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Welcome to the Garden Guru!

You will find lots of useful information on compost, composting and all things grow your own, from hints and tips to step by step how to guides on all sorts of interesting subjects.

Browse through all our garden guru's articles below to find the subject you are interested in.

If the article you  are looking for is not here, just ask The Compost Shop Garden Guru and he will get back to you as quickly as possible with the answers you are looking for!

Allotment Maintenance

Adding Organic Matter in the Autumn

Late summer is probably the busiest time of year for vegetable growers, as everything seems to need harvesting at once, and the weeds are growing faster than you can remove them. It seems that your whole life is picking, cutting, digging and weeding, and then back home to freeze, or make jam and chutney. But now is also the time to think about what you need to do once all the picking is done, and particularly, get organised about how you’re going to add organic matter to improve the soil structure.

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Potting Compost

Potting Compost

From The UK's Favourite Compost Supplier

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Potting Compost

If you’re fairly new to gardening, you may well have been astonished at the number of different types of potting compost that are available from even relatively small garden centres and DIY stores, and you may be wondering what are the differences between them. This short guide should help you decide which one is best for you, and give you the confidence to go and buy compost for your garden.

Potting compost is defined as a medium in which to grow plants in pots or other containers. So it’s not really your home-produced compost, although that can work. Most people find it best to buy compost for container planting, as it contains a better balance of nutrients. But what sort should you buy?

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Multi-purpose compost is probably most people’s go-to potting compost, and it’s pretty reliable for most plants. But do be aware that all multi-purpose compost is not the same, not even from the same manufacturer. Many of these composts were originally based on peat, but manufacturers are trying to cut down on its use, so are experimenting with different base materials. These can therefore alter year on year, as different and improved peat substitutes become available, or other materials are proven to be less effective as a growing medium. What’s more, multi-purpose compost doesn’t work very well for growing seeds, as the particles can be a bit big, and it can also dry out quite quickly.

 A good alternative is a loam-based compost, such as the John Innes composts. These do have a standard formula, developed by a gardening institute, and have different formulations for different purposes. They tend to be a bit more expensive than multi-purpose, but many people find that’s a price worth paying. The soil base means that they don’t dry out as quickly as multi-purpose compost.

Some multi-purpose composts now have “added John Innes”. This doesn’t actually have a defined meaning, but probably means that they also contain some loam and some added nutrients. This is likely to be a good thing, as loam dries out more slowly than most multi-purpose composts, but you may pay a lot more for that phrase, when you could achieve the same effect by mixing multi-purpose compost with some standard topsoil and adding slow-release fertiliser.

Specialist composts are used for plants that have specific requirements, such as ericaceous plants, which don’t like alkaline soils. They are generally not necessary for your average bedding plants and vegetables. Other specialist composts include mushroom compost and mushroom and manure compost, both of which are good for growing vegetables, as they contain plenty of organic matter. These may be more difficult to come by, but are available from compost suppliers.

So there you have it: a quick guide to potting compost!

Read more …Potting Compost

Growing & Using Blueberries

Growing and Using Blueberries

We’ve all seen blueberries, small, bluish-purple fruit, often described as a ‘superfood’ because of the range of antioxidants that they contain. But is it possible to grow your own in the UK? The answer is yes, it is entirely possible, although they do need some care.

How to Grow Blueberries?

First of all, blueberries like very acidic soil. Since most soil is more or less neutral, that means that most garden soil is not suitable, and you’ll therefore need to grow them in pots in ericaceous compost. You can buy compost from most garden centres and compost suppliers. When you first plant your blueberry, choose a container that is about 30cm in diameter, and be prepared to move it to a larger one in a few years’ time.

Secondly, although there are several types of blueberry that are marketed as ‘self-fertile’, some need another cultivar nearby. And whether self-fertile or not, your crop will be much better if you grow two different cultivars close together. This is not hard, as there are plenty of different varieties out there, but check the labels carefully to make sure.

