Help keep the GardenZone free:

Sitemap

Articles about Compost and Soil Treatments

  7 Factors Needed for a Compost Pile
  Aerated Compost Tea, The New Organic Fertilizer
  Carbon:Nitrogen ratio of common compost materials
  Compost mixtures you can make at home
  Composting is Fun for the Whole Family
  Green manures and Cover crops in the Organic Garden
  Here is Why You Should Use Gypsum in Gardening
  How to build a compost heap
  How to make loam and leafmould
  How to make worm compost
  How to solve problems with compost making
  How to use organic fertilisers
  Mulching - Comparison of costs and results for organic and inorganic mulches
  Mulching Benefits - Organic And Inorganic Mulch Types
  N:P:K Analysis of common composting materials
  Soil Basics - Creating Fertile, Healthy Soil
  Soil PH And Its Effect On Your Garden
  Understanding Soil Nutrients
  Using Garden Compost

Visit our Forum

About us

Links page

Add URL

Privacy

Disclaimer

Organic Gardening:

Compost mixtures you can make at home

by Frann Leach

Looking for something else?

Although many proprietary compost mixtures are available commercially, the selection offered to the organic gardener is limited. However, there are many traditional compost mixtures for various purposes, and this is a representative selection of these.

Compost mixtures

Notes

After 4-6 weeks, regular feeding with organic liquid feed will be needed, as the nutrients will have been used up. Make no more compost at a time than you can use.

How much do I need?

40 litres (9 gal) of compost will fill 18x18 cm (7") pots or 30x15 cm (6") pots or 40x13cm (5") pots or 100x10 cm (4") pots or 140x9 cm (3½") pots or 200x8 cm (3") pots or 340x6 cm (2½") pots or 12 standard seed trays

Soil-based sowing compost	2 parts loam 2 parts peat-substitute, coir, leafmould or composted bark 1 part coarse grit Bonemeal: 60g per 9L (2 oz per 2 gal) Dolomitic lime/hydrated lime: 30 g/9 L (1 oz/2 gal)
Soil-based potting compost	7 parts loam 3 parts peat-substitute 2 parts grit Blood, fish & bone: 150 g/9 L (5 oz/2 gal) Dolomitic lime, hydrated lime or calcified seaweed: 30 g/9 L (1 oz/2 gal)
Soil-less sowing compost	12 parts peat-substitute 1 part coarse sand 1 part perlite or vermiculite 3 parts leafmould or composted bark Dolomitic lime or hydrated lime: 30 g/9 L (1 oz/2 gal) Blood, fish & bone: 90 g/9 L (3 oz/2 gal) Hoof & horn or seaweed meal: 30 g/9 L (1 oz/2 gal)
Soil-less potting compost I	12 parts peat-substitute 1 part coarse sand 1 part perlite or vermiculite Dolomitic lime or hydrated lime: 30 g/9 L (1 oz/2 gal) Blood, fish & bone: 90 g/9 L (3 oz/2 gal) Hoof & horn or seaweed meal: 30 g/9 L (1 oz/2 gal)
Soil-less potting compost II	6 gallons moss peat-substitute 1½ gallons horticultural grit 3 oz calcified seaweed 3 oz seaweed meal or wood ash 4½ oz hoof and horn or fine bonemeal 9 oz blood, fish and bone Sift through a ½" sieve. Make the compost in the autumn and store it in a bag or bin, watering if it becomes dry. If making it in spring add 2 oz hydrated lime.
Cutting compost	1 part peat-substitute 1 part horticultural grit Special cucumber compost 4 gallons peat-substitute 2 gallons well-rotted manure or compost 1½ gallons sharp sand 3 oz calcified seaweed 9 oz fish, blood and bone 3 oz dried seaweed or wood ash. Dick Kitto's seed & potting compost 2 parts sifted compost from heap 2 parts peat-substitute 1 part horticultural grit/coarse sand 2 parts sifted soil (optional)
Ben Easy's seed compost I	1-2 parts sifted compost 3-4 parts loam from turf heap 3 parts peat-substitute or leaf mould 2 parts horticultural grit
Ben Easy's seed compost II	2 parts sifted compost 2 parts good soil 2 parts horticultural grit plus 2 handfuls fine bonemeal per 10 lb
John Bond's seed compost	1 part compost 1 part horticultural grit 2 parts loam
Ben Easy's potting compost I	7 parts compost 3 parts loam 2 parts horticultural grit 1 part peat-substitute or leaf mould
Ben Easy's potting compost II	1 part compost 1 part loam 2 parts horticultural grit 1 part peat-substitute or leaf mould
G O Liss's potting compost for tomatoes and lettuces	1 part compost 1 part loam plus a 5" pot of bonemeal, a pot of ground limestone and half a pot of hoof and horn per barrowload For lettuces, leave out the hoof and horn.
Dudley & Stickland's potting compost I	1 part loam 2 parts garden or worm compost 1 part fine grade bark or leafmould
Dudley & Stickland's potting compost II	4 parts loam 2 parts fine grade bark or leafmould plus 8oz seaweed meal, 4 oz bone meal and 2 oz calcified seaweed per 12 gallons
Harry Dodson's compost for pricking out	1 barrow well-matured loam, put through a ½" riddle ½ barrow grit or sand graded up to 0.125" 5" pot bone meal

If you would like to publish this article on your site, please click here

If you're interested in healthy food, you may also be interested in our sister site, The Health Site, Your Online Health Channel.

Top of page

Site creation by: TheWebsiteDesign.Co.UK

Forum

Tell a Friend about Us