar findings after my suggestion using Gem MP + JI with his grow IIRC.

Perhaps one to bear in mind if the 3 you are trying here dissappoint :wink:

B.

[Guest]

Thanks very much for this OT1

Redgrotto

[oldtimer1]

Ok I got delayed potting on, and I made a few mistakes with the first info about the composts, sorry but I’ll correct it now.

John Arthur Bowers multipurpose compost + JI [JAB + JI for short].

is in 70 litre bags, 2 bags for £12, so its supposedly 140 not 150 litres. But I measured how many pots a bag filled after sieving it, I measured exactly what the pots hold, the so called 6 litre Biobizz pots hold 5.57 litres and a bag of Jab fills 8.8 pots or 49 litres, so the real cost is 12.24p a litre.

Genie multipurpose was £12 for 3 x 50 litre bags not two bags so its cheap. Problem with that is after sieving a bag fills 7.8 pots or 43.4 litres real cost 9.2p a litre

And finally the Carrs organic multipurpose compost at twelve quid for 2 x 40 litre bags, after sieving it a bag fills 7 pots and a wee bit left over, or 39.2 litres real cost 15.3p a litre.

As a point after sieving I fill the pots to the brim, no compression so its as fluffed up as it can be, I let watering settle the compost.

Ok how have the composts done up to now? As far as top growth they all look pretty good, there are no signs of any deficiency all are pretty equal. Observations when potting on, root growth is good with all of them, Genie plants show the most roots, closely followed by the JAB + JI, the Carrs organic coming last on rootmass, but they also look the most healthy.

I have taken some pics and put them into one collage for you to see.

Roots:-

As a final comment the Carrs soft texture made life difficult when potting on as it was very hard not to break the root ball when handling it, they were still wet and a little heavy, if they had been dryer it may have been easier.

[Felix Dzerzhinsky]

Thanks for the trial OT1.

I must say I'm keen on seeing how the Carr's works out and what you think of it in comparison to Natures Own at the end of the trial.

Many thanks,

Felix.

[oldtimer1]

Hello Felix, I’ve not tried Natures Own compost, as it happens Arnie has, at the moment Arnie is trying the JAB + JI, It will be interesting to see how he thinks it compares. This is out of our own pockets, as an oap I find the thought of paying nearly 13 quid + delivery for 40 litres of compost more than a bit beyond me to be honest.

I just took a pic of the girls in their final pots, they have come a long way in the 10 days since I first potted them into the 1.1 litre pots, at the rate they are growing I think they will have rooted out their final pots in another 3 or 4 days.

Final pots:-

[stuff and nonsense]

ot1 have you made any additions or amendments to the compost or is it straight out of the bag ?