Thirdly, you’ll need to provide food and water. Make sure the pot doesn’t dry out, watering with rainwater if possible. Of course in a drought, any water is better than none, but do try not to use tapwater if you can avoid it. Feed each month with an ericaceous fertiliser. The fruit ripens in stages, so you will need to pick it as it ripens. You may find that you need to net the bushes to protect them from birds, who seem to find blueberries almost irresistible.

Things to do with Blueberries

Blueberries freeze very well, so you don’t have to worry if you can’t eat them fast enough. If you pop each picking into a freezer container, you can keep adding to it, and you will soon have enough for some great recipes. You can usually cook with them straight from the freezer, even if the recipe doesn’t specifically say that, although you may need to give cakes and muffins a bit longer than the recommended baking time to take account of the fruit being frozen.

Blueberry muffins are a really good use of frozen or fresh blueberries, and there are plenty of recipes out there. My personal favourite is Nigella Lawson’s recipe, because it is very quick and easy to make, but Paul Hollywood of The Great British Bake Off also has a good recipe on the BBC Good Food site. You can also add blueberries to pancake batter for both crepes or Scotch pancakes. It’s an excellent way of getting of your five a day, and with home-grown blueberries, you won’t even feel guilty about the cost!

Read more …Growing & Using Blueberries

Ericaceous Compost

Ericaceous Compost

Ericaceous Compost can seem difficult to understand and adds to things to worry about. It really shouldn't and this article will help to get your head round what Ericaceous Compost is and what Ericacous Compost is used for.

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What is Ericaceous Compost

Heather Ericaceous Compost

You will probably have heard of ericaceous compost in terms of what you can grow in it. It is an acidic compost, and suitable for growing rhododendrons, camellias, azaleas, heathers, and other plants that dislike alkaline soil, also known as lime-hating plants. The name ‘ericaceous’ comes from the Latin name for heathers, Erica.

Our ericaceous compost has a pH balance which is perfect for growing acid loving plants including blueberries, azaleas, camellias, rhododendrons, and heathers. The increasing popularity of blueberry bushes in our gardens and tomatoes in our greenhouses have made this one of the most widely-used and trusted specialist composts on the market. Whether it’s juicy superfoods or the vibrant, striking colour of acer trees, the delicate beauty of camellias, or the hardy, year-round charm of checkerberry, Ericaceous soil improvers offer your garden a healthy dose of low-ph goodness to keep your favourite specimens thriving. Specially formulated to provide a balanced nutritional profile for acid-loving plants, our Ericaceous compost is a great way to compensate for alkaline soil conditions to benefit your plants, while also feeding and nurturing them, regulating moisture and providing effective top dressing.

Ericaceous compost is trusted by experienced gardeners across the country to boost soil’s ph. profile, and keep acid-loving plants thriving!

  • Summary Of Ericaceous Compost Facts

    Ericaceous Topsoil Plants

    Ericaceous plants needs to live in the correct soil for their vitamin needs- while lime-rich, high pH (alkaline) soil tends to bind the iron and other nutrients essential for healthy growth. Plants that need nutrients which are inaccessible in high pH soil are known as acid-loving (or lime-hating). If planted in normal, limey or alkaline soil,Ericaceous plants produce weak, yellow leaves and generally perform poorly.

    Learn more about soil pH here and here.

    Ensuring your Ericaceous plants perform well can be a challenge in the wrong soil. While long-term changes to neutralise alkalinity are possible, most gardening experts recommend planting your Ericaceous plants in an isolated pocket of acidic soil, using high quality topsoil and compost designed especially for this role. With the right specialist soil & compost, even the most demanding Ericaceous plants can thrive.

    There are several ways to test your soil pH- for the most reliable results we recommend using a specialist kit.

    We only stock Ericaceous Compost from reliable, tried & tested suppliers- and all our stock has been thoroughly tested on our own farm! We won’t sell a blend until it’s impressed us- and we’re satisfied its production surpasses high ethical standards.

    Ericaceous compost gets amazing results because it allows the release of those vitamins, such as iron, needed most by acid-loving plants. These essential vitamins can be bound up in the structure of normal soil, depriving the roots of your plants and resulting in stunted, unhealthy growth that can leave you exasperated.

    Buy Quality Ericaceous Compost

  • When should You Use Acidic Compost?

    You use ericaceous compost when the soil in your garden is too alkaline to grow lime-haters. And how do you know the pH of your soil? Well, you can either look at your neighbours’ gardens to see if they’re growing rhododendrons, or you can buy a soil-testing kit and test the pH for yourself. If the pH is above 7.0, then you will probably need to grow your ericaceous plants in pots, and in ericaceous compost. Although you can add chemicals to increase the acidity of your soil, you probably won’t have much long-term effect, especially if your soil is very alkaline. And some plants are so strongly ericaceous that they won’t grow in even slightly alkaline soil. Rhododendrons and azaleas are more tolerant, but blueberries like a pH of less than 5.5, so need to be grown in pots in ericaceous compost in much of the UK.

    Buy Quality Ericaceous Compost

  • Where Can I Buy Ericaceous Compost?

    Ericaceous compost is widely available from garden centres and compost suppliers. The Royal Horticultural Society recommends loam-based ericaceous compost such as John Innes Compost, but says that peat-free ericaceous composts are improving all the time, and will be perfectly suitable.

    You can grow a wide range of plants in pots, even quite large shrubs such as camellias, provided you choose the right pots. Dwarf rhododendrons, such as the Rhododendron yakushimanum hybrids, are really good pot plants. They flower reliably, year after year, and remain small. There are also some lovely dwarf azaleas available that are perfect for pot cultivation. Camellias can get a bit big, but choose carefully, and you could even have one of those. As with all pot cultivation, you need to choose a pot that is not too much bigger than the pot your plant is currently in, or the soil will go sour before the roots have spread into it. You need it to be about two inches bigger than the rootball all the way round. If you want to use a much bigger pot, then put several plants in it.

    Whatever ericaceous compost you choose, your plants will need repotting every couple of years, as the compost will lose its structure and nutrients over time. This will give you a chance to move your plants into bigger pots if necessary, or prune the rootball if you want to keep them small. Your plants will also thank you for feeding them with ericaceous fertiliser in the spring when they start to grow again.

    Buy Quality Ericaceous Compost

  • Ericaceous Compost Uses

    Ericaceous compost is used for a lot of different purposes. Here is a small list of uses, with links to the RHS' website for more information on each suggestion:

    • Azaleas - a charming rhododendron flower with a bright and summery feel, great for brightening up your garden in those summer months. Read more on RHS

    • Blueberries - delicious (and very healthy!) treats with a delicate taste, perfect for baking, desserts or smoothies. For more information check out our article on blueberries! Read more on RHS

    • Raspberries - pretty and, of course, delicious! Like most berries these produce a huge crop that can be eaten as sweet summer desserts, made into jam, or frozen. Read more on RHS

    • Parsley - this traditional and versatile herb offers a welcome, fresh, peppery taste to any meal. Read more on RHS

    • Camellias - stunning flowers with a range of soft colours matched only by their elegant, almost porcelain beauty. Read more on RHS

    • Tomatoes - homegrown, freshly plucked from the vine: you’ll never get them of the supermarket again. The sweet, fresh slightly bitter scent of those soft pine green vines is enchanting. Read more on RHS

    • Callunas (heather) - Whether you want give your garden a wild feel, or simply punctuate your borders with a perennial flash of colour, these hardy plants offer a wide range of award-winning flowers. Read more on RHS

    • Enkianthus - gorgeous drops of colour that give your garden an Eastern feel. A beautiful shrub that not only supports stunning summer flowers but also produces an amazing variety of browns, reds and yellows in Autumn. Read more on RHS

    • Kalmias - Striking flowers originally from America, the popular Latifolia variety especially produces amazing ring-style colourations with shocking contrasts that really liven up a garden.Read more on RHS

    • Pieris - also known as forest flame, this often-overlooked shrub, if properly cared for, can develop into an elegant but hardy feature in your garden, decked in a subtle red-yellow leaves. Read more on RHS

    • Rhubarb - Massive and unmissable, rhubarb is also a great source of vitamin-rich, tart stalks.

Read more …Ericaceous Compost